The most effective picking technology depends on the operation’s order profiles, SKU count, and fulfillment speed requirements. Malin implements four primary solutions: goods-to-person systems that eliminate operator travel by delivering products to a stationary workstation; voice directed picking that keeps hands and eyes free for the task; pick-to-light and put-to-light systems that use light signals to guide operators to the correct locations; and order profiling, which optimizes inventory slotting to reduce travel and improve flow before any technology is introduced.

In a traditional picking environment, operators spend a significant portion of their shift traveling to product locations—time that adds no value to the order. Goods-to-person systems reverse this by automatically delivering items to a fixed workstation where the operator picks and packs without moving. This eliminates non-value-added travel entirely, dramatically increases picks per hour, and enables high-density storage configurations that would otherwise be impractical to pick manually at scale.

Voice picking uses audio prompts to direct operators to the correct location and instruct them on what to pick—keeping hands and eyes completely free. It’s particularly effective in environments with large SKU counts and varied order profiles, like e-commerce fulfillment. Pick-to-light uses illuminated displays at each pick location to show the operator where to pick and the quantity required. Put-to-light works similarly but at the destination, indicating which bin or tote each item should go into. Both systems significantly reduce errors and are easy for new operators to learn quickly.

Pick-to-light and put-to-light systems achieve accuracy rates in excess of 99.9% by directing operators to exact locations and quantities and requiring confirmation of completion, removing reliance on memory or paper lists. Voice picking similarly reduces error rates while allowing operators to move faster. Goods-to-person systems reduce the number of operators needed to achieve the same throughput by eliminating travel time. Collectively, these technologies allow operations to do more with the same or fewer labor resources while improving the accuracy that protects customer relationships.

Yes. Malin’s team has extensive experience integrating voice picking, pick-to-light, and goods-to-person systems with a wide range of host systems including WMS and ERP platforms. Proper integration ensures order data flows accurately between the picking technology and the warehouse management system—enabling real-time inventory updates, order tracking, and performance reporting without manual reconciliation between disconnected systems.

The right picking technology depends on order profiles, SKU volume, required throughput, available floor space, and existing infrastructure. An operation fulfilling high-volume, low-SKU pallet orders has very different needs than one processing thousands of small e-commerce orders per day. Malin’s engineering team analyzes these factors—including seasonality and order type patterns—before recommending a solution, ensuring the technology chosen fits the actual demands of the operation rather than being oversized or undersized for the application.

Order profiling is the process of analyzing how, when, and where SKUs should be stored based on actual order data—including order frequency, pick quantity, and customer patterns. By slotting high-velocity items closer to packing stations and organizing storage based on real picking behavior, facilities can significantly reduce operator travel distances, speed up fulfillment cycles, and lower the labor required per order. Order profiling is often the highest-ROI first step before implementing any picking technology, as it improves efficiency without capital expenditure.