Prepared for an explosion in internet orders?

How will retail businesses cope with the explosion in the number of internet orders expected over the next few years? According to new research from Mintel, just over 11% of UK retail sales are conducted online, but by 2018 that figure is expected to rise to 21.5% - a near doubling of the proportion of goods presently sold online.

Given this dramatic rise in the number of item level picking operations that will be required of retail organisations, are distribution functions fully in-tune with the heavy demands of internet fulfilment and their future volume requirements? How will retailers transform their distribution operations from ones aligned to store replenishment in bulk quantities, to facilities organised around complex and demanding process geared to picking and despatching high volumes of ‘single’ or ‘few’ item orders?

Those retail businesses keen to win sales and retain customers through fast, accurate order fulfilment will need to put in place systems that leverage the competitive advantages of automated processes – systems that offer a step-change in order picking and order processing efficiency. But what new solutions are available? Are there alternatives to rigid and difficult to predict wave-based systems?

A new concept developed by Dematic Group is set to transform the eCommerce market.  RapidPut uses ground-breaking software to remove the need for the high levels of automation normally demanded by e-fulfilment operations. In effect, the sophisticated software at the heart of RapidPut creates a dynamic ‘pick and put’ process – a wave-less or endless batching system that removes the need for sortation equipment.

Importantly, RapidPut is a software based solution, not a hardware based solution – designed from the initial concept to greatly reduce the amount of automated kit required. So it presents companies with a lower entry level for automated systems and provides a far more rapid return on investment – making it accessible for smaller eCommerce enterprises.

Offering scalable solutions for businesses as they grow, RapidPut brings together ‘Put Walls’, conveyors and light or voice technology in an integrated solution capable of meeting the heavy demands of seasonal order fulfilment. The intelligent Dematic iQ software behind RapidPut considers picking and putting as part of a continuous integrated process, creating a dynamic batching solution without the need for a picking buffer. 

Intelligence, designed in the RapidPut solution, continuously monitors resource utilisation and dynamically adjusts and prioritises work orders and flows to reduce cycle time, labour and unit costs. This helps to minimise the peaks and valleys associated with traditional wave-based fulfilment solutions. 

The flexible RapidPut system is available in three variations:

•Pick to cart and manually deliver the cart to the put walls.

•Pick to cart and deliver to the put wall using a conveyor system.

•Use a high-speed shuttle system to retrieve ‘SKU pure’ totes and deliver these  using conveyors to the put walls and return the totes to storage following putting. This is normally used in combination with option two above.

The Dematic RapidPut solution enables eCommerce companies to process tens of thousands of customer orders every day, on-time, and all to accuracy levels of 99.98%. Depending upon the SKU range and size of the products picked anywhere between 250 and 450 items can be processed per hour. 

But at what level of throughput does RapidPut become a viable option? Is it cost effective for small to medium size enterprises? 

Up on 1,000 orders a day makes RapidPut an attractive alternative to manual, error-prone, labour intensive processes. What’s more, the inherent scalability and flexibility of the system allows it to grow with the developing needs of the business and offers lower capital costs than alternative options. Importantly, the Dematic iQ software at the centre of RapidPut has been specifically developed to allow the customer to re-configure it as the business changes, without costly software modifications.

Other eCommerce businesses looking to build e-fulfilment solutions capable of meeting the expected explosion in internet orders will need automation that is scalable, flexible and affordable. The intelligence of Dematic’s RapidPut technology now puts those solutions within the reach of smaller eCommerce enterprises.