To overcome labor shortages and reduce costs yet increase accuracy, productivity and service levels managers should follow these parameters to make the decision on which type of picking system and equipment should be used:
- The return on investment and payback periods for major capital investments will decide if automation should be taken or not.
- Ergonomic and green issues over energy usage and environmental friendly equipment is another area of importance
- Any relocation of the business, changes in product profile or distribution channel (ie the long term strategy) reflects that any investment in hard automation needs to be carefully considered.
By comparing picking solutions the simulation software is able to determine performance indicators such as operator pick rates and overall order throughput which are indicators of the most cost-effective method.