By Ian Hobkirk
Managing Director of Commonwealth Supply Chain Advisors

 

 

 

Under increasing pressure to work faster, better, and smarter in today’s omni-channel and e-commerce business environment, companies need help getting their distribution operations up to speed with customer demands and expectations. To help, I’ve identified 10 key tactics that successful companies are employing in order to make a graceful transition to higher levels of e-commerce in the distribution center.

In Parts 1 through 4 of this ten-part series, I hit on the four basic tactics: Create a Forward Pick Area, Setup Effective Replenishment, Determine Overall Pick Strategy and Determine the Optimal Pick Methodology. Part 5 introduced the first Intermediate Tactic: Practice Real-Time Warehousing and this blog, Part 6 details how to optimize packing.

 

Tactic #6: Optimize Packing

The packing operation is often the biggest area of inefficiency that still remains when distribution centers convert to higher levels of e-commerce. Packing requirements often creep up over time, and since the evolution is gradual, companies often initially address the needs with manual processes that simply proliferate as volumes increase.

 

There are four levels of packing automation which companies often go through in their evolution.

 

Evolution of Packing Methodology: From Manual to Fully Automated

 

Manual Packing

 

Specialized Packing

 

Semi-Automated Packing

 

Fully-Automated Packing

 

 

Manual Packing

In manual packing environments, large pack stations are utilized, each staffed by a worker who performs all of the various packing and shipping functions themselves. While having a greater breadth of ability, this worker usually becomes a “jack of all trades,” and is unable to execute the packing process in a very efficient manner.

 

As the image above indicates, there are as many as ten (10) steps in a packing process, and it takes a very talented worker to master all of these and be able to rapidly transition from one diverse task to another. Carton erection, order checking, dunnage & sealing, manifesting, and label printing require a highly specialized skill set. Having a single worker perform all of these functions does not lend itself well to economies of scale.

 

Additionally, with manual packing, each packing station must have a significant amount of equipment and supplies: stacks of knocked-down corrugate, case sealing devices, dunnage machines, bar-code scanners, parcel weigh-scales, label printers, and other devices. The cost of acquiring and maintaining all of this equipment can be high.

 

Manual packing is often practiced in non-real-time warehousing environments, where the absence of bar-code scanning at picking necessitates a secondary checking process during packing. This amounts to significant additional labor requirements, as well as additional scanning equipment and computer terminals at each packing station. The job requirements for the packing role also increase to a higher level of sophistication than would otherwise be required.

 

Even within the realm of Manual Packing, however, it is possible to make simple changes which can lead to process improvements. For example, one often-overlooked device in this area is the automatic tape dispenser. These units can be programmed to dispense a specific length of tape that is suited to the size carton being used. Operators push one button, and a piece of tape is quickly fed out of the machine, and applied to the parcel. Pack times are reduced as is tape consumption.

 

Specialized Packing

A natural evolution towards greater packing efficiency involves a simple division of labor into two basic roles: (a) packer and (b) manifesting clerk. In this way, the more manual aspects of packing (case erection, sealing, etc.) can be performed by workers with those skill sets, and the more information-oriented function of manifesting can be performed by another worker. Expensive equipment like scales and printers can be isolated to just the manifesting function, and overall cost can often be reduced.

 

Semi-Automated Packing

Semi-automated packing actually reduces a number of the packing steps by utilizing a “pick to shipping container” process. While Tactic #8 will discuss how this functionality can be achieved in more detail, migrating to this operating method can produce real savings.

 

Case erection is performed en masse prior to order picking, sometimes using automated carton erectors. Ideally, the parcel carrier should also be selected prior to picking. This is usually possible if a good database exists of unit weights to enable effective multi-carrier rate shopping. Once the carrier is chosen, the shipping label is applied to the carton and serves as a “carton ID label” for the life of the order in the distribution center. Two very tedious functions – carton erection and label application – can be converted to repetitive, assembly-line style functions.

 

Picking to the shipping container is usually only practical where real-time warehousing is used, and the pick transaction can be confirmed with a bar-code scan at the time of pick; this eliminates the need for a labor-intense secondary check at packing.

 

During the picking process, units are picked and placed directly in the appropriate shipping container, eliminating the need for extra handling at packing. The packing function is reduced to adding documents and dunnage, and case seal. The manifesting function is reduced to a simple weight verification and sortation by carrier.

 

Fully Automated Packing

Fully automated packing involves the use of three pieces of equipment to round out the packing and shipping process:

 

• Case sealers
• In-motion weigh scales
• Sortation technology

This equipment must, of course, be tied together with a well-designed conveyor system with an appropriate amount of accumulation capacity.

 

Spotlight: WCS

Managing the various devices required for fully automated packing can sometimes be challenging. If shipping label application is to be performed during packing, it is especially important for data transmission speeds to be fast. Some companies have found that the use of a Warehouse Control Software (WCS) system simplifies device management and facilitates greater communication speed. Architecturally, a WCS sits between the WMS and the machine level controls for the conveyor, weight scale, printer-applicator, and any sortation equipment that is used. To learn more about the role of a WCS in the warehouse, see this presentation: “WMS vs. WES vs. WCS, Sorting out the Truth from the Hype.”

 

 

In the next installment of this ten-part blog series we’ll move on to cover the third and final Intermediate Tactic, Manage Parcel Shipments Effectively.