What pick method are you using to get items off of your Chicago industrial shelves? There are several methods to choose from, and the best type of pick system for your warehouse will depend on factors such as:

• inventory type
• Number of employees
• how your warehouse is set up
• Average order size
• Average order number

Along with many other factors. Choosing the right pick system, though, can help you get more orders out the door as well as minimize injury risk to workers, and reduce the number of touches required to get a product off your industrial shelves and out the door.

These are some of the pick systems you’ll have to choose from:

• Piece picking. One picker, one order. You’ll send your pick team member out with an order and they’ll travel through your warehouse gathering the items on the order list. This isn’t the most efficient method, but it is serviceable for warehouses with low order numbers.
• Batch picking. One picker, several orders.  A pick team member will go out with several orders, sometimes organized on a tiered cart, and gather items for multiple orders while moving through the warehouse. More efficient than piece picking, but still slow.
• Zone picking. Multiple pickers, multiple orders at once. Orders will travel through multiple zones, and pickers in each zone will fill the order with products contained in their zone. A relatively efficient process, especially if your industrial shelves are set up correctly.

There are variations of all of these methods, and you can tweak them to create a system that works for you and your team. If you need help maximizing the efficiency of your pick line and the organization of your Chicago industrial shelves, give the RMH Systems team a call.