Sortation

Sortation is the process of separating items into groups according to predefined criteria and routing them to the next stage in a system. In industrial and commercial settings, sortation directs products, parcels, or waste to specific destinations or processing streams. The term is used in logistics, mail handling, manufacturing, and waste management.

In distribution centers and parcel hubs, automated sortation systems use conveyors, scanners, and diverting devices to separate items by destination, customer, or product type. Items pass over barcode or RFID readers, and control software assigns destinations and triggers diverters or trays that route each item onto the correct path.

Common methods include tilt-tray, cross-belt, loop, and vertical-lift sorters. Each type offers different throughput, footprint, and item compatibility. Manual sortation remains common in smaller facilities or for nonstandard items, often supported by workstation benches and hand-held scanners.

Applications extend beyond logistics to mailrooms, airports for baggage, manufacturing lines for part families, and municipal or industrial waste facilities that separate recyclables, organics, and residuals.

Key considerations include accuracy, speed, scalability, and reliability, as well as integration with warehouse control systems and enterprise software. Maintenance, energy use, safety, and system downtime are also important. Ongoing development focuses on data analytics, better sensing, and more flexible routing.

See also: sorting, material handling, automated storage and retrieval systems.