Streamlining the picking process

Scanning lasers, built into the truck, identify potential obstacles in front of or to either side of the vehicle, preventing collisions, and automatic steer correction ensures that the order picker travels along aisles in a straight line and at a constant distance from the racks.

When picking orders from the lowest racking level, operators normally spend an average of 75% of their time on foot, much of it backtracking. Crown's solution offers opportunities to cut time, effort and costs. The system reduces how often operators must return to the operator platform and means they no longer have to walk as far, or in as many different directions.

During extensive tests by Crown customers, individual pick orders were precisely replicated and the time required to fulfil them was measured both with and without QuickPick Remote. The outcome of these long-term tests showed that productivity between first and last pick of the day increased by 10% on average with gains within the aisle up to 25%. To watch a video illustrating the benefits of the new system under real-world conditions, visit: http://youtu.be/SxeLIMOvI04.

This technology offers a solution for low-level order picking in large retail and wholesale operations using high-density storage. Ken Dufford, Crown’s vice president Europe, says: "We know that cutting costs is our customers’ number one challenge. That’s why Crown invests so much time in developing pioneering materials handling solutions that fully satisfy real-world needs in today’s logistical environments. With QuickPick Remote, we’ve made significant progress towards the safe automation of certain warehouse processes, as part of a carefully formulated warehouse automation strategy.”