Three Strategies for Immediately Improving Order Picking with Robotics

MC Three Strategies for Immediately Improving Order Picking with Robotics 1 400x275

August 10, 2022

 

Together, shipping, receiving, and storage count for less than half of all warehouse activity costs. The lion’ share of expenses – a whopping 55% – is bound up in order picking. Breaking down the various activities associated with order picking, Omron finds that over 60% of time is spent walking, with writing, searching, and picking tasks comprising the other 40%.

Give this data, it’s safe to say that automating the “walking” portion of any order picking operation will have a strong positive impact on overall warehouse productivity. Omron’s Logistics Strategic Account Manager Yaqing Sun recently discussed some strategies for using autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) for this purpose at Automate 2022 in June.,

Omron looks at a few methods for replacing unnecessary walking time with AMRs.

Strategy #1: Transporting items to employees (“Goods to person”)

By having an AMR autonomously move goods to a warehouse associate, you can reduce the amount of time that associate spends walking, which in turn reduces fatigue and generally improves work satisfaction. In addition, it improves traceability by automating the QR code scanning process.

Some potential downsides of this method include high up-front investment costs, a relatively long integration and/or installation time, and the likelihood of infrastructure changes to the facility. Still, logistics facilities by and large find that the productivity benefits heavily outweigh the initial costs of deployment.

View more solutions for logistics and warehouse automation

Strategy #2: Transporting items between zones (“Person to goods”)

This strategy involves breaking up the warehouse into separate order picking zones, each of which will have a dedicated employee. Since a single order might involve picking from more than one zone, an autonomous mobile robot will move between the zones, stopping whenever an employee needs to retrieve a particular item.

Although each employee still must do some walking, having AMRs traverse the long distances between zones cuts down on the walking by a significant amount. The main downside of this method is that employees must still scan items manually, so traceability isn’t fully automated.

Strategy #3: Transporting items to a robot (“Goods to robot”)

This method has the dual advantages of high accuracy and a low dependence on labor availability (making it a good option for companies struggling to hire personnel). Slight downsides include high investment costs and the possibility of lower throughput relative to manual picking. (It does improve traceability, however, for the same reason as Strategy #1.)

Nonetheless, collaborative robotic technology is advancing by leaps and bounds, and solutions that connect an autonomous mobile robot with a cobot are going to just get more and more efficient. Furthermore, both AMRs and cobots can work around the clock with minimal downtime.

 

Omron Logo 300x150

Interested in learning more about Omron’s AMR solutions? Check out their mobile robot portfolio

 

 

Source

 

Related Articles


Latest Articles

  • Festo Didactic Showcases Technical Education and Training at Hannover Messe 2025

    Festo Didactic Showcases Technical Education and Training at Hannover Messe 2025

    May 20, 2025 By Krystie Johnston Hannover Messe 2025 was an extra special event for Festo. The Festo Group celebrated their 100th anniversary, Festo Canada celebrated their 50th anniversary, and Festo Didactic celebrated their 60th anniversary. Festo Didactic, the education arm of the company, understands how important education is for empowering individuals, driving economic growth,… Read More…

  • EtherCAT in Boost Mode

    May 14, 2025 EtherCAT and PC-based control in test bench technology EtherCAT is by far the fastest Industrial Ethernet technology. Nevertheless, the data acquisition process at Kraus & Naimer’s cam controller test benches called for an even shorter bus cycle. To achieve the required performance, Beckhoff specialists reduced the previous cycle time from 100 µs… Read More…


Featured Article

Revolutionizing Material Movement with Autonomous Mobile Robots

Revolutionizing Material Movement with Autonomous Mobile Robots

In today’s fast-paced manufacturing and logistics industries, the need for efficient and flexible material movement solutions has never been greater. Traditional methods like conveyor systems, forklifts, and manual pushcarts have served us well, but they come with limitations.

That’s why Omron is thrilled to announce the launch of their game-changing MD Series of Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs). Read more


Products

  • Electromate to Offer UR7e, UR12e & UR15 Collaborative Robots from Universal Robots

    May 20, 2025 Electromate is expanding its lineup of collaborative automation solutions with the addition of three advanced models from Universal Robots: the UR7e, UR12e, and UR15. These robots provide enhanced options for payload, reach, and precision in demanding collaborative applications. The UR7e delivers a 7 kg payload, 1300 mm reach, and ±0.03 mm repeatability. Positioned between the UR5e and… Read More…

  • Redefining Non-Invasive Temperature Measurement

    May 14, 2025 iTHERM SurfaceLine TM611 provides accuracy and response time comparable to invasive temperature measurement. The non-invasive thermometer iTHERM SurfaceLine TM611 by Endress+Hauser can be used across all industries for a wide range of demanding industrial applications. The surface-mounted thermometer measures process temperature without the risk of leakage and flow disruption. A specially designed… Read More…