How to Handle Non-Conveyable Items with Automation

Good news! That new exercise bike you ordered arrived. Bad news! Now you have to move it upstairs.

The flat-pack box is lean, but also long and wide – so much so, that it barely fits up the stairs. What you’re experiencing in the struggle of moving such a bulky, irregularly shaped item through your house is reminiscent of the challenges that distribution centers face handling such items every day.

Whether furniture, sporting goods, outdoor equipment or something else, large, irregularly shaped items are described as “non conveyable” when their physical characteristics prevent them from being handled by automated conveyor and sortation systems, necessitating alternative workflows.

Common characteristics of non-conveyables include:

• The length of an item, like a golf club, causing it to get stuck on an incline
• The inconsistent center of gravity of a round item, like a bowling ball or packaging tube, preventing it from starting and stopping on a conveyor
• The size and weight of items like furniture or exercise equipment simply exceeding the dimensions possible for existing automation

Read this white paper to learn how to evaluate your workflows and select the right technology for your needs.