Optimise order picking speed | RAJA

Time is money! And this adage is particularly true in the warehouse. It is important to optimise the number of orders prepared per hour and per shift. Packing, wedging and closing your parcels… at each stage our experts give you advice on how to save precious seconds and as much energy as possible for the pickers

• Choosing the most effective packaging
• How to pack efficiently
• Closing quickly… but well
• The preparation table, the cornerstone of your preparation process
• Bonus: additional tips

The delivery promise: a vital issue

a disappointed customer is a customer who potentially won’t come back. All your marketing efforts are lost because of a failure at a crucial stage. You must therefore deliver quickly and well in order to survive.

At each stage of order preparation, this long article offers you solutions classified by price and complexity to be implemented.

Preamble: what is your seasonality?

• In May and June, large distributors need to be stocked in anticipation of the end-of-year festivities. Pallets and (large) cartons are sent out in short quantities.
• The other part of the stock is reserved for direct sales on their e-commerce site at the end of the year. It is then pure BtoC logistics with a logic of rapid delivery per unit. It is necessary to deliver quickly and well so that the customer does not favour another game publisher.

depending on your seasonality, you will organise your average resources and be able to calculate your profitability during and outside of order peaks

[GUIDE] Prepare faster to deliver fasterPacking, wedging and then closing your parcels… at each stage our experts give you advice to save precious seconds and as much energy saved by the preparers… multiplied by the number of orders, the gains for the team will be very significant!

I. The choice of packaging

the choice of packaging has an impact on your preparation speed. Some choices seem insignificant and yet… for the preparer, it is a few seconds less and efforts saved. This energy saved can be redistributed to all the parcels prepared and to the attention given to each shipment (quality of the parcel, fewer preparation errors…).

Replace your cartons with envelopes and pockets

• Speed of execution: you save the time of manual formation of the box
• Reduced transport costs: by reducing both the weight and volume of your packaging you reduce your national and international shipping costs

chinese e-tailer eGlobal Central (whose high-tech and gadget sales are exploding in Europe) uses a bubble envelope and an opaque pouch to ship smartphones.

This technique is therefore not necessarily limited to low-value goods. Its discounter positioning means that it does not have to invest in more premium packaging. Furthermore, with international shipping, any e-tailer should favour double-fluted cardboard packaging at the very least, increasing the share of packaging in the overall logistical cost

The instant crate changes the life of your pickers

1. Speed gain: the case is assembled or formed 2.5 times faster on average. The Italian team of the RAJA group has seriously taken the exercise to calculate the exact time saving[See all instant assembly cases, boxes and cases deliverable in 24 hours by RAJA]
2. Reduced effort: 2.5 times faster, but also at least 2.5 times easier to train. Your pickers will thank you for this choice, and you will gain in productivity by promoting this decision internally.
3. Saving space in outbound logistics: this is certainly best explained by our customers, such as Jean-Baptiste de Presmenil, logistics and transport buyer at QuiToque.

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Before, some pickers had to form all the boxes upstream and make a pile of boxes next to the packing station. The space was cluttered even if they made every possible effort to organise. Now, each picker forms his boxes as he goes along, which is a real gain in terms of organisation and peace of mind at the time of shipment.

The instant-closing wadded pouch: a revolution?Does the title sound catchy to you? No. We are truly convinced that in the era of ship-from-store and the multiplication of e-commerce sites, this packaging solution will meet a need for speed on the part of the retailer and e-retailer alike. To convince you of this, there is no need to watch the video to its end, as you will only need to watch the first 30 seconds

II. efficient stalling: stall little

here are some solutions to work on reducing the time and energy required for this task.

Pre-cut cushioning and dispenser box

• A simple way to reduce the duration of the dunnage operation is to eliminate gestures and tools. Pre-cut dunnage allows you to reduce the cutting time and eliminate the use of the cutter[see the comparative video here if you need it]
• On the same principle, the dunnage dispenser box is a light first investment that allows you to facilitate the picker’s gesture while keeping his packing station organized.

the bubble bag with adhesive closure

Like the instant crate, this bubble bag saves your preparers 2 operations: wrapping the goods in bubble film and using adhesive to hold it against the product. Depending on the shape of your products, this can be a considerable time saver. The RAJA studio team has prepared a short video to show you the interest of the solution(no one packs calculators these days but the objective of the video is fulfilled)

Tip: recurring orders, a source of optimisation?

if the majority of your orders are recurring, adopt packaging that fits your product as closely as possible (possibly customised packaging). This will save you not only on the quantity of packaging but also on preparation time. Following Cubyn’s example, designate workstations dedicated to this type of order to gain even more productivity. [Read: all the tips inspired by Cubyn’s preparation station]

Good practice

• Eco-responsible approach: reduction in quantity, weight and volume
• Reduction in transport costs
• Greater speed of execution for the preparation team

Mechanical cushioning systems

they are generally intended for e-traders handling at least 20 to 30 orders/hour per operator. Here again, the cushioning system will make more or less sense depending on the type of orders generally handled. For multi and/or heterogeneous orders, a paper cushioning system will quickly pay for itself in terms of the speed of orders handled per operator. And above all, it will allow you to exceed a threshold of orders/hour without needing to call on interim staff.

II. close quickly… but well

the sealing stage is crucial to ensure the inviolability of your shipments. Some ideas to continue to ensure the security of your shipments while reducing the time of the operation

What if you did away with the adhesive?

no more dispensers, no more tape and no more worries about the supply of tape. Simply adopt boxes or crates with integrated tape. You gain in speed of execution as well as in the amount of tape consumed. Short demo video below.

How to optimise the gummed tape?

gummed tape is one of the most effective ways of securing your shipments and is used by large e-retailers (Amazon customises it with its own colours). However, the operation is manually more time-consuming than the application of adhesive tape… unless you use a gummed tape dispenser. The process is particularly suitable if you use close case formats.The case sealerA case sealer is often one of the first investments in terms of machinery. Coupled with a conveyor – even a manual one – it is a real time saver! Take a quick look at the video below to convince yourself

III. the preparation table must be thought out, rethought and always optimised

picking table or packing station. We recommend reading our full article on packing station optimisation. We explain step by step how to make your packing station a cornerstone of your picking process. You can also check out our packing table design tutorial

1. Select the essentials for your packing station
2. Integrate the INRS ergonomic rules for your packing station
3. Organise the incoming and outgoing flows of your packing station

read also: Tips from e-logisticians Cubyn and Wing to optimise your packing station

[BONUS] Conveyor: when the package comes to you

if traffic permits, the conveyor is the ideal way to bring the finished parcels directly (or even automatically) to the dispatch area where they can be distributed by type of carrier: express, La Poste, domestic, international, etc. You avoid your preparers carrying the parcels one by one in trolleys which will then be pushed to the dispatch area. Guaranteed energy and time savings!

– READ: choose the conveyor that suits your needs –

If the conveyor is not compatible with the configuration of your storage space, at least think about wire baskets or rollto store the prepared packages before bringing them to the shipping area in one go and avoid tiring and unproductive back and forth

[BONUS] Are you ready for the B+ automatic packaging system?

this machine forms the boxes around the products, ensuring that the packaging is perfectly adapted to the size of the product in each package. The video below illustrates how the B+ systems work

• Fast creation and closing of packages
• Consistent output in all circumstances
• Consistent quality of the packages created
• Saving in terms of preparation staff

our advice: several models exist. Consult our machine experts if you wish to explore this avenue. They will help you to validate or invalidate this avenue and choose the model that suits your products. cta id=’c8179ccb-261b-403a-8509-c1299e93cd0a’]