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The growth of order processing for eCommerce has made highly efficient Low volume sortation systems a important component for today’s order fulfillment and delivery solution. These systems are required in smaller operations or areas of larger operations that produce 2,400 orders per hour for less that need to be sorted to carrier hubs or sortation centers.
Keeping order moving through the system is critical to meet online order expectations of consumers buying online.
Everyone is familiar with large dedicated order fulfilment centers, but what is more commonplace in the distribution world is a segment of a large building being dedicated to filling a smaller percentage of eCommerce orders from inventory that is also used for an Omni Channel center.
Additionally, there are different product flows that retail stores are integrating to satisfy customer demand, including pick up at store or creating an eCommerce order from the store, for out of stock product to complete a consumers in store shopping experience.
The variability of orders and space utilization means some areas in smaller facilities must serve dual purposes making flexible, modular equipment part of the design requirement.
The difference is Master Pack vs. Inner Packs and delivery to consumers.
Putwalls have been incorporated into high volume and low volume systems as consolidation points for completing order, and while this is a pre-shipping sort process, it plays a role in high and low volume requirements because of the simplicity and flexibility to manage a range of order types and organize and coordinate final work to be completed for the shipping sorter.
Store Receiving and Allocation System – A mobile low volume sorter is the staple for Walmart FAST unloader at stores.
The sorter quickly allocates (sorts) unloaded product at the door to the correct “cart” that is filled by aisle slotting of product in the store front. The goal of this system was to improve timeline from receiving product to store shelf and eliminate costly out of stock problems, when the product was at the store but not yet placed on the shelf
