Goods to Person

Goods to person is a modern approach to order fulfillment that integrates automated storage with precise, ergonomic picking operations. Stored items are delivered to the operator as needed for picking, reducing, or eliminating time spent traveling.

• Improved ergonomics
• Scalable and flexible
• Contained in a smaller footprint on your warehouse floor

Goods-to-person systems can vary by complexity and size. Goods-to-person systems can leverage robotics, conveyance, vision, or material handling and sorting solutions to transfer products to employees for receiving, picking, or packing. From receiving inventory and decanting items into trays or bins, moving items into storage, and picking stored items for packing and shipping these systems can yield an excellent boost in a distribution center’s efficiency and accuracy, including:

1. Increasing throughput and reducing travel time — Inventory is brought to pick, pack, and sorting stations, sometimes via automated guided vehicles (AGVs) or autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), so employees spend less time seeking products and more time fulfilling orders
2. Increasing accuracy — Goods-to-person systems can include robotic sortation systems along with multiple verification points or poka-yokes that improve accuracy, increase throughput, and reduce errors
3. Reducing floorspace — Your solution may contain robotics or vertical storage to increase throughput with your existing footprint, or maintain throughput within a smaller space 
4. Being scalable and flexible — Suitable for small facilities or large warehouses, our solutions are designed to scale with our customer’s growth plans in mind

As consumer demand continues to grow, it’s essential for warehouses to implement clear efficiencies in picking processes. Reducing the time employees spend looking for items is a massive opportunity for boosting productivity and reducing time to ship. Automating or optimizing storage and picking processes can help a company become more competitive and support growing demand.

Goods-to-person systems can also increase accuracy in order fulfillment, as they are more precise than manual methods and can incorporate end-to-end item tracking, meaning no misplaced or mishandled products.