In the ever increasingly fast-paced world of warehouse operations, order picking stands out as the most labor-intensive and costly activity, accounting for up to 55% of total operating costs. With mispicks costing an average of $22 each and leading to annual losses of $390,000 per distribution center, optimizing this process is critical.
While many warehouses still rely on traditional Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) or even paper-based methods, these approaches often fall short in dynamic environments. WMS platforms are excellent for inventory tracking and order processing, but they typically use static wave-based picking schedules that can’t adapt in real time. For example:
- A high-priority same-day order might have to wait hours for the next wave, delaying fulfillment and frustrating customers.
- A sudden change in demand can leave some workers idle while others are overloaded, forcing managers into constant manual replanning.
- If inventory or order priorities shift after a wave is released, the plan is already locked, so pickers keep following outdated instructions and errors pile up.
How WES Transforms Picking Efficiency
This is where Warehouse Execution Systems like LogistiVIEW come into play.
Unlike WMS, WES is designed to manage real-time execution on the warehouse floor. LogsitiVIEW uses AI-driven models to dynamically allocate tasks, ensuring that urgent orders are prioritized and pickers are continuously engaged. By shifting to a waveless, pull-based picking model, idle time between waves is decreased and labor productivity is increased. Here are a few examples:
- Peak Season Agility: A consumer goods distributor handling holiday surges uses a WES to dynamically reprioritize thousands of orders per hour. Instead of bottlenecks at fixed waves, the system balanced labor in real time, reducing overtime costs.
- Same-Day Fulfillment: A retailer shipping direct-to-consumer uses a WES to expedite “hot orders” as soon as they are released. Orders that once waited hours in queues are picked and shipped quicky, protecting customer experience.
Studies show that in some environments WES-driven systems can reduce order cycle times by 20–60% and even achieve 5× throughput without increasing headcount.
Accuracy and Flexibility with LogistiVIEW
Beyond speed, LogistiVIEW enhances picking accuracy through technology like augmented reality (AR) smart glasses, which guide workers visually and validate each pick. This approach has led to accuracy rates as high as 99.9%, virtually eliminating costly errors.
- For example, EMLS reported near-perfect accuracy using AR picking on LogistiVIEW WES while capturing images during picks for quality assurance.
- Additionally, the platform’s flexibility allows for rapid customization such as integrating a manual label-picking step for a 3PL client in just one week.
This agility makes LogistiVIEW a true partner, especially for businesses with unique workflows or high-value products requiring traceability.
Empowering Warehouses of All Sizes
Whether you’re a small warehouse looking to modernize or a large distribution center aiming to maximize automation ROI, LogistiVIEW’s WES offers a scalable solution.
With quick implementation timelines (as fast as 90 days) and intuitive interfaces that reduce training time, even new employees can become productive quickly. Here are a few more benefits:
- Rapid Ramp-Up: Seasonal workers could be trained and productive within hours using intuitive AR workflows, dramatically shortening onboarding compared to traditional WMS screens.
- Robotics Orchestration: In a high-volume e-commerce setting, a WES could orchestrate humans and AMRs together, preventing congestion and aligning robot routes with picker tasks to increase throughput.
LogistiVIEW bridges the divide between planning and real-time action, empowering warehouses to ship faster, reduce errors, and evolve into intelligent, future-ready operations.
