Order picking procedure at a picking station according to the goods-to-man principle

Abstract

A method for order picking at a picking station according to the goods-to-man principle, in which products are taken from source containers to process orders and placed in order containers according to the orders, wherein source containers are delivered to the picking station in a first sequence for processing a first order and source containers in a second sequence for processing a second order, wherein the last source container of the first sequence is simultaneously the first source container of the second sequence.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a method for order picking at a picking station according to the goods-to-person principle, in which products are removed from source containers for processing orders and are placed in order containers based on the orders, wherein source containers are delivered to the picking station in a first sequence for processing a first order and source containers in a second sequence for processing a second order, according to claim 1.

[0002] EP 3 107 843 A1 describes a method for picking articles according to the goods-to-person principle at a picking station, in which articles are picked into order load carriers. The order load carriers are conveyed in a row through the picking station, with the respective put location of the load carrier changing within the row. The put location of the order load carrier changes when a previously preceding order load carrier within the row has been completed and removed, and the subsequent order load carriers move up, so that the order load carriers are conveyed in a continuous row through the put locations of the picking station.

[0003] In contrast, the object of the present invention is to provide an improved method for order picking which requires fewer container movements, so that on the one hand it improves the throughput and on the other hand it saves energy.

[0004] This object is achieved by the method recited in claim 1. Advantageous embodiments emerge from the subclaims and the description.

[0005] According to the invention, it has been recognized that if the last source container of the first sequence is simultaneously the first source container of the second sequence, it is possible to reduce the number of container movements since at least one less source container now has to be provided in order to serve two consecutive orders from this one source container.

[0006] This means that stricter sequencing requirements are imposed on the source containers. These can no longer be delivered in any order. Whenever there is a potential overlap between products from one order and the next order, this specific source container containing this product must arrive as the last container in the current sequence bubble.

[0007] For the next order, this source container can then be removed from the list of source containers to be delivered, since the corresponding order line or product is picked from the last source container of the previous order.

[0008] Individual order line orders or orders with only a single product can further reduce the required outbound traffic. These can be processed without additional container movements.

[0009] Preferably, the source containers of the first sequence for processing the first order and the source containers of the second sequence for processing the second order are delivered sequentially to the picking station.

[0010] In a preferred embodiment, the picking station is designed to process only one order container at a time through 1:1 processing from a single source container. This is a 1:1 picking station, where products can only be removed from one source container and placed in a single order container. The 1:1 picking station therefore has exactly one container staging area for source containers and one container staging area for order containers.

[0011] It is also conceivable to use it in 1:N picking stations, i.e., picking stations with exactly one container staging station for source containers and multiple container staging stations for order containers, where the effect can be multiplied, since each order container or destination now processes its own order chain or source container sequence. Here, too, mixed source containers can be used for the simultaneous staging of products for two orders.

[0012] It is important that the initial sequence with respect to the last source container is strictly adhered to upon delivery to the picking station. This can be achieved through sequential retrieval from the intermediate storage facility. This can be a shuttle warehouse, which, due to its design, is capable of providing containers in a sequenced manner without additional technical equipment. Such a warehouse can be set up and operated analogously to EP 1 964 792 B1.

[0013] Alternatively, sequence towers, overrun conveyor technology, etc. can be used for sequencing.

[0014] It would also be conceivable to provide a waiting area in the infeed of the picking station, where the last source container of the first sequence can wait until it is used if it is delivered too early.

[0015] The source containers can be filled with single types of waste.

[0016] Alternatively, the source containers are filled mixed and the last source container of the first sequence contains both the product of the first order and the different product of the second order.

[0017] It is preferred if the second order is selected so that it has a product in common with the first order.

[0018] The second order will therefore be assigned to the same picking station if it has a product in common with the first order, which is assigned to the same picking station.

[0019] If an order includes at least one product, it is a so-called individual order (see above).

[0020] If an order comprises at least two, preferably 3, particularly preferably more than 4 different products, the method according to the invention can particularly effectively exploit its advantages. This is particularly the case when the source containers are provided from a warehouse with a product range of fewer than 3,500 different products, and an order comprises fewer than 10 different products, preferably fewer than 2,500 different products, and an order comprises fewer than 8 different products, particularly preferably fewer than 1,500 different products, and an order comprises fewer than 6 different products.

[0021] In this case, the product is understood to be the smallest sales unit (SKU; Stock Keeping Unit).

[0022] The advantages can be illustrated by the following example: Inventory of 3500 available different products with an order size of 5 order lines (i.e. 5 different products) per order and a preview window of 50 orders.

[0023] To assess the likelihood of continuing orders in this order and to assess the efficiency of the approach, the following questions must be answered: If an order with 5 different products is randomly selected from the given 3500, what is the probability that at least one of these 5 products matches one of 50 randomly selected orders within the preview window and by what percentage can the resulting container movement be reduced? Example calculation: • Probability of selecting a specific product from the 3500 total products: P(draw)=1 / 3500 • 50 orders equals 50 ∗ 5 = 250 order items • Probability of not finding this exact product in the next 50 orders: P(draw not)=(1−1 / 3500)∧250 • Probability if this consideration is carried out for all 5 products (order items): P(draw total)=P(draw not)∧5=1−((1−1 / 3500)∧250)∧5)=0.3004 • In this example, the probability is about 30% • This means that in 30% of orders the container flow can be reduced by one container.

[0024] This results in 5−(0.3∗1)=4.7 • This means that on average only 4.7 containers are moved instead of 5, which represents a reduction of 6.4%.

[0025] The matrix shows the resulting expected reduction in container flow depending on the - Total number of products and - Order items per order in a preview window of 50 orders. 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1000 10.00% 13.70% 16.00% 16.70% 16.20% 15.00% 13.60% 12.30% 11.00% 1500 6.70% 9.50% 11.50% 12.80% 13.20% 13.00% 12.40% 11.60% 10.70% 2000 5.00% 7.20% 9.00% 10.20% 11.00% 11.20% 11.10% 10.70% 10.10% 2500 4.00% 5.80% 7.40% 8.50% 9.40% 9.80% 9.90% 9.80% 9.50% 3000 3.30% 4.90% 6.20% 7.30% 8.10% 8.70% 8.90% 9.00% 8.80% 3500 2.90% 4.20% 5.40% 6.40% 7.20% 7.70% 8.10% 8.20% 8.20% 4000 2.50% 3.70% 4.70% 5.70% 6.40% 7.00% 7.40% 7.60% 7.70% 4500 2.20% 3.30% 4.20% 5.10% 5.80% 6.40% 6.80% 7.10% 7.20% 5000 2.00% 3.00% 3.80% 4.60% 5.30% 5.90% 6.30% 6.60% 6.70% 5500 1.80% 2.70% 3.50% 4.20% 4.90% 5.40% 5.80% 6.10% 6.40%

[0026] It can be seen that systems with a low total number of products and possibly a medium number of products per order benefit most from the invention. Nevertheless, a significant reduction in container flow is achieved for most configurations.

[0027] Further details of the invention emerge from the following description of embodiments with reference to the drawing, in which the only Fig. 1 shows a schematic view of a warehouse.

[0028] The warehouse as a whole is designated 1 and has a buffer warehouse 2, a higher-level control system 3 and a picking area 4, which is supplied with containers B from the buffer warehouse 2 via a conveyor system 5.

[0029] The buffer warehouse 2 is in this case a so-called shuttle warehouse, which is able to retrieve and supply the containers as source containers 8 via the conveyor system 5 under the specification of the controller 3 in a sequenced manner to a picking station 6 or its feed conveyor 7 in the picking area 4.

[0030] From the picking station 6, fulfilled order containers 9 can be transported away via a conveyor system 10, e.g., to a shipping area.

[0031] At the picking station 6, a manual picker 11 removes an article or product 14 from a source container 8 in a picking step 12 and places it in the waiting order container 9. For this purpose, the source container 8 is presented to the picker 11 in a staging area 13.

[0032] For reasons of clarity, neither a feed for the order containers 9 nor a discharge for source containers 8 are shown.

[0033] The different source containers 8 are filled with the same type of material, but are hatched differently in the figure to indicate their affiliation to different orders A.

[0034] The source containers 8 are delivered sequentially according to the order, so that the order picker 11 can remove the products and place them in the respective order container 9 provided until this container changes after the respective order A has been processed and a new order container 9 is provided for the next order A+1. The used source container 8 is also removed to make room for the next source container 8.

[0035] It can be seen that the source containers 8 of the first sequence for order A1 are delivered first in order to provide products for order A1.

[0036] The last source container 8 of order A1, when it is ready for processing, can provide the last required product for order A1 and then, as the first source container 8 of the second sequence, also provide the required product for the subsequent order A2. It is therefore used twice and only then removed. Subsequently, the source containers 8 of order A2 are processed, and the last source container 8 again has the dual function of being usable for both order A2 and the subsequent order A3.

[0037] The last source container 8 of order A3 contains both a product for the last picking step 12 of order A3, as well as a product for a follow-up order A4, which consists of only one product, and a product for the next but one order A5.

[0038] After the last source container 8 of order A5 has been used jointly for the following order A6 and the further source container 8 of order A6 has been processed, order A7 follows, and so on.

[0039] It can be seen that the successive orders share the last or first source container 8.

[0040] The controller 3 thus controls the allocation of orders A and the associated source containers 8 and their sequences from the buffer warehouse 2 in such a way that, as described, they can be processed at the picking station 6 in such a way that a follow-up order Ax+1 is selected in such a way that it has a product in common with the previous order Ax, which can be removed from the same source container 8.

[0041] Therefore, the number of container movements is reduced, since at least one less source container 8 needs to be provided in order to serve two consecutive orders A and A+1 from this one source container. List of reference symbols 1 warehouse; 2 buffer storage areas; 3 Control; 4 picking area; 5 Conveyor technology; 6 picking stations; 7 feed conveyors; 8 source containers; 9 order containers; 10 Conveyor technology; 11 order pickers; 12 picking steps 13 Provisioning area 14 Product B container A order A1 order A2 order A3 order A5 order A6 order A7 order QUOTES CONTAINED IN THE DESCRIPTION

[0000] This list of documents submitted by the applicant was generated automatically and is included solely for the convenience of the reader. This list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA assumes no liability for any errors or omissions. Cited patent literature

[0000] EP 3 107 843 A1

[0002] EP 1 964 792 B1

[0012]

Claims

[1] Method for picking at a picking station according to the goods-to-person principle, in which products are taken from source containers for processing orders and placed in order containers based on the orders, whereby source containers are delivered to the picking station in a first order for processing a first order and source containers in a second order for processing a second order, characterized by that the last source container of the first sequence is also the first source container of the second sequence. [2] Method according to claim 1, characterized by that the picking station is designed to process only one order container at a time through 1:1 processing from a single source container. [3] Method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by that the first order with respect to the last source container is strictly adhered to. [4] Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the source containers are filled with the same type of waste. [5] Method according to one of the preceding claims 1-3, characterized by that the source containers are filled in a mixed manner and the last source container in the first sequence contains both the product of the first order and the different product of the second order. [6] Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the second order is selected so that it has a product in common with the first order. [7] Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the second order is assigned to the same picking station if it has a product in common with the first order assigned to the same picking station. [8] Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized bythat an order includes at least one product. [9] Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that an order comprises at least two, preferably three, particularly preferably more than four different products. [10] Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the source containers are provided from a warehouse that has a product range of less than 3500 SKUs, and an order has fewer than 10 different products, preferably of less than 2500 SKUs, and an order has fewer than 8 different products, particularly preferably of less than 1500 SKUs, and an order has fewer than 6 different products.

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