Order picking in dense areas – productivity impact of confirmation methods

Paper in proceedings, 2018

Confirmation methods are applied in supply chain order picking to increase picking quality, but research is lacking about how various confirmation methods affect picking productivity. This paper’s purpose is to identify the extent by which the type of confirmation method affects picking productivity in dense areas. Four confirmation methods (button-presses, barcode-scans, voice-commands, and RFID-wristbands) are studied in an experiment. The placement confirmation method is found to greater impact productivity than the picking confirmation method, and RFID-wristbands and button-presses display higher productivity than barcode-scans and voice-commands. The findings are relevant for practitioners and academics involved with designing order picking systems.