In physical operations, automation like an Instock ASRS may be one of several components of the overall fulfillment setup. To ensure successful implementation, it is crucial to define how the ASRS fits into the materials and data flow. Describing inbound and outbound operations on the process-level is a good first step.

Inbound #

Decanting: Linked sortation #

Demand forecasting is used to generate purchase orders for goods necessary to meet customer demand. Upon reception, goods are immediately staged near the ASRS for simultaneous decanting and sortation. Goods that are not able to be decanted into the ASRS are sorted to the side and then moved to non-ASRS zones.

Decanting: Split sortation #

Demand forecasting is used to generate purchase orders for goods necessary to meet customer demand. Upon reception, goods are immediately sorted according to their fulfillment zone.

Outbound #

Picking: Single-zone, no merge #

Single-zone picking assumes that all inventory required for order fulfillment is stored in the ASRS. The operator picks the items for the order and the order proceeds for packing and shipment.

Picking: Multi-zone, merge #

In multi-zone picking the order is split into several zones for fulfillment. One way of managing the split is based on free inventory availability in each zone. A programmable split can be supported by the ASRS’ ability to report on free inventory in semi-real-time. Once each portion of the order is picked in its repsective zone, they are merged and packed into a single order.