Directed put away can be a very complicated endeavor. Depending upon the complexity of your needs directed put away enabled systems can range from incredibly simple to extremely elaborate. Simple systems simply point the inventory worker to a fixed location to pick a given product. Complications tend to occur most often in JIT type systems where the storage cycle time is extremely low and in systems that demand FIFO (first in first out) type capabilities. These types of capabilities can require specialized staging capabilities or serialization.

Systems often need some degree of customization and it’s a good idea to choose a vendor that will be accommodating. Tuppas offers a very flexible picking and put away capability. High jump is another company that’s worth checking out. Both companies can offer systems with good database feedback. Database feedback can be crucial and wireless devices that require computer sync are probably not the best choice.

One advantage to directed put away is that it can help you optimize the warehouse. As declines in inventory occur the inventory can be optimized and moved to the front of the house. This can help reduce labor cost in some environments.

Another strong advantage to directed put way is that it makes directed picking a lot easier. There can be a huge reduction in human effort if the system knows the exact location of items. In many situations the ROI on location based tracking alone can justify the purchase of the software.