Pick-by-Light and Put-to-Light systems in practice: Optimizing the picking process. (Part 3/4)

Before we show you the customer solutions, a few words about the sectors and their use in general.

KBS solutions have a modular design and can therefore be integrated into any operating environment. The hardware is usually small and therefore largely independent of the warehouse layout.

Where are the systems used? Mostly where precision and efficiency are absolutely crucial, such as in the pharmaceutical industry. In industries with very low error tolerance, picking processes are hardly conceivable without additional safeguarding.

Whether you work in the pharmaceutical industry, where precision is paramount, or you are simply looking for a lean and fast process, the systems offer you the accuracy you desire.

Examples of implemented projects:‍

1. Pick-by-light system with up to 1,500 shelf displays.
2. Put-to-Light system on the picking trolley. You can find a practical example below.
3. Pick-by-light system in the refrigerated area down to -28° at a pharmaceutical manufacturer.
4. Pick-by-light and put-to-light system on a tugger train. This is exactly what we are now presenting to you.

Tugger train with lights for production supply
Imagine trolleys with illuminated displays traversing your production facility and always supplying the employees at the machines with the right raw materials and semi-finished goods. How exactly does this work? It starts with the user forming a tugger train with one or more trailers. When the tugger train arrives at the tugger train station (picking station), the automatic shuttle warehouse is activated. This stores the required raw and semi-finished goods that are needed based on the production program and the Kanban-controlled consumption reports.

As soon as a tugger train arrives at the station, all the eye-catching lights on the trolley come on. The employee removes the containers from the end points of the conveyor system at the shuttle warehouse and places them in a free space - put-to-light - on a trolley. By pressing the button next to the eye-catching light on the display, the bin is booked into the corresponding slot and the light goes out. This process is repeated until the tugger train is fully loaded or it is time to depart according to the timetable. Our warehouse management software will tell you when this is, as it takes over the planning and control of the tugger trains.

The pick-by-light system is then used during the journey along the various stops in production. At each stop, the eye-catching lights are activated for the containers that are needed at that station. Each stop includes several production machines with storage locations for various raw and semi-finished goods. The display shows the exact location for each container. The driver removes the containers, places them in the indicated positions and confirms the placement by pressing the button next to the eye-catching light. The tugger train then returns to the station.

With this mobile version of a combined pick-by-light and put-to-light system, you not only optimize the picking process, but also ensure smooth supply to your production lines.

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Dream team: put-to-light system plus mobile data capture device (MDC)
A successful example of this combination can be found at Nördlinger Verlagsauslieferung GmbH & Co. KG, a company in the media and book industry. There, the Put-to-Light system was integrated on a mobile order picking trolley and connected to an MDE device. By successfully integrating this combination into the picking process, Nördlinger has achieved remarkable optimization.

The employees pick in a spacious warehouse with many shelves. Using the MDE device, they receive clear instructions on which aisle the item is to be found in. Once they have scanned the barcode of the shelf compartment, the process is complete. This enables precise route planning through the warehouse, which saves time. The sequence is determined by the warehouse management software with an intelligent warehouse strategy.

As soon as the employees have picked all the items for the orders, they go to the mobile picking trolley, equipped with a put-to-light system and 24 compartments. They scan the item's barcode, the corresponding compartment lights up and they immediately know where the item belongs. Once they have placed the item in the compartment and pressed the confirmation button, the process is complete. This process enables items to be assigned to orders quickly and without errors. They then drive the trolley to the dispatch station.

Supplementary: As the mobile picking trolley is too large and too high for the narrow aisles, picking is first carried out on a small trolley.

You can read about the challenges Nördlinger faced and which processes they optimized in this specialist article.

Another customer that relies on a pick-by-light system is the Finnish technology company ETRA Oy (wholesaler and retailer). To the success story of ETRA.

Individual adaptations show that the possibilities for optimizing your warehouse processes are virtually unlimited. By combining innovative technologies and a customized software solution, you can set the course for efficient and error-free warehouse management.

Do you have any questions about these practical examples? We will be happy to answer them. Just give us a call.

Did you miss the other parts of our guide series? You can find them all here:

Pick-by-light/put-to-light system: Faster and error-free order picking despite hectic day-to-day warehouse operations (Part 1/4).

Perfect teamwork: pick-by-light systems and SuPCIS-L8 warehouse management software (Part 2/4)

From headsets to data glasses: Are pick-by-voice and pick-by-vision useful for the warehouse? (Part 4 /4)

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Thanks to KBS Industrieelektronik GmbH for providing the images.