“Time is money,” as the old saying goes. With customers
ordering smaller quantities of items, and a greater variety of items, than ever
before, more than 50 percent of your warehouse’s operational costs, if you are
like the average warehouse, is spent on picking orders. All that time spent
picking orders is money draining out of your pocket.

You can avoid the money drain and improve efficiency in your
warehouse by using an order picker. The faster you pick orders, the more orders
you can fill in a day, and the more efficient your pickers’ work becomes. Simply,
you’ll be able to improve your profit margins and your warehouse’s efficiency while
also getting products to your customers in a timely manner.

The right order picker can make a measurable difference in
your warehouse efficiency. Here is how.

An order picker allows
pickers to access various heights quickly.

Imagine if a picker had to access a light switch that was 15
feet off the ground and then reach a faceplate for the switch at a height of 25
feet off the ground. Now imagine if that employee had to repeat that process
for 100 orders.

All that bending and reaching and moving of ladders would
significantly slow your employee’s ability to fill orders. An order picker,
however, can improve the speed with which orders are filled by allowing pickers
to access various levels quickly. For example, the same order picker can allow
a picker to reach both that item at 15 feet and that item at 25 feet in a
matter of moments. The saved time and energy can then be devoted to filling
additional orders and keeping your employees energetic and motivated throughout
the day. 

An order picker enables
the more efficient use of space in the warehouse.

Often, warehouses face space challenges. Fitting inventory
into the warehouse while simultaneously making it easy to access requires
organizational creativity. The last thing warehouse managers need is to have to
leave additional space for bulky machinery, like traditional forklifts, to move
through.

An order picker can contribute to the efficient use of space
in the warehouse by requiring less space for pickers to do their jobs. For
example, some of the narrowest order pickers only require an aisle width of 54
inches. With narrow aisles comes more space that can be devoted to the
organization of inventory.

As a result, warehouse managers can implement greater
organization, accept more inventory, and fill more orders with the same amount
of warehouse space, as long as they have the right order picker to help.

An order picker can
automate the guidance process to allow pickers to focus on finding the order.

One of the secrets to efficient order picking is a focused
picker. This employee can work faster and more accurately when their only job
is to think about the orders they need to fill. Adding other responsibilities,
such as driving the order picker or locating the right area in the warehouse,
can detract from their ability to efficiently locate the orders.

An automated order picker, then, can improve warehouse
efficiency by removing a potential distraction for your pickers. Using a rail
or wire guidance system, this type of order picker does not require the picker
to drive it. As a result, the picker can concentrate on finding the orders
quickly and accurately.

An order picker eliminates
the need to load and unload pallets.

Saving time is the backbone of warehouse efficiency. When your
pickers need to load and unload pallets in order to find their orders, they’re spending
time that could be spent filling more orders over the course of the day.

An order picker can help to eliminate this problem by
eliminating the need to handle pallets. Instead, the order picker allows your
pickers to quickly access the right items while they are on the warehouse
shelves, no matter how high they are. With this convenience comes saved time
and, as a result, greater efficiency and speed in filling orders over the
course of the day, week, month, and year.

An order picker improves
the speed at which orders can be located.

All of these advantages of an order picker contribute to the
overall speed with which pickers locate and fill orders. When they do not have
to bend and climb to reach orders, can focus on picking instead of driving, do
not have to load and unload pallets, and so forth, they can more quickly find
and fill orders. The chances that these orders will be filled accurately also
increases with an order picker. As the speed and accuracy of order filling
improves, so does your warehouse efficiency.

Order pickers can contribute to overall warehouse efficiency.
They can also be used with most organizational models to match what is working
best for your warehouse. All you need is to find the order picker that has the
height and weight capacity, as well as the size you need for your particular
warehouse needs.

Here at Darr, we can help you find and purchase the right order picker for your
needs. Our qualified technicians can keep it in good running order, and our comprehensive maintenance plans can maximize
its life and function. Do not hesitate to reach out today to improve your
warehouse efficiency with a high quality order picker for your business.