Sortation Systems

Sortation systems increase the efficiency of processes, and the productivity of operators, in a number of key ways. Depending on the needs of the operation, systems can be designed and installed that work faster, more accurately, and at a lower overall cost, than human operators could.

High-speed, fully automated systems can be hard to justify in lower throughput facilities. In these cases, targeted automation can be used to supplement the workforce in key areas. By using automation, for just one example, to sort and divert goods to the proper picking zones, a facility can minimize the number of touches each item sees, shortening cycle time and reducing the chance for error.

Because sortation systems are part of the facility’s network and controlled by the WMS, routing and timing issues are automatically controlled. This reduces bottlenecks, increases the efficiency of the entire system, and lowers operating costs. By creating more efficient processes and eliminating frustrating pain points, morale is also often increased.

For example, when operators have to sort or pick large quantities of small items, as they often do for ecommerce fulfillment, balancing the load between different operators, and even for the same operator over a shift, is challenging. Different operators work at different rates, and also get both physically and mentally fatigued over the course of a single shift. By introducing automation at your facility’s pinch points, you can dramatically increase throughput and lower error rates.

The installation of a traditional sortation system can affect every aspect of a business. Often, entire sections of a warehouse might be shut down and cleared out for the installation of all the conveyors, diverters, and sorters needed for these systems to function. This makes integrating these systems harder to justify — they are a sizable investment that impact the business while they are being installed.

Instead, innovative sortation systems with modular, expandable, mobile designs can be integrated with minimal impact on a facility’s ongoing processes. The organization can gain all the advantages of automated sortation — including load balancing and increased accuracies and efficiencies — integration is easier to justify. They can be installed where they make the most impact on a business, while minimizing their effect on ongoing operations. And as demand increases, these systems can be easily scaled up by simply adding more modules.

Automated sortation can improve retail store replenishment in a number of key ways. While ecommerce has seen undeniable growth, the majority of consumer goods are still bought in-store. And as traditional department stores adapt to ecommerce, their physical locations have also become a key hub for fulfilling online orders.

Sortation systems can help retail store distribution by automating many tasks that were once done manually, lessening the need for physical labor and increasing throughput and accuracy. Among other benefits, sortation systems can be integral parts of picking and packing processes, can improve the palletization process and space utilization in a warehouse, and decrease shipping costs by maximizing the use of cubic space in containers.

Direct-to-customer operations have complexities that make efficient sorting key to success, and efficient sortation can improve nearly every aspect of their operations. In receiving, automated sortation can improve returns processing and put away. In picking, automated sorters can route cartons or eaches to the proper zones, and help consolidate items that can be packed in the same box.

As packages move toward shipping, a sortation system can separate them by size or carrier method. The speeds and accuracies that automated sortation brings to order fulfillment can help businesses meet their customers’ expectation for fast, inexpensive delivery.

Automated sortation improves order fulfillment in business-to-business in some important ways. Business-to-business order fulfillment often involves palletizing and shipping truckloads of heavy boxes or bulk goods, and automation excels at performing repetitive tasks and handling large and heavy loads.

Where an operator will fatigue after handling heavy buckets, boxes, or bags, automated sortation and palletizing will function at 100% efficiency 24 hours a day. Sortation can not only lower the incidents of strain-related injuries, but it can also lower the cost of shipping by maximizing the space utilization of containers.

In manufacturing, automated sortation can be used in receiving to divert parts for storage or staging, or take them directly to the assembly line. Goods moved to storage or staging can later be automatically called as-needed by the WMS. An automated storage and retrieval system can bring goods out of storage and release them to the appropriate zone — either to a goods-to-person picking station or to a staging area for planning.

Entire pallets, single cartons, or individual pieces can be taken from storage and brought to an operator on the line.