E-commerce logistics sorters
E-commerce or 3PL companies often have a wide range of items in their warehouses. This makes automation a challenging task. Challenging, but far from impossible. By using a sorter with a wide product range, often a large part of your portfolio can be covered by using one system. In the past years, we have often advised in e-commerce projects. The most proposed sortation solutions within e-commerce logistics are our LR-sorter, slide tray sorter and split tray sorter. These sorters are designed for the sorting of small to medium-sized items such as apparel, electronics, books, or even small accessories.
Case study Promese
Sorting systems for small to medium sized parcels and packets
Our most popular sorter for outbound e-commerce applications must be the LR-sorter. The LR-sorter is a modular machine and offers a space-saving solution thanks to its vertical or I-shaped layout. With 8.000 trays per hour, it's a high-capacity sorter, but the required space is minimized drastically.
The slide tray sorter is the older brother of the LR-sorter and lent its tray design to the LR-sorter. The specifications of products are quite similar, but the slide tray sorter offers a higher sorting capacity of 12.000 items per hour and recirculation. Both the LR-sorter and the slide tray sorter are sortation solutions that are very capable of handling fragile items.
If products are less fragile, the split tray sorter might be another option to consider. This sorter enables a sorting capacity of up to 14.400 trays per hour and can be delivered in a wide variety of layouts.
Sorting destinations
We have come across a wide range of sorting destinations used in the e-commerce sector. Our sorters are designed to allow most typical use cases, including roll containers, yorks, bags and gravity rollers.
Not sure which sorter is right for you? More information can be found in our sorter selection guide.
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Chutes and double chutes
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Cartons, totes or trolleys
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Roll cages or postal bags
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Conveyor buffer stations
This exit is especially fit for projects where a buffer is needed. We often see this station in e-fulfillment or fashion projects. Products can be moved from the chute into the shipping medium by operators. The chutes are optimized to allow ergonomic handling of products. Additionally, different packing table layouts are possible upon request. Chutes can also be used in combination with cartons, totes, or trolleys. Our double chutes offer a more compact solution but do increase the overall height of a sorter.
Based on the shipping medium, we provide chutes with an open end, to directly sort into the carton, tote or trolley. We also provide chutes with a cut-off option. The end of the chute can be either closed or opened, offering a buffer when exchanging a full or completed exit medium. These stations are often used in e-fulfillment or fashion projects.
Like the cartons, totes, or trolleys, these stations are selected based on the shipping medium. If all products are to be shipped in cages or bags, we can directly sort into these mediums. This saves time as operators don't have to worry about moving products from the chute into the bags or cages. However, these stations are quite high and could affect the height of the sorter. Typically, these stations are found in projects involving small parcels or envelopes.
Our conveyor buffer stations are used if large products are part of the product scope. By sorting onto a conveyor, we offer a large buffer for items. The length of the conveyors is determined by the size of the products and expected throughput. We often use gravity conveyors for this solution, but driven conveyors are an option as well.
E-commerce sorters
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CASE STUDY:
"In Equinox we found a partner that was able to deliver a solution that ticked all the boxes."
Francisco Cano Rueda, Logistics director, Parfois