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Picking Manual: main technologies to use in your e-commerce

By Tiago Moraes 4 minutes reading
Picking Manual: main technologies to use in your e-commerce
Manual Picking is an order picking process. Image: @jcomp
Manual Picking is an order picking process. Image: @jcomp

In an e-commerce warehouse, Picking or Order Picking is the operation of separating products whose orders were placed in the virtual store. While Automatic Picking makes use of stacker cranes and anthropomorphic robots, Manual Picking is performed by human operators, and can be performed more efficiently if operators make use of technologies such as radiofrequency terminals, pick by light, put to light and picking to voice. .

In this post, I show you a summary of these Manual Picking technologies and how they can make picking your e-commerce orders more agile, simple and efficient. Keep reading and stay in the loop!

4 MANUAL PICKING TECHNOLOGIES

You can make Manual Picking much more agile through the use of technologies such as pick by light, put to light, picking to voice and radiofrequency terminals. Learn more about it below:

1 - Radiofrequency terminals 

Radio frequency terminals , better known as barcode readers, allow an operator to enter order and product data into the warehouse management system without needing to type or make written notes.

Radio Frequency Terminal is a code reader. Photo: @aleksandarlittlewolf
Radio Frequency Terminal is a code reader. Photograph: @aleksandarlittlewolf

In Picking, current models of this terminal guide the operator inside the warehouse regarding the aisle, reference and units, among other factors. In this way, these readers reduce the occurrence of errors. In addition, they make Picking Manual much more agile.

2 – Pick by light

Pick by light is the name given to devices that illuminate the position on the shelf of a warehouse where the product to be picked is located. In addition, they also inform through a panel the amount that the operator must separate.

Pick by light streamlines the Picking Manual. Photo: @kbs-Industrielektronik-GmbH
Pick by light streamlines the Picking Manual. Photograph: @kbs-Industrielektronik-GmbH

In older warehouses, Manual Picking is done based on a paper list. The operator collects the list items and separates them. With pick by light, however, paper usage is eliminated, the error rate is reduced and it is easier to train new employees.

3 - Put to light

Put to light is the term that names the devices that indicate, by means of panels, the position in the warehouse in which the operator must leave the products that he has just sorted. You can install them on pallet points or in containers, for example.

Put to light completes the Pick by light in the Manual Picking process. Photo: @picktolightsystems
Put to light completes the Pick by light in the Manual Picking process. Photograph: @picktolightsystems

Using put to light eliminates the use of paper lists. Furthermore, by guiding the operator's gaze to the place where he should deposit the separated products, this type of device makes the Manual Picking more agile, reduces errors and increases the efficiency of the operation.

4 – Picking to voice

Picking to voice is the name given to devices that make it possible to guide Picking operators through verbal instructions. Thus, via the headset, this device instructs the operator on which products he must separate.

Picking to voice: verbal directions and hands-free paperwork. photo: @stamh
Picking to voice: verbal directions and hands-free paperwork. Photograph: @stah

The operator, in turn, uses a microphone to confirm the actions he has completed to the warehouse management system. This allows the operator to work hands-free, which results in more products being sorted in less time.

ADVANTAGES OF MANUAL PICKING TECHNOLOGIES IN E-COMMERCE

Using technologies such as pick by light, put to light, picking to voice and radiofrequency terminals will make the Picking Manual of your e-commerce much more agile. Thus, you can separate more orders in less time and with less costs.

Video: learn more about types of Picking

Think that having a scalable virtual store is not enough. Your warehouse also needs to be scalable, otherwise you won't be able to pick and deliver orders quickly. Remember, the faster the delivery, the better the customer experience, and that depends in part on Picking.

As soon as you can, click on “ VTEX Collection Points ” and learn how to implement pick-up points for orders placed in your online store!

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