TITLE: Order picking systems-an essential aspect for the efficiency of warehouses

SPEAKER: Dipl.-Ing. Detlef Spee

ABSTRACT:

Order picking is a crucial process for the efficiency of warehouses. Already the largest component of labor cost in the warehouse, order picking systems are being stressed because customers are ordering more frequently and the orders are becoming smaller. For this reason efficiency in order picking is becoming more critical. Quality, efficiency, the right throughput time for order picking are strongly influenced by the selection of the order picking system. In this talk, examples for selection criteria will be given and application examples will be presented that show how order picking systems have been designed by the combination of well known material handling components. The talk also will address the interactions between order picking requirements, order picking concepts the current direction of order picking automatization.

About the speaker: Detlef Spee received the Dipl.-Ing. from the University of Dortmund in 1985, where he then worked as a scientist in conveyor technology for a year. Subsequently, he joined the Fraunhofer IML, where he has been a Project Engineer, Head of the Handling Technology and Order Picking Systems Department, and since 1997, Head of the Material Handling Engineering Department. He is a frequent lecturer to business and industry on material handling system design and warehouse management systems. Detlef has been a key partner to Georgia Tech in the student exchange program with the University of Dortmund, and an active participant in the International Material Handling Colloquium.

About the Fraunhofer IML: The Fraunhofer IML acts as a logistic consultant and applied research organization for companies of all lines of industry and sizes. Our teams help clients to tackle new tasks and requirements. Together with clients we optimize the internal and external logistics and develop software and hardware solutions. Fraunhofer IML favours company-specific and tailormade solutions and supports its customers from the planning up to the realisation. Various products, like palletizing robots, warehouse systems or simulation software, were first developed in Dortmund and are now used worldwide.

The institute is structured into three main sections:
Material Flow Systems
Enterprise Logistics and
Logistics, Traffic and Environment