ProSKU App – Cluster Picking option

A cluster pick is a type of wave pick and is created using the same (Wave Picking) function in the ProSKU WMS.

When you create a wave pick you can choose to group orders together for picking purposes. In the case of a cluster pick, this is usually based on a maximum number of orders per group.

This maximum number, due to the way cluster picking works is usually determined by the number of orders a single picker can handle, or how many order boxes can be carried by a pick trolley. The grouped orders are then picked together in what is known as a ‘cluster’, which enables them to be picked and potentially, packed and completed in a single operation.

This involves orders being simultaneously picked by following a default or user determined walk sequence, where for each location visited the requirement for all orders in the cluster is picked.  This process is repeated until all locations holding stock for the orders have been visited, at which point (other than for shortfalls) all orders have been completely picked.

Like other scheduled task instructions the cluster is transferred automatically by the ProSKU App to the device. There are some minor differences when the orders shown on screen form part of a cluster.

On the scheduled tasks display, each cluster (there can be more than one) within the created wave is displayed separately, showing the wave reference and the individual cluster number. The total number of picks, across all orders in the cluster is shown in the circle to the right.

That aside there is no difference in the screen based instructions for processing ‘cluster pick’ orders using the App. The displays are the same as the examples shown under single order picking above, varying according to which settings (check digit, location, product scan etc) are used in your system.

NB. A cluster pick can also be reserved even though it contains multiple orders. However it is not possible to release the cluster if any of it has already been picked, regardless of whether any orders in the cluster have been completed.