Picking by scanning in seconds

Comprehensive health care is an active and challenging field. Whoever wants to be successful as a wholesaler of often vital drugs must impress with extraordinary service. In order to ensure its customers even faster delivery of the pharmaceuticals as absolutely accurately as possible, the wholesaler Ebert + Jacobi Würzburg has continued to invest in the optimization of its logistical processes.

Quality management of utmost importance
The use of state-of-the-art system solutions becomes apparent when you enter one of Ebert + Jacobi's warehouses. Fully automated picking systems fill the order containers transported on conveyor belts with the ordered pharmaceutical products. However, only the so-called fast-moving or medium-moving items are picked fully automatically. For the other half, this approach is not economical as it would only be possible with a very high level of investment in technology. In the other warehouse areas, the picking of the "slower-moving" pharmaceutical products is done manually for that reason.

"Before the implementation of mobile data terminals, we picked in a conventional way using paper picking slips and already achieved a relatively low error rate by doing so," explains Plant Manager Matthias Popp. "Because we as a certified company attach the utmost importance to perfect quality management, we nevertheless considered optimizing the manual picking area further. It was our goal to steer the error rate toward zero and improve efficiency at the same time."

Mobile scanner terminals as an optimum solution
In search of an optimum solution for Ebert +Jacobi, the team investigated various forms of technology specifically concerning their suitability for the picking of pharmaceutical products. "Our effort to establish a mobile data entry system was not only limited to use for paperless picking. We wanted to find a solution which was also applicable on short notice for other areas, such as incoming goods, replenishment and perhaps later for delivery," explains Matthias Popp. For that reason, only the use of mobile handheld computers with integrated barcode scanners came into question for Ebert + Jacobi.

Project "Paperless picking"
The pharmaceutical wholesaler entrusted DataIdent GmbH with the planning and realization of the project. For realizing the new MDE system, DataIdent introduced various handheld terminals from several manufacturers, indicated the different characteristics of the units and directed the focus to specific features. During this intensive inspection of the different handheld terminals, one unit stood out due to its special design. The light handheld DT-X7 by Casio with a high-speed scanner and large color display.

The balanced housing form with scanner head positioned slightly downward and the design of the non-slip scan buttons spoke clearly for the good ergonomics of the handheld. Practical tests in the picking area revealed: The Casio DT-X7 facilitates data entry during picking that is very fast and comfortable for the employees. It was shown that the barcode scanner on the DT-X7 has a very high level of readability so that even pale stickers are read quickly and without difficulty. "A further requirement for the scanner terminal was simple operation which required only few buttons. Moreover the display should have a high contrast in all lighting and be easily legible. The units from Casio fulfill all these expectations to the utmost satisfaction of our customer," explains Andreas Schapperer, Head of the South Branch of DataIdent GmbH.

Perfect control with picking by scanning
With this new picking technology, the logistical processes at the pharmaceutical wholesaler were improved further: When orders from pharmacies are received electronically by Ebert + Jacobi, packing slips with the ordered items are printed at stationary printers and automatically distributed to order containers. After automatic picking has occurred, the containers are moved to other warehouse areas for manual picking. The employees scan the order number of the packing slip there with the new Casio terminal. Which item in which quantity should be picked is immediately shown on the display. Upon removal, the barcode of the packaging is scanned for monitoring. In doing so, a false product would be signaled immediately. However before the box leaves the picking area, the container barcode is rescanned to ensure that the goods were also placed into the correct order box. If all relevant picking areas have been passed and all order lines of an order have been completed, the order box is closed in the shipping area and distributed together with other containers on routes of the delivery vehicles.

Smooth implementation
The simple handling of the Casio terminals and reliable order processing ease the job of the pickers significantly. From the beginning, acceptance was very high because the new technology was introduced in stages. "The brief familiarization phase was certainly also a result of the well-prepared comprehensive solution. Because our pickers were guided by the inventory management system using the handhelds and the error-free picking process even resulted in saving time, our men and women in picking are very satisfied," says Matthias Popp.

But other departments of the company also profit from the quality of the picking by scanning. "Our deliveries arrive on time and without mistakes at the pharmacies, which corresponds directly to our vision of quality. And: Our previous - already relatively good - error rate of 0.14% was lowered again to 0.06%. Our aim is 0.04% and we are very confident of reaching this peak value in the short term," emphasizes Ralph-Dieter Schüller, Managing Partner at Ebert + Jacobi.

Expansion planned
Even if the economic benefit in this case of application is not easy to express in numbers, an amortization time of approximately one year is expected. The overall positive experience which Ebert + Jacobi has had with the mobile data terminals has led to the consideration of also using the units in other areas of logistics. The potential for optimization with mobile data entry has not yet been exhausted by far.

CASIO Europe GmbH
Mobile Industrial Solutions
CASIO-Platz 1
22848 Norderstedt
Germany
www.casio-b2b.com