Growing demand for healthcare supplies, including the surge during the pandemic, increased both product ranges and volumes. Conventional warehouse and transport operations faced greater pressure to respond quickly and handle medical materials accurately.
Challenges in the warehouse
- Shelves designed around manual reach and wide aisles leave storage space underused.
- Increasing SKU and order numbers raise labour needs and costs.
- Long walking and transport distances slow picking and delay customer response.
- Large product ranges and strict batch requirements make picking errors and product damage costly.
A coordinated picking solution
The proposed solution combines people and robots: smaller items use tote-to-person picking, larger items use person-to-goods picking, and mixed orders move between the appropriate stages. Robots transport SKUs accurately and reduce repeated handling, while operators handle the picking tasks that need human attention.
Phased delivery and separate handling zones
The project described uses phased implementation so normal warehouse operation can continue. Its first phase addresses current demand, while a second phase plans for the following three years. The article reports annual labour savings exceeding RMB 1 million for the example.
High-volume goods have a dedicated floor-storage area. Other goods use tote-to-person handling, with robots and DPS pick-to-light equipment supporting receiving and dispatch. The reported project figures are a 60% improvement in receiving efficiency, a 120% improvement in dispatch efficiency, a picking error rate below 0.03% and a sixtyfold improvement in order accuracy.
Order planning and flexible capacity
Full-case consolidation, merged orders, put-to-light workstations and assigned stations support different order combinations. Extra robots and workstations can increase capacity during busy periods, helping the operation respond to changes in demand.
Broader applications
The multi-level tote-picking solution described supports racks above 4 m, with stated improvements of more than 30% in transport and picking speed and 30–40% in storage volume. It reports 99.99% picking accuracy, more than 40% improvement in overall warehouse performance, up to eight hours of continuous work per vehicle and 24-hour warehouse operation. The article also cites an overall warehouse-efficiency improvement above 50%. These figures relate to the configurations and comparisons discussed in the article.
The same approach can also support e-commerce warehouses, particularly peak-demand handling, accurate picking and capacity expansion. Layout, operating rules and the equipment mix need to match the goods and order flow.
