AUTOMATION FOR E-COMMERCE PICK AND PACK

Interesting.  From PSI Engineering.

Can 12 Seconds Save $300,000 Annually?

How long does each of your pack stations take to pack and ship orders? Cutting a mere 12 to 13 seconds off throughput
time per order can save an eCommerce company significantly; a compelling competitive advantage.
Most Supply Chain Managers don’t believe it. Most believe 12 seconds is only 12 seconds, no big deal. Let’s say your
D.C. fills 20,000 orders per day. Assuming an employee’s hourly wage is $15 per hour and there are 3600 seconds in an
hour with 300 work days, saving 12 seconds per order at the end-of-the-line Pack Station can save you up to
$300,000 per year, close to $1 million in three years. Check out the Automation Calculator to see for yourself.

Rapid Flow Automated Pack Station Line

Shipping orders on time has become a top priority for most eCommerce
companies. Every second counts when delivering orders to customers.
There is a correlation between how long a customer waits for their order
and the likelihood of being a returning customer. Usually a catalyst
prompts people to purchase. If an order takes too much time to be
delivered to the customer, they may lose the initial catalyst of their order.
The heat and joy at time of purchase has cooled.
Manual pack stations in mid to high volume distribution centers often
reach capacity during peak order fulfillment times. Throwing more
people on the line can cause errors during the filling and packaging of orders which may increase order returns and
negative online reviews. The more employees you have on the floor the harder it is to manage the line, labor efficiency
and control productivity. Today’s customer is very social. When they encounter a negative experience with your brand they
are likely to complain online. In an online study, more than three-quarters of Americans (78%) will read customer reviews
before making a purchase, and nearly half (44%) submit product or service reviews online.
(Source: King, Robert Allen, Pradeep Racherla, and Victoria D. Bush. ‘What We Know And Don’t Know About Online
Word-Of-Mouth: A Review And Synthesis Of The Literature’. Journal of Interactive Marketing28.3 (2014))
A practical solution to cutting time and reducing cost is automating order fulfillment lines. Automation
increases efficiency and productivity, eliminates bottlenecks and human error rates. Technology today allows multiple
component warehouse order fulfillment software that fully integrates into a fulfillment operation requiring minimal IT
resources. Connecting with the right automation supplier can make automation installations streamlined to allow for
minimal downtown. Drop-in automation solutions that are pre-tested in live simulations offer the most seamless in-line
integration.