Clearing station in intralogistics
On the one hand, a clarification point is a virtual booking point to which goods are booked in the system until it is clear what will happen to the goods in the future and whether or how they will be processed further. On the other hand, it is a physical location where goods can be temporarily stored until clarification.
A clarification bin can be managed in the Warehouse Management System as a storage bin type, for example. Possible storage bin types can be as follows:
- Pallet bin
- Shelf bin
- Goods receipt
- Clarification bin
Goods that have been declared as “clarified waste” are temporarily stored in clarification bins. These clarification bins can be set up in various business processes in the warehouse.
Clarification cases
A clarification case usually occurs when an automated or manual process in the warehouse cannot take place as planned. This can be the case, for example, if article pallets cannot be processed by the automated picking system due to transport damage. It can also happen during manual picking that parts are still missing for the completion of an order or a picking error is discovered during picking. This package is then temporarily stored in a clearing station until all the necessary packages are available.
Another case for the clarification area would be if a scanner in the incoming goods department is unable to automatically capture a barcode, which means that a part or pallet cannot be identified, resulting in a need for clarification.
Activities at the clearing station
For such cases, there are clearing stations to which the goods can be transported via a so-called return stitch.
Depending on requirements, the following activities can take place at a clearing station, for example:
- Check weight deviations
- Check serial numbers and add missing numbers
- Correct picking errors
- Relocate goods
- Check barcode labels for visibility
- Label customer pallets
- Profile check of pallet contours to ensure automation capability
- Check completeness
In summary, the use of a clearing station is suitable if goods are damaged, need to be checked for another reason or the further procedure for a complete order is unclear. While the goods are stored in the clearing station, a decision can be made at leisure as to whether the next step should be a write-off or stock transfer, for example.
You can find more information under Storage bin adjustment.
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