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Picking accuracy http://www.warehousecoach.com/images/A_simple_method_to_improve_picking_accuracy.pdf In this warehouse, they use a 2”x 3” piece of paper with a similar written message, and replaced the Employee Number with the packing person’s first name and photograph. In this warehouse the picker/packer is no longer an anonymous Number but becomes truly visible to the customer. The manger reported that the quality has increased so much, as measured by customer calls and returns as a percent of orders shipped, over the prior method that used an Employee Number only, that the incremental cost of taking and using the employees digital photo and printing it on the packing slip was trivial. http://www.supplychain247.com/article/5_ways_to_improve_order_picking_productivity/mwpvl_international 1. Mixing multiple SKUs in the same bin location reduces picking productivity. We have done time and motion studies that prove that there is a definite time penalty associated to mixing multiple SKUs into the same bin location.

We see this in many warehouses where a bin location may represent a shelf level that contains 5 - 10 SKU pick facings. The operator is directed to the shelf level and then needs to search through the different SKUs to find the item to be picked.

Not only does this reduce accuracy, it also slows the operator down by as much as 15+ seconds per pick transaction. Having a discrete pick location for every SKU is rule #1.
2. Reducing travel time improves order picking productivity. This is why batch and cluster order picking strategies are used in warehouses. It is also why some companies invest into conveyor systems.

Travel time can easily account for 50% or more of order picking hours. By combining orders into a single travel instance the time spent travelling is greatly reduced. The smaller the order, the better the opportunity to combine multiple orders into a single travel instance.
3. Conventional order picking productivity improves when it