LightPath: Book Warehouse Management System
Designed a semi-automated light-guided system to reduce human error in warehouse book picking for a fast-scaling retailer.
Client
Role
UX Strategist & Systems Designer
Year
2025
Summary
Requirement (Business problem)
A fast-growing second-hand book retailer in the Netherlands, with over 20,000 books in circulation, was facing warehouse inefficiencies as they scaled. Human errors in shelving and order picking made it harder to maintain speed and accuracy. The company aimed to minimize human error and reduce return rates to near zero, but full warehouse automation was not feasible due to high costs and space limitations.
Issue (User problem)
Warehouse staff often misplaced books or struggled to find them quickly, especially as order volume grew. Manually searching shelf codes slowed down fulfillment, and occasional errors in order picking led to incorrect shipments. The existing workflow could not scale without increasing the risk of mistakes — and the company needed a fast, reliable, and cost-effective way to support accuracy.
Design (Solution)
After interviewing the company owner and analyzing current workflows, I proposed a cost-effective, semi-automated "light-to-pick" system tailored to their warehouse constraints. Key elements of the solution included:
Stochastic shelving: Books are placed in any open section (8–10 book capacity boxes or shelf subdivisions) rather than strict categorical systems.
Smart restocking: When restocking, workers scan the shelf section and the book's barcode. This automatically updates the book’s location in the database.
Guided order picking: When fulfilling orders, the system activates two layers of lighting — one to indicate the correct shelf in the corridor, and another to highlight the exact section containing the book.
Scan-to-confirm: Employees scan the book to confirm the correct item before proceeding to the next one.
This streamlined process eliminates the need for constant manual checking, reduces cognitive load, and increases accuracy without requiring expensive automation infrastructure.
End result (Impact/Outcome)
The proposed system offered a practical, low-cost solution to significantly reduce human error and improve warehouse efficiency. It was designed to integrate directly into the company’s existing database and storage layout. While still in concept stage, the idea was well-received by the company as a scalable and actionable alternative to full automation.
Click to read the case study and design rationale