Practical automated picking and packing

Abstract

A brief study of materials handling automation, and evaluation of a potential business based on current Internet order fulfillment equipment and practices. Internet retail today relies heavily on manual labor for order fulfillment. However, with staggering growth in Internet retail and labor intensive order fulfillment processes, companies will increasingly turn to automation to enable growth and make better use of the people they have. The materials handling automation industry is dominated by a small number of very large companies. These companies manufacture products that handle products by the pallet or case, but have very limited solutions for split case picking. The dominant type of solutions these companies offer, such as pick-to-light or wearable RF terminals, only help human pickers to identify what needs to be picked, but does not do the actual picking. This thesis explores the business potential for automation capable of split case picking. The thesis format is that of a strategic business plan for a new fictional firm, "Practical Automated Picking and Packing."