Background: With the exponential expansion of E-commerce, rising labor cost and higher customer expectations have pushed the implementation of advanced automation technology in warehouses. The order-picking-process is considered to be the most labor intensive and most expensive labor cost in warehouses. It has a crucial part to determine the lead time and customer satisfaction and because it is the last procedure before the order is shipped it can have negative effects on delivery quality, future customer relations and the overall satisfaction.  Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to evaluate how automation can help in the order picking process by studying the companies Shelfless and Exsitec to understand its effect on efficiency, cost and to understand the barriers and motivations to implementing it.  Method: This paper is based on a qualitative interview study with a deductive approach. The analysis method is based on within case analysis and cross-case analysis. Within case analysis is used to develop an understanding of each company to then later use a cross-case analysis to examine the difference between the two companies. Conclusion: The conclusion is that automation in the order picking process can increase the productivity whilst lowering the cost at the expense of a high installation fee with some disadvantages during the installation process like lower productivity, less flexibility. Although in the long run automation will be necessary to keep up with the growth of the companies.

Bakgrund: Enligt Richards (2014) har digitalisering förvandlat plockprocessen och förbättrat noggrannhet och produktivitet signifikant. Bilvårdsgrossisten upplever att deras plockprocess fungerar relativt bra men att det finns vissa brister som kan lösas av digitalisering. De är därför benägna att effektivisera den med hjälp av mer digitaliserade lösningar och de vill även veta vad som krävs vid en implementering. Syfte: Syftet med uppsatsen är att undersöka företagets plockprocess hur det ser ut idag för att sedan identifiera brister och problem. Baserat på dessa brister syftar arbetet på att diskutera alternativ som finns som kan förbättra denna process genom digitalisering. Detta för att stödja valet av digitalisering för fallföretaget och andra företag i en liknande situation. Vidare är syftet också att undersöka hur dessa lösningar kan implementeras och att ta fram kriterier som krävs för implementering samt förbereda för eventuella problem eller utmaningar. Metod: Studiens metod är av kvalitativ karaktär och för att besvara studiens frågeställningar har författarna använt sig av en fallstudie på Bilvårdsgrossisten. Det har också skett en jämförande studie med ett företag inom koncernen som i studien benämns Koncernbolaget. Empiri har samlats in genom semi-strukturerade intervjuer och observationer. Slutsats: I Bilvårdsgrossistens plockprocess har följande brister identifierats: fel i sorteringen av plocklistor, felplock, att lagerplatser inte påfyllts när plockare ska hämta artiklar, att plock av mindre artiklar går långsamt, att plock görs separat för varje kundorder och att produktiviteten är relativt låg. I frågeställning två har lösningar inom digitalisering analyserats och sammanställts i en tabell där de kopplas ihop med de identifierade bristerna på Bilvårdsgrossisten. Sammanfattningsvis kan mycket av de brister som identifierats kopplas ihop med alla de digitaliserade lösningar som presenterats och att användandet av WMS är en stor faktor på lösningarna. Slutligen har frågeställning tre visat att vid implementering av nya lösningar kan Bilvårdsgrossisten förvänta sig visst motstånd från anställda, det kommer krävas finansiell och tidsmässig investering. Det kommer att krävas strategi, planering, ledning av förändring samt systemstöd. Avslutningsvis kommer ledningen spela stor roll för att implementering ska lyckas. Det kommer att påverka dagligt arbete negativt. / Background: According to Richards (2014) digitalization has transformed the order picking process and improved accuracy as well as productivity significantly. The company Bilvårdsgrossisten considers their order picking process to be working fairly well but it has some flaws that can be solved by digitalization. They are therefore interested in making the process more efficient through through digitalized solutions and they also want information on what is required to implement these solutions. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the company's picking process how it looks today to identify flaws and problems. Based on these flaws, the work aims at discussing options that can improve this process through digitization. This, in support of the choice of digitization for the case company and other companies in a similar situation. Furthermore, the purpose is also to investigate how these solutions can be implemented and to develop criteria that are required for implementation and to prepare for any problems or challenges. Method: The method of study is of a qualitative nature and, in order to answer the study's questions, the authors have used a case study at Bilvårdsgrossisten. There has also been a comparative study with a company within the concern, which in the study is called Koncernbolaget. Empirics has been collected through semi-structured interviews and observations. Conclusion: In the studied company´s picking process, the following flaws have been identified: errors in the sorting of picklists, picking errors, empty stock when pickers are about to pick up articles, picking up smaller items slowly, picking separately for each customer order, and low productivity. In question two, solutions in digitization have been analyzed and compiled in a table where they are linked to the identified flaws of Bilvårdsgrossisten. In summary, many of the identified flaws can be linked to all the digitized solutions presented and that the use of WMS is a major factor in the solutions. Finally, question three has shown that when implementing new solutions, Bilvårdsgrossisten can expect some resistance from employees, financial and time-related investment will be required. It will require strategy, planning, leadership of change as well as system support. In conclusion, the management w

Context: Globalization and a growing logistic structure is forcing organizations to maintain their market share through logistics control. Additionally, this can be accomplished by making one of the most essential processes, order picking more efficient and effective. The development of the logistics structure has resulted in automated systems attracting a large amount of attention. The writers inquire into the benefits of an increasing use of automated order picking methods. Along with highlighting the challenges and driving forces of manual and automated order picking processes.  Purpose: This study's main purpose is to analyze possibilities of increasing efficiency through a change from manual order picking to automated order picking for non-self-manufactured products, in the organization Arla Foods AB.  Method: The method that is applied to generate a result in this study is a qualitative method with quantitative data. This has been accomplished through observations and a semi-structured interview. In addition to this the empirical material has been analyzed through pattern comparison.  Results & Conclusion: The empirical material illustrated that manual order picking included waste to a greater degree in contrast to automated order picking due to the variable of human labor. Unlike the Multipick system that is automated, human labor includes more challenges and is affected by external disturbances to a larger extent. Following the study has established that Arla Foods Multipick system has a higher delivery- security and reliability which has a relation to creating higher quality services.

Abstract  The purpose of the thesis was to investigate the order picking process for different sized items on different floors. The thesis purpose was also to study how the warehouse layout is affected by different sized items. The study also aimed to identify different ways to streamline order picking by optimizing the layout. To answer the research questions, qualitative studies were conducted where interviews and observations were used to investigate different activities on different floors of the case company. The result revealed the large items on different floors have a great impact on the layout as large items require special handling and can otherwise lead to inefficient picking times. By implementing restructuring of different items on the upper floor and implementing inventory systems such as ABC-analysis, the order picking process can be streamlined. This leads to reduced picking time as the picker doesn’t have to travel unnecessarily long distances. The result of this study can be useful for companies that work with large items and want to improve their order picking process. For further research, it is suggested to evaluate the proposed measures in practice. / Sammanfattning Examensarbetets syfte var att undersöka orderplockningsprocessen för olika stora artiklar på olika våningar samt hur lagerlayouten påverkas av artiklarnas storlek. Arbetet syftade också till att identifiera olika sätt att effektivisera orderplockningen genom att optimera layouten. För att besvara forskningsfrågorna genomfördes kvalitativa studier där intervjuer och observationer använts för att undersöka olika lageraktiviteter på olika våningar hos fallföretaget. Resultatet visade att stora artiklar på olika våningar har en stor påverkan på layouten eftersom de kräver en särskild hantering, vilket kan leda till ineffektiva plocktider. Genom att implementera omstrukturering av olika artiklar på övervåningen och implementera lagersystem som ABC-analys så kan orderplockningsprocessen effektiviseras. Detta leder till minskad plocktid genom att plockaren inte behöver färdas onödigt långa sträckor. Resultaten för denna studie kan vara nytta för företag som jobbar med stora artiklar och vill förbättra sin orderplockningsprocess. För ytterligare forskning så föreslås det att utvärdera de förslagna åtgärderna i praktiken.