Order Preparation System in Click & Collect Warehouse

Specification

Product

Consumer goods (groceries, liquids, consumables …)

Dimensions

Plastic totes with a specific base of 600 x 400 mm and 3 heights depending on the products to be stocked: 150, 270 and 420 mm.

Performance

The installation is sized to handle 8,000 order lines in a 12 hour day.

Pallets

not used

Operation

12 / 24 hour

The Solution

The installation is made up of:

• One static storage of totes in 2 storage racks
• Two high capacity Transtockers for placing and collection of totes
• One, multi-tiered storage unit, ‘front picking’ in the lower part with one side of the storage racks for fast moving products
• One picking operator station which is assisted by ‘Pick & Put-to-Light’
• One conveyor for completed tote transfer to the order consolidation zone
• One re-stock entrance accumulation line for product restocking with a weight and size control

The system management is provided by our MAESTRO+ software in interface with the customers ERP.

Operating Principle

Receipt and storage

After their receipt, the outer packaging of the products is removed and the goods are put in totes, which are stored in 2 storage racks by high capacity Transtockers.

The order preparation

The preparation is carried out using totes, in 2 steps:

• On the picking station: This station is used for low and medium rotation products. This point is the beginning of the order preparation. The system presents the totes of products to the operator. The operation to pick and place the products into the preparation totes is assisted by ‘pick and put to light’. At this station a dozen orders can be prepared at the same time.
• The dynamic ‘Front picking’: This is a multi-tiered storage system for fast moving products. It is automatically fed by the Transtocker. Trolleys are used by the operator to move along the multi-tiered storage and pick the products. The preparation can be ‘Scanned’ or ‘pick and put to light’ assisted.

Computer Management

The MAESTRO+ software maintains:

• Stock management
• Sequencing of the preparations
• Operators instructions
• Restocking management
• Supervision of the installation

Benefits

• High operator productivity
• Order preparation speed
• Preparation quality guarantee
  
• Picking station ergonomics and safety
• Restocking of the storage racks during the order preparation
• Accumulation line for restocking totes
• Versatility and upgradability of the installation
• Operators trained in few minutes
• Optimisation of the building space
• High storage capacity
• Outer packaging removed from the storage system
• A clean and tidy warehouse