Order picker platforms, like the New Age Industrial 99664, are used primarily in warehouses and distribution centers (DCs). Since floor space is one of the largest controllable costs, most DCs use pallet racking to store their product. When they run out of space to build out, they build up instead. By utilizing upward storage, they can fit triple or quadruple the amount of product in the same square footage.In the past, before large online retailers changed the shopping habits of Americans, consumers would shop almost entirely in stores and malls who ordered in large quantities. In those circumstances, distribution centers used forklifts to remove whole pallets of product off the pallet racking shelves, then divvy it up to ship it out to different stores. This process is often referred to as “case picking.”
This changed when consumers started shopping more frequently from home. It’s much more common for consumers to purchase one item at a time now. These items are still stored on pallet racking, but instead of a using a forklift, distribution centers are using order pickers with an order picker cart attached to them. One person stands on the order picker platform and operates all controls right there in one place. They drive the order picker up and down aisles and raise themselves up to the carton they need to pick from, wherever it might be. That person grabs individual items needed from the cartons to fulfill customer orders. This is referred to as “piece picking.”
Since the items are often small to medium sized, the workers will usually have boxes or totes on the cart to pull several complete orders on any given run before driving them over to the shipping department. Overall productivity is increased through a greater number of orders filled in a pick wave.All order picker manufacturers such as Crown, Toyota, Raymond, etc. have different height decks on their pickers. At New Age Industrial, we build our carts to match up with the deck height of the specific brand of order picker being used, thus eliminating any trip hazard for the person doing the picking. Our ability to customize is quite possibly our biggest strength. We also use non-slip tape on our platform where the worker stands, for added safety. Workers often need to lean out into the cartons to reach the product. Even though the operator is tethered to the order picker, the non-slip tape helps them maintain their footing.
New Age Industrial order picker carts and platforms are made from aluminum, which gives us an advantage over our competitors. Aluminum will never rust or corrode, and the best part is that aluminum weighs considerably less than a similar cart made from steel. Since order pickers have weight capacity limitations, the weight of the cart needs to be figured in along with the person’s and product’s weight. Our carts also have amplimesh on three sides. This keeps the product from falling out causing damage to not only the product, but also for anyone below. The amplimesh also allows the driver to see where they are going.
Our order picker platforms are also used in put away operations. A great example of this, is one of our end users in a warehouse with over 120,000 SKUs. Their warehouse management system (WMS) is sophisticated enough to allow the person receiving the goods to log into a specific cart, then place an item on a certain shelf, with the use of a scan gun. Once the cart is loaded, a driver scans themselves into that cart. The WMS guides the driver through the warehouse in the most efficient way, and when a location is reached, the WMS tells the person where it is on the cart. We were told this cart did the work of 3 ½ pallets in one trip. Imagine the time saved when someone doesn’t have to keep going back and forth to drop one pallet and pick up another each time.If you’re looking for a great way to speed up your order fulfillment and product pick/put-away process, an order picker platform might be just what you need. These platforms offer a single layer on a pallet as well as vertical stacking on multiple shelves, making them perfect for high reach applications. Contact us today for more information about how an order picker can help streamline your operation.