The majority of warehouses in Colorado are still using RF or paper based order picking systems, in spite of the huge performance gains and expense reductions that are possible with automated picking solutions. Only about 20% of warehouses across the country use advanced solutions like voice directed or pick to light technologies. These types of systems can have a significant impact on profitability.<\/p>\n
In a lot of warehouses, picking is a labor-intensive job where a picker receives an actual paper list of instructions laying out the products to be picked and their specific locations. They proceed to the specified storage slot, review their paper list to identify how many products they require from that pick face, get the products, scratch the item off of the checklist, and then transport the items for fulfillment.<\/p>\n
Simply moving around a storage facility can take up to 65% of a manual order picker’s day as they walk or drive about the warehouse. These antiquated methods make order fulfillment the most labor-intensive function in a conventional storage facility. In most cases, over half of a typical Colorado Springs storage facility’s operating expenditures can be linked to order picking. That number is in fact rising as e-com spurs even more picking demand from storage facilities.<\/p>\n
Almost all warehouses have at least some picking requirements. Almost 50% manage a combination of pallets, cases, split cases and pieces. Less than 10% of all storage facilities across the nation handle strictly full pallet orders. And despite the fact that many warehouses bear huge picking costs, just 20% have moved away from conventional RF and paper-based picking systems.<\/p>\n