MHE Directed DC
THE MHE (MATERIAL HANDLING EQUIPMENT)
The MHE (Material Handling Equipment) directed DATASCOPE WMS module is used by advanced warehouses where the main constraining element in the picking process is expensive material handling equipment.
In this mode of operation, the sales order releasing process will analyze every order line being released for picking and will assign the picking function to the most appropriate MHE.
As an example, a typical MHE-type Distribution Center may have bin locations at floor level where multiple SKUs are held in multiple locations at the carton level. Then the warehouse may have a mix of broken pallets of single or multi-SKU pallets and full single-SKU pallets at a higher level.
When the order is released, any fully reserved single SKU pallet can be picked up using a traditional reach truck. This pick is simple as it involves simply picking the entire pallet. Any high-level pick requiring a number of cartons of a pallet would be assigned to a man-up picking device while any mixed carton or unit picking from the floor level would be assigned to a picker using a pallet jack.
As orders are released to the warehouse, the picking slips are queued by MHE type. As a picker completes a picking slip, he/she will click a “fetch now” option on the scanner, and the next picking slip for that picker’s MHE type will automatically be assigned to him/her. Various priority sort orders can be applied at this point.
The picker names can also be moved from one MHE type to another, depending on the workload by MHE.