Picking machine
A picking machine in pharmacies transports the preparations requested by the staff via the inventory control system from a warehouse to the serving employee. Manufacturers of automatic order picking machines state that the time gained can be used for customer advice.
storage
In contrast to the usual pharmacy push columns, in which the preparations are stored alphabetically, the so-called automatic picking machines are based on a chaotic or dynamic storage principle . The packs are not stored in alphabetical order but according to height classes. This means that storage is much more compact than in push-pull columns.
How the machine works
The delivered goods are usually scanned in at an input station and then measured by machine for height, depth and width. If necessary, expiry dates can also be entered. The goods are transported to the automatic order picking machine via a conveyor belt and with a gripper and stored there by a handling device in a free storage space corresponding to the size of the pack. There are systems that work with so-called suction technology and others that work with jaw grippers. With the jaw gripper, there are speed advantages through multipick and combi-pick functions. Some systems also offer the option of fully automated storage in which the preparations only have to be poured out. The machine then takes over the machine measurement and scanning.
If a customer requests a specific preparation, this is requested from the sales counter via the merchandise management system . When a product is requested via the cash register, the desired medication is issued according to the FIFO principle ( first in-first out , i.e. oldest goods first). While the machine removes the preparation and transports it to the sales counter via conveyor technology , the employee stays with the customer.