Order picking trolleys

Meeting the customer's requirements

Author: Sharon Ensbury/11 March 2016/Categories: PREVIOUS BESPOKE PROJECTS, Trucks, Trailers & Trolleys

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Action Handling has a comprehensive range of order picking step trolleys to ensure that your increase in warehouse or distribution hub productivity is supported. Our order picking trolleys are made to order therefore are available in any standard RAL colour and we can also accommodate you in supplying goods in your own company colours or if various departments have a colour scheme in place to distinguish from each department, we can of course supply order picking steps for you in a variety of colours to keep everything in its place for you, just please state this at time of quotation request or when we visit your site to allow for any additional cost for special paint finishes.

Order picking is a key process in distribution and warehouse premises and consists of taking and collecting items in a specified quantity before shipment. Order picking is part of any basic warehouse process and has an important effect on the productivity levels of the warehouse or distribution hubs productivity. It is for this reason that obtaining the most appropriate order picking and step trolleys is without doubt a very crucial decision to get right and an essential element of warehouse control. If you have the correct type order picking and step trolleys for your warehouse or distribution hub it is therefore inevitable that you will see an impact on productivity levels.

There are of course many different types of order picking and step trolleys, all of which are provided in a number of different variants to ensure that you will be able to choose the right order picking and step trolleys for your specific industry requirements. Amongst the popular style we have supplied in recent times are for document / archive storage industry, completely bespoke made to each sites own needs due the buildings unique quirky characteristics, whether it be supplied in sections to navigate goods lift or restricted staircases, or simply a question of being manufactured narrowly to fit in between the shelving systems and narrow aisles, or to have sections at the side or rear removed to allow picking of boxes to and from storage shelves. Our step trolleys are particularly strong and robust and are perfect for heavy stock with a powder coated tubular framework to give a smart but long lasting finish.

If your need is for a slightly lighter duty step trolley then our general duty picking trolley would be ideal as it is designed to take lighter items and is easily transportable thanks to its robust swivel castors.

Case study link https://actionhandling.co.uk/Information-Hub/ArtMID/904/ArticleID/102/Bespoke-Working-Platform-Steps

Order picking is an important aspect within any warehouse. It forms around 55-60% of operation costs within any distribution centre and has a direct impact on customer satisfaction levels. The ability to both quickly and accurately process customer orders is now an essential part of doing business.

ORDER PICKING link to our website

https://actionhandling.co.uk/Our-Store?SearchValue=ORDER+PICKING+

Some helpful tips on how to improve order picking / stock control.

Ensure 100% product availability

Design your replenishment system so that the picker does not have to face an empty pick slot that is waiting for replenishment. Keep a specified minimum level of inventory in each location and replenish items that have fallen below the minimum level each day.

Use barcodes to verify everything before you pick

If your order picking system verifies every step of the picking process twice, you are more likely to catch mistakes, preferably whilst the picker is still in front of the pick slot where the correction is easily made.

Minimise product touches

Regardless of what order picking method a company uses, it is important to identify and record the number of times an item is handled from the time it is ordered to the time it leaves the facility. The pick process should allow enough accuracy that further repacking, QC checking, or shipping checking is not required.

Consider different storage strategies

Different storage strategies can boost efficiency within a warehouse. For example, slotting may improve storage intensity, reduce accidents or product damage, reduce congestion and improve retrieval times. Review storage strategies on a regular basis in order to align your practices with seasonal demand.

Reassess your routing practices

The layout of your storage spaces can have a negative impact on your routing practices. Setting out specific zones for items that are commonly ordered together, product categories, business types, or order size can enhance travel times.

Different order picking methods:

There are many order picking methods. These include:

Zone picking: Each order picker is assigned a specific zone and will only realise order picking within this zone.
Batch picking: An order picker is assigned and picks multiple orders simultaneously, minimising trips to each location.
Wave picking: A variation of zone and batch picking. Rather than orders moving from one zone to the next for picking, all zones are picked at the same time and the items are later sorted and consolidated into individual orders/shipments

How to choose the correct order picking method for your warehouse:

It is essential to implement an order picking method that is right for your business and customers. To determine which will work for you, it is important to consider the following: