Industrial Trucks

Lighting fixtures

Quick order turnaround time is important at this facility, which ships lighting fixtures to E-Commerce customers.To maximize picking throughput and storage efficiency, stock items are located by activity level and unit picked (pallet, case) in this DC for lighting fixtures. Fast-moving SKUs that ship in full pallet quantities travel directly to a block stacking area adjacent to the receiving dock, where product is staged 3 pallets high. Fast-moving SKUs that ship in full case quantities are staged in 4- level-high pallet rack. Items are all picked to order. Picking takes place at the floor-level pallet position, using a combination of counterbalanced lift trucks and double-length pallet jacks. Replenishment stock is stored in the pallet positions overhead. Slow-to-medium movers are staged and picked in narrow aisle (6 ft wide) pallet rack, 7 levels high, using orderpicker trucks. Completed orders are staged at the dock, which is serviced by pallet jacks.

• Locating block stacking areas adjacent to receiving and shipping streamlines handling of SKUs that ship in full pallet loads (about 20% of volume)

• To minimize congestion, picking lanes for the fastest-moving SKUs are spread over a large area

• Combining active picking and reserve storage in 4-level-high pal-let racks is an efficient strategy when the number of SKUs is rela-tively low, as is the case here

• Use of narrow-aisle (6 ft) pallet racks and orderpicker trucks reduces floor space requirements, takes advantage of overhead space, and leaves room for expansion

• Orderpicker trucks feature many operator comforts, including fin-gertip control levers, electronic power steering control knob, and an operator-adjustable ergonomic control pod

• Truck-mounted RF terminals facilitate directed put-away, picking, and replenishment for higher picking productivity

• Use of double-length pallet jacks boosts picking productivity, as workers need visit a picking location only once to fill two orders simultaneously

• Highly maneuverable powered pallet trucks make for efficient truck loading/unloading operations

The right mix of picking systems and industrial trucks supports a high-volume DC with a relatively few number of SKUs

NORTH AMERICA - PROFILE