Through work efficiency improvements, productivity has approximately doubled, and shipping errors due to increased volume have been reduced.

Introduction video of the case study.

Picking operations performed simultaneously using approximately 1,600 digital picking indicators.

Improved productivity and the standardization of work levels have led to a reduction in logistics costs.

Background of the implementation

Errors such as picking the wrong items or incorrect shipments occurred with list-based picking.

Since picking was performed manually by referring to paper order sheets for approximately 1,600 items, sorted by "bookstore shipment destinations," the process required a high level of expertise, resulting in frequent picking errors and packing omissions.

There was a challenge of not being able to achieve worker retention.

As the volume of goods increased, tasks such as understanding the site layout required experience, leading to dependency on skilled workers. Consequently, worker retention was not achieved.

Standardizing work levels was an urgent priority.

Amid a worsening labor shortage, the situation of continuously increasing the number of workers had been ongoing. Therefore, it was necessary to establish a mechanism for in-house operations where any worker could achieve a certain level of productivity.

The deciding factor for implementation

Retention of workers

It was essential to reduce the workload and simplify the tasks for the workers, mainly female part-time workers. By implementing a simple operation using display devices, the workload on the workers was reduced, leading to an improvement in the work environment and promoting retention of workers.

Standardization of work levels

Even newcomers on the same day can start working immediately. This has made it possible to achieve smooth and efficient work without variation regardless of who is performing the tasks.

Impact after implementation

Successfully reduced working hours through increased productivity.

By combining digital displays and free conveyors for picking operations, productivity improved by about 1.5 to 2 times. As a result, the working hours were reduced from about 8 hours to about 5 hours.

This led to a reduction in logistics costs.

By using digital displays for work, the time spent on rework due to picking errors was significantly reduced. This led to cost reduction in logistics (including labor costs).

Synergy effect of DPS + conveying equipment

A picking system that anyone can easily use was implemented, and the use of conveyors to transport books reduced the burden on workers. This enabled the establishment of a warehouse operation system that ensures a consistent level of productivity.

A system that does not rely on the experience or knowledge of workers has been achieved.

Even when stored items are regularly changed, the system notifies workers with LEDs, eliminating the need to memorize the layout.