According to figures released by market analysts Statista, in 2023 the UK had nearly 60 million e-commerce users. By 2025, this figure is expected to have risen by another two million.
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The Rise of E-commerce Sales in the UK
Unsurprisingly, online sales peaked during Covid when they accounted for around a third of all UK retail trade. Although the end of the pandemic saw high street shopping enjoy something of a renaissance, it is forecast that a staggering 38.1 percent of the transactions undertaken between UK retailers and their customers will be carried out online by the end of 2025. With an estimated value of £152 billion, this will make the UK e-commerce market one of the most advanced in Europe, driven in part by warehouse automation.
Challenges Faced by the Logistics Industry
The relentless growth of internet shopping has inevitably brought challenges for the logistics industry. Inventory management has become increasingly complicated as product ranges have grown, while the explosion in the number of orders received has put packing operations under huge pressure.
The Need for Faster Order Processing
And, of course, meeting the promises of ever shorter delivery times that retailers make to woo customers in what is an ultra-competitive market requires super-quick order processing. Efficient and accurate order picking has always been the cornerstone of any successful warehousing operation and is fundamental to successful e-fulfillment.
Traditional Manual Order Picking Systems
So, it is perhaps a little surprising that despite their inherent inefficiency, traditional manual order picking systems remain widely used at sites dedicated to getting online sales orders to the consumer’s front door in the shortest possible time.
Innovative Fulfilment Warehouse Solutions
But now, new thinking in fulfilment warehouse order picking that combines long-established warehouse ‘wave’ picking techniques with state-of-the-art sorting robots is delivering eye-catching improvements in picking rates, thanks to warehouse automation.
How Wave Picking Works
In simple terms, it works like this: the Warehouse Management System strategically consolidates individual orders into cohesive "waves" or batches. Grouping orders in this way optimises the picking process by allowing operators to retrieve entire waves of items in one efficient sweep, significantly boosting the hit rate to remarkable levels with the added bonus of eliminating the need for warehouse workers to yomp what can be a considerable distance between individual picks.
Benefits of Wave Picking
The transformative impact of wave picking not only achieves picking rates of up to 2000 items per hour but also translates to a drastic reduction in onsite labour requirements – a notable benefit given the current shortage of qualified and willing warehouse personnel.
The Role of Sorting Robots in Warehousing
Of course, the bundles of wave-picked items still need to be meticulously sorted to allow individual orders to be consolidated. With their ability to efficiently organize and route items with precision and speed, this is where specialized sorting robots come into play.
Elevating Productivity with Warehouse Automation
Integrating wave picking and robotic sorting delivers a blended picking efficiency that easily surpasses traditional individual single order picking solutions. By harnessing the synergy between wave picking and robotic sorting technologies, fulfilment warehouses can elevate their productivity levels, achieve greater accuracy in order fulfilment, and ultimately set new benchmarks for efficiency in the realm of logistics and supply chain management.
Conclusion: Embracing Warehouse Automation
Rainbow Dynamics is a UK-based robotics and automation company focused on the design and build of sustainable robotic handling and sortation solutions for logistics warehouses, parcel handling facilities, manufacturing sites, and e-commerce fulfilment centres. The integration of warehouse automation is crucial for future-ready logistics solutions that can handle the demands of a growing e-commerce landscape.
