Automated Sortation, a piece of cake!
Sortation is an essential part of the logistics process within retail, mail and e-commerce. After all, you want a correct and efficient fulfillment of your orders, for inbound, outbound and returns. Ultimately what matters is a satisfied customer. Satisfied customers come back, dissatisfied customers stay away. Next to this: time = money, so preferably a minimum number of actions, within the shortest possible time.
Besides the -Why?- question, the -When?- question is especially important. When is a sorting machine interesting? We will answer that question in a seperate blog.
Why automatic sorting?
Let’s start with -Why?-. Why a sorting machine? To answer that question, we have an example that you have certainly encountered:
Suppose that you have something to celebrate and for that reason you have brought home several delicious cakes. You put the cakes in the kitchen and ask your guests what they would like: apple pie, cheesecake, chocolate or sugar-free? You walk to the kitchen for the apple pie, then a second time for the cheesecake and so you go down the row of guests. This is not only laborious, but also very time-consuming.
It is much better and easier if you put the different cakes on a table between the guests and serve everyone a piece of cake of their choice on the spot. Therein lies the principle of a sorting machine; efficiency, speed and a minimal margin of error.
Processed everything at once
In the daily practice of an automated sorter this means that you can enter and process almost all orders at once and at random. Suppose you have 500 pairs of shoes on order in one day, that means that you only have to make 1 trip to the warehouse location. The sorting machine then ensures that all products are sorted according to the desired order at lightning speed. If too much is loaded, it will return automatically, if there is too little, you will receive a warning that the order is not completed.
This allows you to:
- improve order efficiency,
- bulk sorting from the warehouse,
- minimize the margin of error: the right product always to the right address,
- save on labor costs.
When you can save time in the picking process, this yields an almost immediate advantage in efficiency and therefore costs. In addition, more can be processed on fewer square meters and the margin of error is also reduced to virtually zero. Even at speeds of more than 8000 items per hour. And that brings us almost automatically to the question -When?-.