White paper: Order picking in the timber industry

The timber industry utilises a range of different systems for handling long, heavy and bulky goods. Transport requirements vary significantly according to whether the client is a manufacturer, distributor or processing company. 

Hubtex provides a checklist to inform users of the criteria they must consider when looking for a suitable solution.

Removing heavy and bulky loads from warehouse shelves and transporting them for loading presents numerous challenges for logistics firms. The materials must be protected and the goods taken quickly and precisely from A to B. There are various solutions available depending on transshipment rates, storage capacity and budget. Manual, semi-automated or fully automated – the task at hand is to find the right solution for individual applications, thus ensuring a high level of process quality. Furthermore, the optimum order-picking solution should ease the burden on employees, while also increasing energy efficiency, reducing operational costs and eliminating downtime. 

The introduction of a new order-picking solution is based on a comprehensive analysis, in which entire storage processes and the design of the warehouse, as well as many other crucial factors, are taken into account. 

In the white paper, the manufacturer of forklift trucks, sideloaders and special-purpose vehicles describes the most important transport systems in the timber industry – from manual order picking to a fully automated system. The boundaries between the different variants are often seamless. The requirements placed on the transport system change as the level of automation increases. What is required, for example, is a simple connection to the warehouse management system, intelligent warehouse management and the creation of common interfaces to other production processes.