Ikea logistics centre uses combination of pick-to-light and LED displays

It has to work as simply and comprehensibly as possible: At its logistics centre in Dortmund, IKEA relies on a combination of pick-to-light and additional visualisation via large LED displays. The technical components for this were supplied by microSYST.

Every day, goods are dispatched from the picking centre in Dortmund to the European stores.  The orders from the individual shops are picked onto empty pallets, which are placed in large destination compartments - the so-called picking boxes - where they are loaded and packed. Prepared in this way, the goods start their journey to the respective furniture store.
A proven system consisting of 384 pick-to-light displays and large LED displays ensures that order picking is as error-free as possible. For this purpose, each picking box is equipped with a customised pick display that shows the respective number of parts to be deposited. In addition, integrated LEDs in the colours green, yellow and red provide information about the status of the picking order of each destination compartment: The green LED lights up when picking is in progress, the yellow LED lights up when the compartment is not currently being handled. The red LED indicates when the order has been completed and the door of the picking box should be closed. For easier reading, the workers in the Dortmund logistics centre can also use the large LED displays mounted above the respective compartment for orientation: In addition to the smaller pick display, they show the number of items to be picked. The combination of a pick display directly at the destination compartment and a large display above it saves time and minimises the error rate.

The microSYST technology is maintenance-free, extremely durable and, last but not least, sustainable - the current system has been running error-free at IKEA for 15 years now. Extensions or upgrades to newer technology modules are still possible without any problems thanks to the downward compatibility of microSYST components. In addition, all components are mounted in a way that keeps maintenance and any adjustments easy to handle. Simple and as comprehensible as possible, yet not less good - true to the motto of the yellow-blue furnishing giant from Sweden.