An Automated Picking System uses technology and robotics to retrieve products from warehouse storage locations without manual labour. Systems range from simple pick-to-light setups to sophisticated robots, conveyor networks, and automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS), all designed to increase pick rates, improve accuracy, and reduce labour dependency.

It's replacing pickers' legs and guesswork with robots and algorithms.

Why Automation Matters

Manual picking is slow, expensive, and error-prone. Pickers walk kilometres daily. They make mistakes when tired. They're hard to recruit and retain. Labour costs keep rising whilst automation costs keep falling. The economics increasingly favour automation.

But there's more than cost. Automated systems pick 24/7 without breaks, holidays, or sick days. They're consistent: no good days and bad days, no accuracy variations between staff. Peak seasons don't require panic hiring. You scale by adding machines, not managing more people.

Types of Automated Picking

Pick-to-Light:

LED displays above storage locations guide pickers. Light illuminates at correct location, displays quantity needed, picker confirms with button press. Simple, effective, affordable. Reduces walking and picking errors by 50-70% versus paper lists.

Typical use: Fast-moving eCommerce operations, pharmaceutical distribution, electronics. Investment: £2,000-5,000 per pick station.

Voice Picking:

Picker wears headset receiving spoken instructions. System says "Go to location A-5-3, pick 4 units." Picker confirms verbally. Hands-free, eyes-free picking improves safety and speed.

Typical use: Large warehouses with dispersed inventory, frozen storage (gloves make scanning difficult), high-volume batch picking. Investment: £1,500-3,000 per headset.

Goods-to-Person (G2P):

Robots bring storage bins to stationary pickers. Picker never walks: stays at workstation whilst robots fetch products. Amazon Robotics (formerly Kiva) popularised this approach.

How it works: Products stored in mobile bins. Autonomous robots navigate warehouse floor, slide under bins, lift and transport to picking stations. Picker selects required items, robot returns bin to storage.

Benefits: Pick rates of 300-600 units/hour (versus 60-120 manual). 80% reduction in walking. Smaller warehouse footprint (tighter storage). Improved accuracy (99.99%+).

Investment: £500,000-£2,000,000+ depending on scale. Typical payback: 2-4 years.

Typical use: eCommerce fulfilment centres, 3PLs, high-volume operations.

Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems (AS/RS):

Computer-controlled cranes or shuttles retrieve pallets or totes from high-density storage. Maximum vertical space utilisation, minimal manual intervention.

Types:

Unit-load AS/RS: Handles full pallets. Cranes travel on rails between storage racks up to 40 metres high. For bulk storage and retrieval.

Mini-load AS/RS: Handles totes or cartons. Faster cycle times than unit-load. For piece-picking operations.

Vertical Lift Modules (VLMs): Enclosed systems with vertical trays. Computer retrieves requested tray and presents at ergonomic height. Space-efficient for small parts.

Investment: £250,000-£5,000,000+ depending on complexity and scale. Payback: 3-7 years typically.

Typical use: Manufacturing, spare parts distribution, pharmaceuticals, high-value goods requiring security.

Robotic Picking Arms:

Six-axis robots with vision systems and grippers physically pick products from bins or conveyors. Most complex, still maturing technology.

Challenges: Handling variety (soft, hard, fragile, regular, irregular shapes) remains difficult. Vision systems improving but not yet matching human versatility.

Current state: Best for uniform products (boxes, bottles) in controlled environments. Struggling with fashion, irregular items, delicate goods.

Investment: £100,000-£500,000 per robot cell. ROI uncertain—technology rapidly evolving.

Shuttle Systems:

High-speed shuttles move horizontally and vertically through multi-level storage structures, retrieving totes or cartons to picking stations.

Benefits: Very high throughput (1,000+ totes/hour), dense storage, scalable (add more shuttles to increase capacity).

Investment: £1,000,000-£3,000,000+ for complete system.

Typical use: Fashion eCommerce, high-SKU-count operations, micro-fulfilment centres.

Considerations Before Automating

Volume justification:

Automation requires significant volume to justify investment. Generally need 5,000+ orders daily for G2P systems, though smaller operations might justify simpler automation like pick-to-light.

Product characteristics:

Uniform, regular-shaped products automate easily. Irregular shapes, very small items, or extremely fragile goods remain challenging. Analyse your SKU profile realistically.

Order profiles:

Single-item orders are automation-friendly. Large multi-item orders might be more complex. Mixed order profiles might require hybrid manual/automated approaches.

Growth trajectory:

Are you growing? Automation typically requires 5-7 year commitment to achieve ROI. Declining or uncertain volumes make automation risky.

Space constraints:

Some automation (AS/RS, VLMs) maximises space. Others (G2P) require significant floor space. Consider your facility realities.

Flexibility needs:

Automation excels at consistent, repetitive tasks. Frequent process changes or highly variable products limit automation benefits. Some operations need manual flexibility.

Integration requirements:

Automated systems must integrate with your WMS. Legacy systems struggle. Modern cloud WMS platforms integrate more easily.

Disruption tolerance:

Implementation requires facility downtime or running parallel operations. Can your business tolerate 2-6 months of disrupted operations?

Benefits

Higher throughput:

Automated pick rates often 3-5× manual rates. G2P systems achieve 300-600 units/hour per picker versus 60-120 manual.

Improved accuracy:

Pick accuracy of 99.9%+ common with automation. Eliminates human error, wrong location visits, quantity mistakes.

Labour reduction:

Not eliminating people entirely, but reducing headcount 30-70% for picking operations. Redirects staff to value-added tasks: quality control, kitting, returns processing.

Consistent performance:

No fatigue, no bad days, no learning curves. Same performance hour 1 as hour 1,000.

Space optimisation:

Dense storage configurations impossible with manual picking. Vertical stacking and tighter aisles increase capacity 50-200%.

Scalability:

Peak seasons handled by running systems longer hours rather than hiring temporary staff. More predictable, less stressful.

Safety improvements:

Reduced walking, reaching, lifting. Fewer workplace injuries. Better ergonomics for remaining staff.

Challenges

High capital cost:

Entry point typically £250,000+. Small businesses struggle to justify investment regardless of efficiency gains.

Long implementation:

6-18 months from purchase to full operation. Complex projects take longer. During implementation, operations often constrained.

Inflexibility:

Once installed, automated systems are difficult and expensive to modify. Process changes require significant rework.

Maintenance requirements:

Automated systems need regular maintenance, spare parts, technical expertise. Downtime can paralyse operations if no backup capacity.

Technology risk:

Automation technology evolves rapidly. Today's cutting-edge might be obsolete in 5-7 years before achieving full ROI.

Integration complexity:

Making automation talk to WMS, ERP, and other systems requires technical expertise and ongoing support.

Hybrid Approaches

Most operations don't go fully automated. They automate fast-moving A items whilst keeping manual picking for slower-moving products. This balances investment against return.

Example:

Fashion retailer automates top 30% of SKUs representing 80% of picks using G2P system. Remaining SKUs picked manually. Result: 70% overall automation rate with 40% of the capital investment full automation would require.

Zone-based automation:

Automate high-velocity zones, keep low-velocity zones manual. Allows phased implementation, reduced risk, incremental investment.

Getting Started

Analyse current operations honestly. What are your pick rates? Accuracy rates? Labour costs? Don't guess, measure for at least 4 weeks across different seasons.

Calculate current cost per pick. Include all costs; labour, space, errors, supervision. This is your baseline for ROI comparisons.

Research automation options suitable for your scale and product mix. Visit facilities using similar systems. See them operating in real environments, not vendor showrooms.

Develop business case with realistic assumptions. Conservative estimates for benefits, generous for costs. Include ongoing maintenance, training, integration support.

Consider starting with simpler automation before complex systems. Pick-to-light or voice systems might deliver 60% of benefits for 10% of investment. Prove ROI before bigger commitments.

Partner with experienced integrators. Don't try DIY unless you have serious technical capabilities. Implementation expertise matters enormously.

Automated picking isn't universal solution. It's powerful tool for specific scenarios; high volume, consistent products, predictable demand, capital availability. For operations meeting these criteria, it's transformational. For others, it's expensive mistake.

Know which category you're in before writing cheques. The most successful automation projects start with clear-eyed assessment of whether automation actually suits your operation. That's not as exciting as robots, but it's more important.