Next pioneers a new era in order picking productivity

This article is brought to you by Retail Technology Review: Next pioneers a new era in order picking productivity.

Next, one of the UKs leading retailers of clothing, footwear, accessories and home products, has implemented an innovative high performance order picking solution which has delivered a dramatic increase in productivity and capacity at its distribution centre in South Elmsall, West Yorkshire.

Designed and implemented by automated logistics systems supplier Dematic, the High Rate Put Stations have achieved a near-threefold increase in order picking rates, along with far greater peak capacity to meet changing business requirements.

One of the first such systems to be implemented in the UK, the High Rate Put Stations at the Next distribution centre represent a step change in order picking efficiency. Dedicated to the companys fast moving clothing, footwear, accessories and home product lines, twenty stations fulfil orders for up to 24 stores each.

Features of the High Rate Put Stations

At each High Rate Put Station an operator is directed by light displays to fulfil a series of orders, fed by a seamless, sequenced supply of product from storage. Product is automatically delivered to the stations central picking point from Dematics existing automated storage and retrieval system. Each station holds up to 24 order totes destined for one of over 500 Next retail outlets. The light display at each location indicates how many items must be put into each of the order totes, allowing a single operator to work on up to 24 store orders at the same time. When an order tote is full, the display instructs the operator to push it on to a take-away conveyor for transfer to despatch and loading onto vehicles.

Tripling the Picking Productivity per Operator

Before the introduction of the High Rate Put Stations , Next employed a manual order picking system for its fast moving product lines. Given the scale of the companys product range, operators had to travel significant distances between static pick locations. Seasonal peaks in demand could only be met by significantly increasing the number of pickers employed.

The High Rate Put Stations, in contrast, minimise the time taken by staff travelling between store orders. Operators are fed with a continual supply of products, and the ergonomic design of the stations ensures that high productivity is combined with minimal physical demands on operators.

Under the new system, operators achieve pick rates up to 1,000 items per hour depending on the order profile, and picking errors are substantially reduced. Real-time monitoring of system and staff performance is provided.

About Dematic Northern Europe

Dematic Limited, headquartered in Banbury, Oxfordshire is one of the worlds leading suppliers of logistics automation systems and solutions. As a systems integrator, Dematic delivers a full range of products and services, from individual products and systems to complete turnkey solutions as a general contractor, as well as complete after-sales support and service. Dematic provides automated material handling products, systems and solutions for retail and wholesale distribution, consumer direct, grocery, food and beverage, and manufacturing industries. Dematics products and services are based on a tradition of industry expertise that the company has acquired over decades of commitment worldwide.  Dematic Limited is part of Dematic Holding of S..r.l., Luxembourg.  Globally the company employs around 4,000 people and has a business volume of more than 800 million Euros.  For more detailed information about Dematic, please refer to: www.dematic.co.uk