Not-so-long-ago warehouses could rely on the traditional methods of order picking and pathfinding within a warehouse. This approach was sufficient for warehouses that had a low volume of orders, small to medium warehouse layouts, and a moderately small number of SKU types.
With the rise of e-commerce and the increase in customer demands for faster delivery times and operational workflow, warehouses are now under pressure to optimize their operations to stay competitive. As a result, warehouses have had to adapt to new technologies and methods to improve efficiency and productivity, such as improving the picking process.
Choosing the optimal picking path remains a mostly human-led process, accounting for up to 50% of worker labor efforts, which in turn make up 65% of the overall operation cost within a warehouse.
In this article, we'll explore ways to optimize picking paths and the positive impact they can have on your bottom line.
What is picking optimization?
Warehouse picking optimization (also known as path planning) refers to the process of analyzing and optimizing the routes that warehouse workers take to pick items from their designated storage areas.
The goal of picking optimization is to minimize the time and effort required to fulfill orders while maximizing accuracy and efficiency. This can have a significant impact on a company's bottom line by reducing labor costs, improving productivity, and enhancing customer satisfaction.
In some cases, the picking path and wave picking optimization process can cut down travel distance by up to 45%.
Which companies can benefit from pick path optimization?
The greatest impact on picking performance is seen in companies with high-volume order-picking processes. This includes e-commerce businesses, retailers, 3PLs, and manufacturing firms.
However, picking optimization software can be a valuable tool for any company looking to optimize its warehouse operations and improve its bottom line.
Inefficiencies of suboptimal picking paths
Warehouses often face several challenges in terms of efficiency and productivity when it comes to finding optimal picking paths.
Long travel distances
Warehouse workers take unnecessarily long or circuitous routes to pick items, resulting in wasted time and effort. When workers are forced to follow inefficient routes, they may need to traverse the entire warehouse multiple times to retrieve all necessary items, which can add significant time to the picking process.
Labor costs
Warehouses require more workers to handle the same volume of orders, leading to increased labor costs.
Lack of scalability
As warehouses grow and the number of orders increases and the time and effort required to complete each picking task also increases, making it more difficult to keep up with demand as the business grows. This leads to bottlenecks in the picking process, lower worker efficiency, and decreased overall productivity.
These challenges highlight the need for a solution that can provide real-time data, accurate analysis, and a flexible layout to support optimized picking paths.
Ways of improving warehouse picking process
Choose the right warehouse picking method
One way to improve the warehouse process is by implementing the right warehouse picking method.
The picking method suited for your order profile, order volumes, and warehouse layout can significantly improve the accuracy, speed, and overall performance of the picking process.
The optimal picking method changes depending on whether a warehouse fulfills very few or multitudes of orders at a time. Learn about the different types of warehouse picking methods.
Bidirectional aisles
Bidirectional aisles allow for material handling equipment to travel in both directions, reducing the distance traveled by operators and increasing the speed of picking and restocking operations. This results in shorter pick distances, as operators are able to access items from both sides of the aisle and can improve the flow of goods within the warehouse.
The use of bidirectional aisles allows for greater space utilization and a more compact storage system, making it possible to store more items in a smaller footprint.
Wave planning
Wave planning can complement warehouse picking methods and picking path process optimization by providing a strategic approach to organizing and executing the picking process.
By grouping and prioritizing orders, allocating resources, and determining the best picking routes, wave planning can ensure that the picking process is executed efficiently and effectively.
In particular, wave planning can optimize the use of resources, such as workers and equipment, by ensuring that they are deployed in the most effective manner.
Wave planning can provide valuable data and insights that can be used to continually improve the picking process. For example, by analyzing the performance of various picking methods, businesses can determine which methods are most effective for their operations and make changes as necessary to optimize performance.
Picking optimization software
Another way to improve the picking process is through picking optimization software. However, picking optimization can be challenging, due to factors such as:
- High complexity within warehouse operations due to high order volumes, item locations, and inventory levels.
- Large data sets make it challenging to process and analyze this information to determine the optimal picking path.
- Continuous improvement: The nature of warehouse picking paths must continually be re-evaluated and optimized as inventory levels change and new orders come in. This requires ongoing effort and resources.
Optioryx picking optimization addresses these challenges faced by providing the solution in as an AI-powered addon on top of WMS, OMS or ERP systems.
How can picking optimization benefit you?
Data-driven picking optimization software improves the overall productivity of warehouses by strategically mapping efficient paths for processing hundreds of daily orders of varying sizes.
- Reduce travel time for pickers,
- Decrease onboarding times of new employees,
- Increase warehouse productivity,
- Reduce labor costs,
- Improve accuracy in order picking,
- Streamline order fulfillment process.
Insights to improve slotting and the warehouse layout
The software goes beyond just path optimization and reveals valuable insights into warehouse operations by analyzing data such as pick frequency and travel time.
These insights can be used to generate picking heatmaps, which visualize areas in the warehouse where congestion is most likely to occur, enabling warehouse managers to optimize pick routes and reduce bottlenecks.
In terms of slotting, the software provides insights into warehouse arrangements by analyzing pick density and revealing opportunities for better slotting arrangements that maximize space utilization and increase efficiency.
By determining item correlation and predicting which items are most frequently picked together, the software can help organizations optimize their warehouse slotting arrangements, positioning related items to close together to reduce travel time and improve pick efficiency.
Interested to know how our picking path optimization software can help you?
