Picking Containers.

But with a range of options, how do you know which one is best for your business?

Please continue reading below for advice and guidance on how best to select the correct picking containers for your warehouse, manufacturing or fulfilment centre, as well as the various stock and bespoke options available.

Please use the links below for further information on the types of picking containers that could directly aid the operation of your business.

Need help or advice on the best solution for your specific application? Then please do not hesitate to contact one of our expert advisors for completely free advice and recommendations.

Regardless of what design of picking container you decide on, there are usually a number of different material options that you can choose from as well.

This not only affects the performance and longevity of your chosen solution, but obviously the upfront costs as well.

However, it is important to consider the “lifetime costs” of your picking bins. A solution that costs twice as much initially, but lasts four times as long, is the more cost effective option in the long run.

The following are the common material types used for picking bins.

Moulded plastic is one of the most common types of picking bin available.

The use of material being fairly prevalent means that there is wide range of sizes to choose from, allowing you to pick bins that fit your racking or suit your products.

The material is also unreactive to chemicals and moisture, offers good levels of protection for the contents, and is relatively lightweight. They are also the most durable option available.

They can however be more expensive than both Correx® and cardboard, and being limited to specific sizes often means that you have to select picking bins which are the “next size up”. This means inefficient use of space, and effectively paying to store fresh air.

GWP hold stock of a number of moulded anti-static in the most popular sizes, and can also offer anti-static versions through our sister company GWP Conductive

Correx® offers perhaps the best overall balance between cost, protection and flexibility.

Correx® bins can be engineered to offer virtually the same strength as moulded plastic equivalents, but which are lighter and can be tailored to your exact size requirement. This latter point means they can make much more efficient use of space, and can be tailored to fit a specific area of your warehouse.

They also offer the same properties as moulded plastic, protecting from dust, chemicals and moisture.

However, whilst Correx® picking bins are generally lower cost than moulded plastic, if you are not going for a custom size then the design, setup and tooling to create a bespoke option can outweigh the difference in material costs.

GWP can manufacture both stacking pick bins and shelf bins from Correx® to your exact specifications.

Cardboard bins (frequently referred to as K bins) are the most cost effective option.

This makes them great if you are working to a tight budget, or your inventory frequently changes meaning you continually source new picking bins for your warehouse to accommodate this.

Whilst there are a wide range of standard sizes of K bins, another advantage of cardboard bins is that they can be easily be designed and manufactured to custom sizes and designs due to the properties of the material.

On the downside, cardboard does not last as long as moulded plastic or Correx®, which means although cheaper in the short term, they need to be replaced more often, increasing the overall costs.

They also do not offer as much protection from moisture etc. as plastics do, meaning stock in cardboard k bins won’t be as well protected.

Saying that< GWP can manufacture any custom Correx® picking solution from corrugated cardboard to suit you specific application.

Once you have decide on whether to use stacking or shelf bins, and which material option best suits your requirements, you can begin to consider the wide range of customisation options that are also available.

These can further aid productivity and efficiency in a number of ways, as well as adding additional levels of protection for inventory of parts and / or products.

Please see below for the common customisation options.

Generally, moulded picking containers are available in a number of colours, whilst custom Correx® bins can also be specific in a number of differing hues.

But what benefit does this offer you?

Firstly, it can allow you to pick a colour to match your brand, making your warehouse or storage facility look tidy and well presented.

However, using different colours can help with segmenting stock, allowing order pickers a quick visual reference to which ranges or groups are products are stored in which area.

Virtually all picking bins can be enhanced through exterior print. Whilst with Correx® and moulded plastics this is generally restricted to single colour logos and instructions, cardboard k bins can have full colour print easily applied (should you wish).

As with using colours, branding can raise the appearance of your warehouse, whilst instructions, part numbers and so on can also help to improve productivity of your workforce.

As mentioned above, it is possible to create custom picking containers from Correx® or cardboard to virtually any size or design.

This not only allows them to be tailored to the available space that you have, but also to your specific products or parts.

This allows you to make the most efficient use of space, allowing you to hold more stock or free up space for other activities (e.g. packing, assembly etc.).

Depending on the size of your pick bins, it can be possible to sub divide these using divider sets.

These allow you to keep multiple items within the same outer tote, which can often be different accessories for the same product, or parts that are compatible with each other.

Dividers can also be used to keep products separated, with this allowing much quicker visual stock checking too.

Finally, most shelf bins can have lids added or engineered into the designs.

This can stop the ingress of dust, as well as stopping ultra violet and other lights that may cause discolouration of products when in storage.

With so many companies offering stock ranges of picking bins, how do you decide where to purchase yours from?

Well, GWP Correx® is different from the vast majority of these companies.

If you are looking for the lowest cost option, then we will be happy to quote, but are unlikely to be the cheapest. Companies keeping a large stock holding of low cost bins will win here.

What GWP can offer however, is a picking solution that is tailored to your specific requirements.

We will achieve this by aiming to understand the difficulties and challenges you are facing from the outset, and coming up with a solution that is tailored to your requirements.

This may mean designing and creating a completely bespoke stacking pick bin from Correx®, or modifying and shelf bin with dividers and print.

But whatever it entails, you can be certain that not only will be a cost effective option over the longer term, will provide you the productivity gains, inventory protection and / or make the efficient use of space that you require.

If you would like to find out more about how GWP Correx® can help you to improve your order fulfilment, please get in touch for free advice or a no obligation on your picking container requirements.