What Are the Types of the Modern Logistics Sorting System?

The sorting system is a kind of material handling system that sorts out random goods that have different categories and different destinations according to their requirements (classification according to product category or product destination).

With the improvement of social productivity and the increasing variety of commodities, the sorting operation of goods in the production and circulation fields has given rise to a department featuring time-consuming, labor-consuming, occupying large area, high error rate and complex management. For this reason, the sorting system has become an important branch of the material handling system, which is widely used in post and telecommunications, aviation, food, medicine and other industries, and used in circulation centers and distribution centers.

Ⅰ. Two sorting types of logistics sorting system

In modern sorting technology, the logistics sorting system can be divided into two types of sorting: "people to goods" and "goods to people" according to the operation mode.

1. In the "people to goods" sorting system

The sorting personnel bring the sorting container to the shelf of the goods to be sorted according to the sorting list or under the guidance of the sorting system to sort the goods. At this time, the goods are in a static state.

2. In the "goods to people" sorting system

The auto sorting system is used to transport the goods to the sorting operation site, and then the goods are sorted out manually or automatically. Regardless of the "people to goods" or "goods to people" sorting types, the sorting process includes three parts of sorting, delivery, and concentration.

Ⅱ. The type of sorting system

1. Sorting system for large-sized goods

Sorting system for large-sized goods generally adopts typically traditional manual/semi-manual sorting systems, auto sorting systems, etc. The traditional manual sorting system has advantages of low equipment investment and strong system flexibility, but the manual labor intensity is relatively large, the sorting efficiency is low, and the cost is high.

The auto sorting system has high sorting efficiency and high degree of automation. Compared with manual sorting, it has huge advantages in labor time, continuity, and accuracy. The disadvantage is that the equipment investment is large and the payback period is long.

2. Sorting system for small and medium-sized goods

China's current express delivery industry is still dominated by small and medium-sized goods, and the degree of automation of sorting operations is higher than that of large-sized goods, but there are still many logistics companies that perform manual sorting.

At present, mainstream auto sorting systems with sorting equipment such as crossbelt and rollers, require high investment costs and high requirements for site area. Many companies cannot achieve auto sorting whether in terms of capital or site.

3. Paperless sorting technology

Paperless sorting technology includes RF barcode recognition terminal technology, electronic label picking technology, etc. The RF barcode recognition terminal technology has advantages in operating scenarios that need to read the detailed information of the barcode. The UPC code, batch number or serial number information of the product can be accurately obtained through the RF barcode terminal device. Electronic label picking technology is typically applied to the sorting operation site of gravity sliding shelves, which is suitable for the operation scenario of unpacking and sorting goods.