Picking Productivity More Than Doubled
A jewellery distribution operation serving 68 stores and ecommerce improved picking from 5.6 to 12.2 items/min and cut touchpoints from 17 to 10.
5.6 → 12.2
Items picked per minute
Single integrated DC flow
5.6 → 12.2 items/min
Picking productivity
17 → 10
Material touchpoints
38% lower vs original design
Space need
Store + ecommerce integrated
Fulfilment model
The Situation
Inward, inspection, tagging, packaging, storage, picking, and dispatch were designed separately, creating avoidable handling.
Store replenishment and ecommerce competed for floor and resources instead of running as one coordinated system.
At this network scale, every extra touch multiplied across channels and orders.
What We Did
We redesigned the distribution centre as one connected movement system.
- Rebuilt end-to-end flow from receipt to dispatch as one sequence.
- Reslotted inventory to cut travel distance and picking time.
- Integrated ecommerce and store fulfilment on the same operating floor.
- Removed non-value handling through layout and movement redesign.
The Results
Picking productivity rose from 5.6 to 12.2 items/min (about 120% improvement).
Touchpoints reduced from 17 to 10, and final layout needed 38% less floor space than the client baseline design.
Store and ecommerce now run as one coordinated operation.
- 01
At multi-store scale, every touch removed compounds across every order.
- 02
Count touches before adding pickers.
Industrial Businesses Across 3 Continents