CA2818191C - Picking and shipping method - Google Patents

Picking and shipping method Download PDF

Info

Publication number
CA2818191C
CA2818191C CA2818191A CA2818191A CA2818191C CA 2818191 C CA2818191 C CA 2818191C CA 2818191 A CA2818191 A CA 2818191A CA 2818191 A CA2818191 A CA 2818191A CA 2818191 C CA2818191 C CA 2818191C
Authority
CA
Canada
Prior art keywords
shipping
station
articles
unit
supplied
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Active
Application number
CA2818191A
Other languages
French (fr)
Other versions
CA2818191A1 (en
Inventor
Matthias Stotzner
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Dematic GmbH
Original Assignee
Dematic GmbH
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Dematic GmbH filed Critical Dematic GmbH
Publication of CA2818191A1 publication Critical patent/CA2818191A1/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of CA2818191C publication Critical patent/CA2818191C/en
Active legal-status Critical Current
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical

Links

Classifications

    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65BMACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
    • B65B5/00Packaging individual articles in containers or receptacles, e.g. bags, sacks, boxes, cartons, cans, jars
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65GTRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS
    • B65G1/00Storing articles, individually or in orderly arrangement, in warehouses or magazines
    • B65G1/02Storage devices
    • B65G1/04Storage devices mechanical
    • B65G1/137Storage devices mechanical with arrangements or automatic control means for selecting which articles are to be removed
    • B65G1/1373Storage devices mechanical with arrangements or automatic control means for selecting which articles are to be removed for fulfilling orders in warehouses
    • B65G1/1378Storage devices mechanical with arrangements or automatic control means for selecting which articles are to be removed for fulfilling orders in warehouses the orders being assembled on fixed commissioning areas remote from the storage areas

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Warehouses Or Storage Devices (AREA)
  • Container Filling Or Packaging Operations (AREA)

Abstract

The invention relates to a combined picking and shipping method according to the goods-to-person principle. Shipping containers (VS) and packaging units (VP) are conveyed to a shipping station (6), and a packer at the shipping station manually packs packaging units that are directly conveyed to the shipping station onto a corresponding shipping unit (VE), said packer gathering individual articles (A) that are conveyed to the shipping station in a shipping container (VBX) provided at the shipping station.

Description

Picking and shipping method Description The invention relates to a combined picking and shipping method in accordance with the goods-to-man principle wherein shipping containers and packing units are supplied to a shipping station and a packer at the shipping station manually packs packing units - directly supplied to the shipping station - onto a corresponding shipping unit.
During a picking procedure, often diverse product ranges are to be handled. In addition to packing units which can be packed directly on shipping units, there is the requirement in the case of smaller articles to pick these into a shipping container and then to pack this shipping container onto the shipping unit as a packing unit (cf.
Gudehus, Timm, Logistik, Springer 1999, chapter 12, pages 325 ff.). This is also true e.g., for fragile articles which must be handled particularly carefully and packed safely and also for high-value articles which must be packed securely to protect them from theft.
DE 10 2006 025 617 A1 discloses a workstation for packing articles - which are to be picked - onto a shipping support, wherein the workstation includes a packing station, a platform on which the packing station is arranged, a shipping support station arranged beneath the plafform, a lifting device for lifting an empty or partially packed shipping support to a height of the packing station so that the empty or partially packed shipping support can be packed with articles which are to be picked, and for lowering completely packed shipping supports, and a track tilted towards the packing station for transporting individual articles which are to be picked to the packing station. A
conveyor technique for load supports which conveys articles, which are to be picked, on load supports to the packing station in such a manner that either articles from the track or from the conveyor technique can be packed.
In automated picking systems in accordance with the "goods to man" principle, the picker is provided at his workstation with small supplied articles for each order. These are then placed by him into the shipping containers as the packing unit. Then, the shipping containers are supplied to a shipping station where the shipping containers
2 together with other larger packed goods or packing units are packed onto a corresponding shipping unit, e.g., pallet or roller car.
The other larger packed goods or packing units can be supplied directly from the store to the shipping region with suitable applicability, since their properties and in particular their size and insensitivity permit direct packing onto the shipping unit (roller container, palette, etc.).
The two stages required for the picking and shipping process for the small articles which cannot be packed directly onto the shipping unit result in uneconomical systems having two partial systems and limitations associated therewith such as long through-put times, the total speed is determined by the slowest step and the need to synchronise the processes.
Alternatively, the two packed goods groups would have to be shipped separately.
In contrast, the object of the present invention is to provide a method for the picking and shipping process which at least partly obviates the above disadvantages and permits flexible handling of small, expensive or sensitive articles.
This object is achieved by the method stated in Claim 1.
By virtue of the fact that the packer gathers individual articles, which are supplied to the shipping station, in a shipping container provided at the shipping station, i.e., he packs the small, expensive or sensitive articles into packing units directly at the shipping station without additional preliminary picking stages, it is possible to accelerate the picking and shipping process and to make it more rational since separate regions are no longer absolutely required.
The functions of the picker and those of the packer virtually merge with each other, in particular for the small, expensive or sensitive articles. Whilst the packer implements his activity of packing filled shipping containers (packing units) and larger packed goods onto a shipping unit, individual articles are additionally also supplied to him, which articles are packed into a shipping unit by him in a provided shipping container for the respective order. As soon as the shipping container is full or the order is
3 complete, the shipping container is possibly closed, possibly placed on the shipping unit as packing units and the shipping unit is shipped.
The shipping container for the individual articles can on the one hand already be provided on the shipping unit during filling or can be packed on the shipping unit after filling. The shipping container is then positioned at the workstation of the packer in an ergonomic position within reach of him.
The shipping container to be filled with the individual articles at the shipping station can likewise be supplied to the packer via the conveyor belt used for the articles or can be provided separately.
In the present case, "packing unit" is understood to mean a smallest unit of a shipment which is capable of being shipped as is on a shipping unit.
In the present case, "article" is understood to mean goods which are present in an unpacked and loose state having completely different, non-uniform shapes and sizes and are not capable of being shipped alone (cf. Gudehus, Timm, Logistik, Springer 1999, chapter 12, pages 325 ff.). It is understood that the word "article" is also used for bundled articles which are likewise not capable of being shipped alone e.g., owing to their sensitive properties. In particular, the small, expensive or sensitive articles are suitable for the method in accordance with the invention since otherwise these would always have to be processed and handled separately.
Therefore, the method in accordance with the invention is suitable in particular for central distribution warehouses of retail businesses, from where the businesses are supplied with goods which they require for refreshing or restocking or supplementing their range. It is frequently the case that, in addition to goods which are simple to pack or ship, small parts are required, namely the articles mentioned above which, individually, are not capable of being shipped such that they could be packed for shipment onto the corresponding shipping units, such as a pallet or roller car.
It is understood that within the scope of the invention, it is also possible to supply shipping containers - previously filled by a picker - to the shipping station as is typical.
4 Further details of the invention will be apparent from the following description of an exemplified embodiment with the aid of the drawing, in which Figure 1 schematically illustrates a flow diagram of the sequence of a combined picking and shipping method in accordance with the goods-to-man principle in a distribution warehouse of retail businesses which is referenced as a whole with the numeral 1 and Figure 2 schematically illustrates an exemplary shipping unit.
The distribution warehouse 1 of retail businesses is supplied with articles A
via an inlet 2. After processing orders for supplying retail businesses, shipping units VE
leave the distribution warehouse 1 via an outlet 3.
When processing supply orders, the requested number of articles A of the most varied type are gathered for the respective order and packed onto a (or several) correspond-ing shipping unit VE.
For this purpose, the articles A are initially stored intermediately in a storage area 4, entering via the inlet 2. The articles A can be repacked into product containers depending upon the type of delivery e.g., on pallets or in cartons or can also be stored in the cartons. Likewise, it is possible to not depalletise the articles but to store them on the pallets. The most varied types of storage are feasible and are known in principle.
For completing an order, the different articles are, as is already known, now successively guided in sufficient amounts e.g., in picking stations 5 storing product containers where the picker places the articles A of an order into corresponding shipping containers VB.
The still partly filled product containers are returned to the storage area 4 and the completely filled shipping containers VB are either stored intermediately in the storage area 4 or are further conveyed to shipping stations 6.
In the shipping stations 6, packers pack the shipping containers VB -previously filled by the picker - and manually pack packing units VP - directly supplied to the shipping station 6 from the storage area 4 - on a corresponding shipping unit VE.

The packing units VP directly supplied to the shipping station 6 from the storage area 4 are thus designed such that they can be packed and safely transported on the shipping unit VE without any additional repacking etc.
5 They do not need to make the detour via the picking station. It is understood that if an order contains no articles A which do not have to be picked, or the article range is appropriate, the picking step can be bypassed and the packing units VP are directly supplied to the shipping station 6.
However, a mixed operation is often required since modern retail businesses sell a thoroughly diverse product range and correspondingly have to be supplied with such a range.
In accordance with the invention, the packer is also supplied with minimum amounts of individual articles A supplied to the shipping station 6. He can then gather these into a shipping container VBX provided at the shipping station 6.
lf, for example, a small rural retail business requests four toothbrushes, then possibly it may not be worthwhile to pick these individually and the toothbrushes are supplied to the packer at the shipping station 6. At that location, he packs the toothbrushes together with expensive articles A such as razor blades or high-value creams into the shipping container VBX which is additionally provided for this purpose.
The shipping container VBX for the individual articles can already be provided on the shipping unit VE during filling or it can be packed onto the shipping unit after filling, i.e., it is arranged adjacent to it during filling.

Claims (3)

Claims The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:
1. Combined picking and shipping method in accordance with the goods-to-man principle, in which shipping containers (VB) previously filled by an order-picker are supplied to a shipping station and packed onto a shipping unit (VE), and packing units (VP) are supplied to the shipping station and a packer at the shipping station manually packs packing units (VP) which are directly supplied to the shipping station onto the shipping unit (VE), characterised in that the packer collects individual articles (A) fed to the shipping station and packs them into a particular one unfilled shipping container (VBX) which is made available at the shipping station and packed onto the shipping unit (VE).
2. Method according to claim 1, characterised in that, when being filled, the particular one unfilled shipping container (VBX) for the individual articles (A) is already packed onto the shipping unit (VE).
3. Method according to claim 1, characterised in that the particular one unfilled shipping container (VBX) for the individual articles (A) is packed onto the shipping unit (VE) after being filled.
CA2818191A 2010-11-29 2011-11-17 Picking and shipping method Active CA2818191C (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
DE102010060864A DE102010060864A1 (en) 2010-11-29 2010-11-29 Picking and transit procedures
DE102010060864.5 2010-11-29
PCT/EP2011/070386 WO2012072423A1 (en) 2010-11-29 2011-11-17 Picking and shipping method

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
CA2818191A1 CA2818191A1 (en) 2012-06-07
CA2818191C true CA2818191C (en) 2019-06-18

Family

ID=44992921

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
CA2818191A Active CA2818191C (en) 2010-11-29 2011-11-17 Picking and shipping method

Country Status (10)

Country Link
US (1) US20130239524A1 (en)
EP (1) EP2504257B1 (en)
CN (1) CN103269959B (en)
AU (1) AU2011335223B2 (en)
CA (1) CA2818191C (en)
DE (1) DE102010060864A1 (en)
ES (1) ES2439845T3 (en)
NZ (1) NZ610445A (en)
SG (2) SG190221A1 (en)
WO (1) WO2012072423A1 (en)

Families Citing this family (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE102013015456A1 (en) * 2013-09-13 2015-03-19 SSI Schäfer Noell GmbH Lager- und Systemtechnik System and method for joint picking of fragile and unbreakable articles
US10163068B2 (en) * 2016-11-22 2018-12-25 Express Scripts Strategic Development, Inc. Manual station systems and methods
CN110949923B (en) * 2019-12-04 2022-08-12 北京极智嘉科技股份有限公司 Inventory support group, inventory system, robot control method and robot

Family Cites Families (9)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE4015935C2 (en) * 1990-05-17 1997-07-24 Ferdinand Christ Order picking device for articles
US6208908B1 (en) * 1999-04-27 2001-03-27 Si Handling Systems, Inc. Integrated order selection and distribution system
DE10019632A1 (en) * 2000-04-19 2001-10-31 Krups Kompaktlogistik Gmbh System for transporting articles on roller pallets comprises feed stations which transfer them to buffer sections with unloaders at ends feeding pallets to transfer section from which they are selected to form customized combinations
US6924451B2 (en) * 2002-10-08 2005-08-02 Lockheed Martin Corporation Method for sequentially ordering objects using a single pass delivery point process
CN100460295C (en) * 2003-03-31 2009-02-11 株式会社戴福库 Article classifying device
DE102006025620A1 (en) * 2006-05-24 2007-11-29 SSI Schäfer Noell GmbH Lager- und Systemtechnik Shelf warehouse and order picking
DE102006025617B4 (en) * 2006-05-24 2009-10-01 SSI Schäfer Noell GmbH Lager- und Systemtechnik Workplace and method of packing
DE102006025618A1 (en) * 2006-05-24 2007-11-29 SSI Schäfer Noell GmbH Lager- und Systemtechnik Method for operating a picking system
AT507166B1 (en) * 2008-08-12 2010-11-15 Moosburger Logistics Network & CONVEYING TECHNOLOGY SUPPORTED PICKING OF GOODS

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
EP2504257B1 (en) 2013-10-02
AU2011335223A1 (en) 2013-06-13
AU2011335223B2 (en) 2016-08-04
ES2439845T3 (en) 2014-01-27
SG10201509740PA (en) 2015-12-30
CA2818191A1 (en) 2012-06-07
SG190221A1 (en) 2013-06-28
EP2504257A1 (en) 2012-10-03
CN103269959A (en) 2013-08-28
WO2012072423A1 (en) 2012-06-07
CN103269959B (en) 2015-04-15
NZ610445A (en) 2016-01-29
US20130239524A1 (en) 2013-09-19
DE102010060864A1 (en) 2012-05-31

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
AU2017361114B2 (en) A system for, and a method of, order palletising
US10252861B2 (en) Picking system and picking site for picking articles for order and batch picking
CA2641394C (en) Automated system and method of automatically order-picking or consolidating articles
JP7001354B2 (en) Automatic logistics system
US9254930B2 (en) Method of storing and picking
KR20170052575A (en) Supply method for palettizing devices in distribution centers
KR101391998B1 (en) The material supplying method
JPH06263203A (en) Automatic dealing device of article
ES2938627T3 (en) Group-based system and method for e-commerce order fulfillment
KR20160072246A (en) Method of order fulfilling by making storage units available from a storage facility in a desired sequence at a pack station
CN113966304A (en) Device and method for preparing pallets with beverage packages
AU2017353094A2 (en) Flexible and compact order-picking system
KR102582984B1 (en) Article transport facility
CA2818191C (en) Picking and shipping method
JPH06286823A (en) Picking system
KR20100053362A (en) Method and apparatus for examining picked goods for multi-article delivery
KR20090044459A (en) Apparatus for packing unit article
US11866224B2 (en) Systems and methods for providing shipping of orders in an order fulfillment center
US11530094B2 (en) Method for removing goods from a storage device in order to fulfill an order
JP4055846B2 (en) Processing equipment
JPH09118312A (en) Automatic sorting/baling method for commodity
ES2392160T3 (en) Device and procedure for the preparation of orders ("picking"), partially or fully automatic packages
JP2023168791A (en) automatic warehouse system
WO2023059794A2 (en) Systems and methods for facilitating the preparation of shipping assemblies for objects
JP2022107887A (en) Partition conveyance device and article to be conveyed partition system

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
EEER Examination request

Effective date: 20161116