Publisher sorts its throughput problems
May 1st 2005

Asortation and conveying system installed by DistriSort, working with its UK associate Polymark at the distribution centre of HarperCollins has enabled the company to increase order throughput and reduce the amount of walking required of staff.

Two Split-Tray sorters are used for order compilation. These can handle 14 400 items per hour and deliver to 400 pre-defined dropzones.

A change to batch picking means that staff no longer walk up and down the aisles to collate a single order. This has increased the pick rate and made the work less tiring for staff. Books are placed in tote bins and routed on belt and roller conveyors to one of the sorters. On arrival, they are removed from the bins and manually inducted to the sorter, although the sorter is also suitable for automatic induction.

A vision system reads each book’s barcode as it enters the sorter. The sorter’s computer receives data from the company’s host computer giving book titles and quantity required at a specific destination.

As a book arrives at the correct destination, tray doors are open to allow individual items to fall into cartons beneath the sorter. The balanced action split tray ensures that books fall flat to avoid damage.

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