order picking

Top Ways In Which Your Company Can Improve Order Picking Time and Efficiency

Is your warehouse the scene of permanent mayhem, with workers scrambling to collect products for order picking and ship the packages on time? Do you sometimes barely comply with those delivery deadlines? Unfortunately, this is not a singular situation in warehousing and it is affecting the operations, reputation and potential growth of many companies. The good news is that this problem can be solved.

Logistic and Packaging Experts to the Rescue

There are many reasons behind the hard and inefficient work of order picking in warehouses. The packaging experts at Logistic Packaging summarize these reasons as follows:

  • Too much manual work
  • Inaccurate information on product position on shelf and stock levels
  • Old and inadequate packaging materials
  • Lack of efficient communication between the sales and the logistics departments.

Some of these problems can be solved by improved communication and by equipping warehouse workers with smart tools to help them perform their tasks faster and more accurately.

However, these are not enough to make order picking more efficient. The workers need to rely on professional packaging and labeling solutions. There is no alternative to adequate and reliable order picking bins and containers. These products were developed especially for this activity – order picking – and this work environment – busy warehouses.

Order Picking Efficiency, the Direct Result of Using the Right Type of Packaging Materials

Imagine this scenario:

A customer placed an order under condition of same day delivery. The truck is waiting to be loaded and time is ticking. Your employees scatter in all directions and put products in various containers. A manual count of the number of items is kept, but at the end there is no 100% certainty that the entire packing list is actually loaded in the truck.

You have two options: send the order as it was prepared, risking a message from the customer that there are items missing. Or, you can tell your employees to re-check the order, and miss the delivery deadline. In both cases, you lost the customer.

How can you avoid this situation:

1. Use Adequate Packaging Materials for Order Picking

The most frequently used packaging material for order picking is the open front storage bin. It is available in two versions: made of plastic and of sheet steel for very heavy products.

The storage bin is designed with a frontal opening, which allows your employees to load product easily and perform a quick visual inspection of the contents of each bin. Thus, they can save time while preparing the order and checking it before shipping.

2. Opt for Space Saving Packaging Materials

Stackable Euro containers, especially the model with a mobile frontal flap for order picking, are the most popular packaging materials in warehouses. They can be easily put away one on top of the other, saving a lot of space. This space can be used to install more shelves for your products.

A well organized warehouse is an efficient warehouse. Your employees will find product more easily, and have better access to them if they have adequate navigation aisles. Therefore, each batch of reusable packaging materials needs to take up as little space as possible.

3. Use Reliable Label Systems

Labels are the lifeblood of efficient shelf systems and order packing operations.  However, label holders and labels themselves are frequently overlooked when the time comes to upgrade packaging materials. Paper labels can be easily torn or damaged by liquids. Low quality label holders can fall off the shelves and containers, leaving your employees clueless as to the contents thereof.

Professional Placard, wire and welded label holders were designed for long term use. They are designed to withstand container cleaning, frequent label replacement and the intense wear and tear in warehouses and during transportation. Thus, your employees will always have clear and accurate information on the contents of shelves and containers, allowing them to prepare and ship order faster and more efficiently.

Order picking must stop being the weak link in your supply chain. Get in touch with the packaging experts from Logistic Packaging and speed up your warehousing operations and order picking activities.