Technical characteristics and adaptability of “goods-to-person” picking

Goods to person (G2P or G2M) picking, as the name implies, means that during the logistics picking process, people do not move, and the goods are automatically transported to the picker for picking. Goods to person picking is an important picking method in logistics distribution centers, and its corresponding picking method is people to goods (P2G or M2G) picking.

The earliest "goods to person" picking was completed by an automated three-dimensional warehouse. The pallet or material box was automatically transported to the picking workstation. After the picking was completed, the remaining materials could be returned to the warehouse or offline according to the actual situation.

The "goods to person" picking system consists of three parts, namely the storage system, the conveying system, and the picking system.

1. Storage system

From the relatively simple stereoscopic storage in the past, it has developed into a variety of storage methods, including flat storage, stereoscopic storage, and dense storage. The storage form has also changed from mainly pallet storage to mainly material box (or carton) storage. However, no matter which storage method is used, the automation of storage operations is the basis for achieving "goods to people". The development of storage and retrieval technology focuses on how to achieve fast storage and retrieval, which has given birth to many dazzling storage and retrieval methods and technologies.

(1) AS/RS: Automated stereoscopic storage is the most traditional storage method, mainly based on pallet storage. It has many forms, such as single-depth and multi-depth stereoscopic storage, long and large-piece stereoscopic storage, bridge-type stacking stereoscopic storage, etc. Due to the limitations of the stacker's own storage and retrieval capacity, this storage method is mainly used for whole-piece picking and rarely for piecemeal picking.

(2) Mini load: A high-frequency, high-efficiency picking stacker, an AS/RS system for material box storage. Mini load has been widely used in Japan in the 1980s and 1990s for picking of small items, especially for goods-to-person picking. It has various forms, especially dozens of forks and cargo platforms, which make it widely adaptable and its storage and retrieval capacity can reach up to 250 times per hour.

---By Zita Jian

8th, May 2024