Supply Chain AI Series, Part 2 of 5: Optimize Distribution Center Picking through Supply Chain AI

In today’s fast-paced distribution center (DC) environment, efficient picking processes are crucial for ensuring smooth operations, reducing labor costs, maximizing capacity, and meeting customer expectations.

At AMEND, we understand the challenges faced by organizations like yours and offer comprehensive solutions to optimize distribution center picking utilizing our proven people, process, and systems method.  These three components combined help lay the foundation for meaningful change and improvement. By leveraging advanced techniques in pick path optimization, optimal pick assignment, trip scheduling, and implementing monitoring dashboards, we help businesses achieve significant benefits, including lower labor costs, increased DC capacity, expedited deliveries, and real-time visibility into operations.

 

Optimizing Distribution Center Pick Paths:

Efficient pick paths play a pivotal role in streamlining the picking process within a DC. By utilizing advanced analytics and algorithms, we analyze the layout of your DC, product locations, and order profiles to optimize pick paths. This optimization minimizes travel time, reduces congestion, and maximizes productivity. With optimized pick paths, your pickers can navigate the DC seamlessly, resulting in reduced labor costs and increased picking efficiency.

Assigning Distribution Center Picks Optimally:

Optimal pick assignment is essential for achieving maximum productivity and accuracy. Our AI-driven approach ensures that the right picks are assigned to the right pickers based on factors such as location proximity, picker skills, and order priorities. By intelligently assigning picks, we minimize unnecessary travel and optimize picker utilization, leading to improved productivity, reduced labor costs, and increased order accuracy.

Scheduling Pick Trips:

Efficient trip scheduling is crucial for ensuring timely order fulfillment and minimizing delays. Our advanced scheduling algorithms consider factors such as order priorities, picker availability, and DC layout to create optimized pick trips. By sequencing picks in the most efficient order, we minimize travel distance and time between picks, enabling your team to complete more trips in less time. This results in expedited deliveries, improved customer satisfaction, and enhanced overall operational efficiency.

 

Monitoring Progress with Dashboards:

To provide real-time visibility into your distribution center operations and picking progress, we develop customized dashboards that display key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics. These dashboards allow you to monitor critical aspects such as picker productivity, order fulfillment rates, picking accuracy, and overall operational efficiency. With this real-time information at your fingertips, you can proactively identify bottlenecks, address issues, and make data-driven decisions to optimize your DC operations continuously.

 

Change Management and Implementation Support:

Change management is at the backbone of every AMEND implementation and project, and optimizing your distribution center picking process is no different. AMEND’s experienced team of leaders understand the ins and outs of change management to ensure that the team is ready for change, bought into the changes proposed, and able to deliver on the optimization of your organization. We understand that change is hard and we focus on working alongside your team to break down the barrier to ensure that sustainable change is made with you. Through our change management practice, we provide comprehensive implementation support to ensure a smooth transition and sustain our optimization initiatives.

 

 

Partner with AMEND for Optimized Distribution Center Picking:

At AMEND, we have a deep understanding of the challenges faced by distribution centers and the critical role that optimized picking plays in their success. Our expertise in applied AI, supply chain, advanced algorithms, industry best practices, and dashboard development allows us to deliver tailored solutions that address your specific needs. By partnering with AMEND, you gain access to our proven methodologies, experience, and commitment to driving measurable results.

 

Contact Us:

If you’re interested in optimizing your distribution center picking processes to lower labor costs, increase capacity, expedite deliveries, and gain real-time visibility into operations, reach out to us today. Our team of experts is ready to collaborate with you, leverage advanced AI tools, implement effective solutions, and develop custom dashboards that will unlock the full potential of your DC’s picking operations. Together, we can drive operational excellence, enhance your competitive advantage, and achieve sustained success.