PART IV | LESSON 16: SORTATION MATERIAL HANDLING ACADEMY
DRIVING QUESTION Which sorter does this operation actually need, no more and no less?
A downward funnel with three narrowing bands, product type at the top over carton, tote, bag, and parcel icons, throughput in the middle, and footprint and destinations at the bottom, narrowing to a gold sorter icon labeled right-sized, no more, no less.

The three filters narrow the field to one sorter. The inputs pick the sorter.

The Three Filters, in Order

1. Product type

Read the matrix against the full mix, edge cases included. The minority product picks the fight.

2. Throughput

Use peak, not average. The effective rate sits below the spec sheet. Cite the manufacturer and model.

3. Footprint

Floor and destinations. Line needs a recirculation conveyor; a loop carries it built in.

Design the System, Not Just the Sorter

Accumulation → Merge → Induction → Identification → Sorter → Takeaway → Recirculation, with a hospital lane branching off for misreads and rejects. Leave the recirculation path off a line system and every missed sort piles up until the line stops.
DESIGN PRINCIPLE Let the inputs pick the sorter.