Conveyor

A belt, a roller track or a chain carries cartons, bins or pallets from one place to another on its own, so nobody has to push or carry them. It can run in a straight line, round corners and up and down, and it can join or split flows. The goods move at a steady speed to wherever they are needed; this equipment is called a conveyor.

Conveyors differ in what they carry and how: roller conveyors for cartons and bins, belt conveyors for flat or small items, chain conveyors for pallets, and vertical conveyors that lift between floors. Some makers supply complete systems built around a site, others supply the parts, such as rollers, motors and modules, from which systems are built.

A conveyor on its own only moves goods. It is the sensors, scanners and control software around it that decide where each item goes.

When it pays off

A conveyor pays off when the same goods move between the same points all day, for example from receiving to storage or from picking to packing, over distances where walking or trucks cost more labour than the line costs. It pays off less in small or changing operations, where the layout will move, and in low-volume sites where trucks and trolleys are enough. A fixed line also takes floor space and splits the floor in two, so crossing points and access have to be planned, and it is worth thinking about where the flow will be in five years, not only today.

What the warehouse system does with it

A conveyor is usually driven by its own control layer, often called a warehouse control system, which turns what the WMS says into physical decisions. The WMS releases orders, or tells the control layer which destination a tote or carton belongs to, usually by the barcode on its label. The control layer reads the label at the scan points, chooses the route, reports each confirmation, such as at the pack station or the end of the line, and flags exceptions such as an unreadable label. The WMS does not run motors; it sets the destination and gets the result.

Who makes it

BEUMER Group, BÖWE SYSTEC, Interroll, Qimarox, TGW, Transnorm

In alphabetical order. Not a ranking or a recommendation.