Overview
A third-party logistics provider handling fast-moving consumer goods ran 12,500 pallet positions on manual barcoding. Mis-picks were typically found at the outbound door, after the order had already been picked, packed and staged.
Full inventory counts required a weekend shutdown, and stock accuracy drifted between counts as pallets moved between fast-pick and bulk locations.
Challenges
Mis-picks found too late
Wrong-case errors surfaced at the outbound door instead of at the shelf, forcing repacking and late dispatch.
Weekend shutdown for counts
Cycle counting meant freezing outbound operations for the duration.
Blind bulk storage
Pallets moved between fast-pick and bulk locations with no system record of the physical move.
Solution
2.4GHz tags were attached to pallets and reusable totes, with card-reading base stations installed at rack ends and aisle entries to register movement in and out of each location.
Shelf-level reading confirms the pick at the point of picking, so the wrong case is flagged on the handheld before it reaches the packing bench.
Sound-and-light alarm tags on high-value and short-dated stock give local confirmation and exception alerting directly at the shelf, without the picker needing to consult a screen.
Because movement is registered automatically, cycle counting runs continuously through normal shifts — a rolling count replaces the weekend shutdown.
