Easy does it. This is also valid in materials handling. Besides that, large efficiency improvements are easily achieved in logistic processes. Let’s have a look at the barcode scanner, for example. It was not long ago when orderpickers walked or drove around the warehouse with a paper picklist in their hands, but today we cannot imagine working without it.
Advantages galore
Obviously, because the use of scanners offers plenty of benefits. The biggest gain is an increase of productivity and a reduction in the number of picking errors. But there is more to come.
Scanning makes it possible to combine various orders in a clever way. When a forklift driver has put the pallet away, the company knows (through the Warehouse Management System) immediately where the driver is at that moment. The next assignment can be given depending on the following driving distance and in this way we can reduce the wasteful driving around without a load.
In addition, the equipment makes it possible to capture additional data in a quick and easy way. Information like serial numbers, batch numbers, and expiration data. Information is processed in real time and allows fast and error-free administrative follow-up. Thanks to this real time information, inventory differences will become a thing of the past. Just like the annual labour-intensive inventory counts. And, last but not least, the availability of real-time information makes it possible to measure productivity and processes and to adapt them if necessary.
Points of attention
In order to take advantage of these benefits, we must meet a number of conditions. Investments have to be done in equipment, in a RF network and possibly (adjusting) a WMS. Given the many benefits, those sacrifices will yield a quick return on investment.
Equally important is to consider how to use the scanners on the trucks. After all, they are intended to simplify the work. If your scanner does not have enough range, an insufficient 'hit rate' (and barcodes must be scanned over and over again), or if the device constantly gets in the way of the driver, then the deployment becomes counterproductive.
A scanner is often attached to the forklift by means of a retractable device called 'take-up reel'. A rugged cordless scanner is the most suitable solution. Make sure that when you assemble the take-up reel and the mobile terminal onto the truck, that it never conflicts with the view of the driver.
