Buying guide
Order picking means taking individual cases or items from the racking to build an order, rather than moving whole pallets. A distribution centre making up mixed pallets for each shop, or a parts warehouse sending out boxes of small components, does it all day, and the truck the pickers use sets the pace of the whole operation.
There are two main kinds of order picker. A low-level order picker keeps the operator at floor level and is built for travel. A medium-level order picker lifts the operator to the upper racking levels. Which one you need depends mainly on how high you pick, what you pick and how far the operator travels. This guide explains the difference and compares our four models.
Low-level order pickers
On a low-level order picker the operator stands on a platform at floor level. He drives along the aisle, stops at the pick face, picks from the ground level and the first beam level, and loads the cases onto one or two pallets carried on long forks. The work is mostly travel between pick faces, so these trucks are built to cover long distances quickly and to let the operator get on and off easily.
Our Low-Level Order Picker 2.0 t carries 2,000 kg and lifts the forks by 200 mm. It has Curtis AC control, a travel speed of 5.2 km/h laden and 5.5 km/h unladen, and controls on both sides of the platform. The 24 V/360 Ah battery can be exchanged from the side, so a second battery keeps the truck working through a second or third shift. Overall length is 2,517 mm, and Ast is 2,780 mm with an 800 × 1,200 mm pallet carried lengthways.
The OPD-AR is built for longer runs and bigger orders. Its 2,400 mm forks carry two pallets at once, so one trip can build two orders, or one large one. Capacity is 2,000 or 2,500 kg, and travel speed is 10 km/h laden and 12.5 km/h unladen, about twice as fast as the Low-Level Order Picker 2.0 t. The operator can drive from either side, so he does not have to step on and off the platform to move to the next pick face. The battery is 24 V/270 Ah with side exchange, and gradeability is 6% laden and 15% unladen.
The price of two pallets and that speed is size. The OPD-AR is 3,650 mm long and needs an Ast of 3,849 mm, more than a metre wider than the Low-Level Order Picker 2.0 t. Check the space at the ends of your aisles as well as the aisles themselves.
Medium-level order pickers
On a medium-level order picker the operator platform rises with the forks, so the operator picks from the upper levels of the racking as well as the lower ones. Because the operator is lifted, these trucks are built around safety at height: speed is reduced as the platform rises, and the operator works inside a guarded platform.
Our Medium-Level Order Picker carries 1,000 kg with a lift height of 4,500 mm. It has Curtis AC control, tilt protection and height-dependent speed reduction. Travel speed is 5.8 km/h laden and 6.0 km/h unladen. The 24 V/280 Ah battery exchanges from the side. Ast is 3,220 mm with an 800 × 1,200 mm pallet carried lengthways, and the turning radius is 1,570 mm.
The JXH-D is a different kind of machine: a compact aerial order picker for small parts, such as spare parts stores, pharmacy and e-commerce stock picked by the item. The operator platform rises to 3,000 mm, rated capacity is 90/150 kg, and a small electric lifting tray at the front holds the picked items at a comfortable height. The turning radius is only 1,250 mm, so it works in narrow shelving aisles. Speed falls automatically with height: 4.2 km/h laden and 4.5 km/h unladen below 0.9 m, 2 km/h up to 2 m, and 1 km/h above that. Two-pedal and two-hand safety controls keep the operator’s feet and hands on the controls while the machine moves.
The four models side by side
| Model | Capacity | Lift / platform height | Travel laden / unladen | Ast or turning radius | Battery |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low-Level Order Picker 2.0 t | 2,000 kg | Platform at floor level, forks lift 200 mm | 5.2 / 5.5 km/h | Ast 2,780 mm | 24 V/360 Ah, side exchange |
| OPD-AR | 2,000 / 2,500 kg | Platform at floor level, 2,400 mm forks | 10 / 12.5 km/h | Ast 3,849 mm | 24 V/270 Ah, side exchange |
| Medium-Level Order Picker | 1,000 kg | Lift 4,500 mm | 5.8 / 6.0 km/h | Ast 3,220 mm, Wa 1,570 mm | 24 V/280 Ah, side exchange |
| JXH-D | 90 / 150 kg | Platform 3,000 mm | 4.2 / 4.5 km/h, reduced with height | Wa 1,250 mm | See spec sheet |
Ast figures are for an 800 × 1,200 mm pallet carried lengthways. Wa is the turning radius.
How to choose
Picking height
Start with the racking. If your pickers only pick from the ground level and the first beam level, a low-level order picker does the job, and it is faster and simpler. If orders regularly need cases from the upper levels, you need a truck that lifts the operator. Walk the warehouse with a list of the pick locations and count how many picks are above the first beam: that tells you more than any brochure.
What you pick
Heavy cases and whole layers built onto pallets point to a low-level truck with long forks. Cases picked at height onto a pallet point to a medium-level picker with a 1,000 kg capacity. Small items and cartons from shelving point to a compact machine like the JXH-D, which carries the picks on a tray rather than a pallet.
Travel distance
The longer the aisles and the further the run to the dispatch area, the more the travel speed matters. Over a long run the OPD-AR’s 12.5 km/h makes a real difference to picks per hour; in a small warehouse it hardly matters, and the shorter truck is easier to handle.
Aisle width
Compare the Ast on the spec sheet with your narrowest aisle, and check that the figure is quoted for the pallet you use, carried the way you carry it. Our guide to reading a spec sheet explains Ast and the other dimensions. A truck that fits the aisle on paper but has no room to turn at the aisle end will slow every picker down.
Shifts
For two or three shifts a day, look for side battery exchange. On the Low-Level Order Picker 2.0 t, the OPD-AR and the Medium-Level Order Picker the battery comes out from the side, so a charged battery goes in at the change of shift and the truck keeps working.
Working at height
An operator on a rising platform is working at height. Follow your local rules for working at height, including any requirement for harnesses, gates on the platform and operator training, and check them before you order, not after the truck arrives.
When an order picker is the wrong truck
If the job is moving full pallets in and out of high racking rather than picking cases, you need a reach truck, not an order picker. Many warehouses run both: reach trucks put full pallets away and bring them down to the pick face, and order pickers do the picking. Our guide on how to choose a reach truck covers that side of the warehouse.
Send us your racking heights, your narrowest aisle, what you pick and how many shifts you work, and we will tell you which of the four models fits. Contact us for spec sheets and a quotation.