How to Improve Your Picking KPIs with Picking Carts or Pick-to-Light
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When your KPIs start sending warnings — low accuracy, poor lines per hour, unstable OTIF, long walking routes — two tools can shift the balance without overhauling your entire operation: picking carts (multi-order or batch) and Pick-to-Light (PTL/Put-to-Light) systems. They’re not “gadgets”; they address the root causes of inefficiency — walking distance, decision-making, and confirmation.
Picking Carts: Why They Boost Productivity and Fulfillment
What They Are
Carts designed to prepare multiple orders in a single route (with totes or compartments per order), often supported by a tablet or hands-free scanner and, optionally, display indicators showing where to place each item.
How They Improve Your KPIs
- Lines per Hour (LPH) / Orders per Hour (OPH): by grouping similar orders, you avoid repeating aisles. Fewer meters walked → more lines per hour with the same team.
- Distance per Order: the route is done once and distributed across several orders — less fatigue, faster pace.
- OTIF / Order-to-Ship: the workflow remains stable during peaks because the core operation isn’t disrupted by back-and-forth movement.
- Accuracy: orders are visually separated on the cart; with barcode confirmation, you reduce misplacements between totes.
- Cost per Order / Utilization: more productive time, less walking or waiting.
When to Choose Them
- Many small orders, large catalogs, long routes, and frequent peaks (campaigns, Black Friday).
- If you already use RF/Voice systems, carts amplify their effect by concentrating the work.
Pick-to-Light (PTL/Put-to-Light): Why It Dramatically Improves Accuracy and Speed
What It Is
Light-guided picking at the correct location, displaying the quantity to pick/place and confirming with a single touch. It reduces cognitive load — there’s no need to “think” or search.
How It Improves Your KPIs
- Picking Accuracy: by highlighting the exact location and requiring local confirmation, it eliminates errors caused by similar SKUs or quantity confusion.
- LPH / OPH: removing hesitation and search time allows operators to maintain a continuous rhythm — the system sets the pace.
- Order-to-Ship / OTIF: less rework and fewer final checks; orders leave the warehouse more consistently and on time.
- Onboarding / Utilization: the process is visual and intuitive; new operators become productive sooner, and each shift spends more time on actual picking.
- Error-Based Returns: confirming directly at the pick/put point reduces warehouse-related return incidents.
When to Choose It
- Frequent picking errors, slow onboarding, families of very similar items (color/size/pack), or zones that need steady rhythm without constant supervision.
Carts, PTL… or Both?
- Long routes and aisle bottlenecks → Multi-order carts to convert 4–6 single orders into one optimized route.
- Errors with similar SKUs or slow training → PTL to guide and confirm at the right location.
- Campaigns and promotions → Carts + PTL: batch orders and let the system maintain order and pace.
- Challenging environments (cold/freezer areas) → PTL is especially effective: reduces time in the zone and prevents re-entry due to errors.
Integration Without Rebuilding Your WMS
Both solutions work as a light integration layer: tablet or PC interface, hands-free scanners, cart displays, and/or PTL modules communicating directly with your current system (exchanging orders, lines, statuses, and confirmations). You can start in a single zone and expand gradually. What matters most is to measure before and after using the same KPIs.
Electrotec: Needs Assessment and Tailored Recommendation
Every operation is different. At Electrotec, we conduct a detailed assessment — order volume, order mix, catalog, peaks, layout, and current KPIs — to recommend the best-fit combination:
- Carts: capacity, compartment configuration, scanning/confirmation.
- PTL/Put-to-Light: number of locations, guidance and confirmation logic.
- Integration: lightweight connection with your WMS/ERP or support software.
The goal isn’t to “add technology,” but to move your KPIs in the right direction — higher accuracy, more lines per hour, better OTIF, and lower cost per order, with minimal operational change.
Want to See Where You Can Gain the Most?
Contact Electrotec: we’ll analyze your KPIs, layout, and peaks, then provide a tailored recommendation — carts, PTL, or both — ready to be tested in a pilot area without disrupting your operation.