What is Pick and Pack? – Everything You Need to Know

Great news, you have opened an e-commerce store and are quickly making sales. But how should you ship them all, especially with all your fantastic products? Pick and pack fulfilment is the answer.

You may have never heard of this process, but it is the backbone of online retail and helps thousands of companies complete orders efficiently and affordably. Read our helpful guide to answer the fundamental questions: what is it, how can it help me and how can it optimise my pick and pack warehouse?

What is Pick and Pack?

This is an order fulfilment method commonly used by e-commerce retailers to ship small orders. It involves workers picking out individual items from a fulfilment centre warehouse and packing them for a courier to deliver.

The Process

One of the advantages of pick and pack is that it is incredibly simple. With only four steps, implementing it is easy but effective:

1. Order is placed and received

If you are working with an e-commerce store, the customer will place their order via their website. A fulfilment software processes this order and generates a packing slip that lists the required items.

2. Workers gather the products

The worker will locate and select the required items from the warehouse. Depending on the layout of the warehouse and the pick-and-pack strategy, they may pick multiple orders at a time. 

3. Items are packaged

Once the worker has found the products, they compile them with the necessary dunnage and shipping information at a packing station. Then they pack the order, including other objects like promotional offers and warranty cards. Finally, they attach a shipping label and seal the package. 

4. A courier ships the order

The fulfilment centre then passes the package onto a courier that delivers it to the end customer. 

Pick and Pack Strategies and Methods You Can Use

As with any packaging method, companies employ multiple strategies and optimise their process to fulfil more orders. Here are four of the most common options:

Single Piece Packing

The most straightforward method of pick and pack is single or piece packing. Workers handle one order at a time: they receive the order slip, gather the required products and then package them before moving on to their next order. This system is only suitable for small warehouses as it can be inefficient.

Batch

To increase efficiency, warehouses will often pick in batches. A worker will be given multiple orders and will find all the items required to fulfil them in one trip around the warehouse. After they return to the packing zone, they sort and pack the items before taking on more orders and going for another lap. 

Zone

Companies often divide their warehouses into different zones according to the products they store. Order pickers remain in a zone and only find items in that area of the warehouse. Once they have completed their part of the order, the package moves to another zone to collect items located there. Depending on the size of the warehouse, it may use conveyor belts to transport these orders between zones. 

Wave

Wave packing builds upon zone packing. The items for an order are collected simultaneously in the different zones and taken to a packing area, making it ideal for anyone looking to complete multiple-item orders.

OPTIMISING YOUR PICK AND PACK WAREHOUSE

Efficient pick-and-pack warehouse management, also known as slotting, is essential for streamlining fulfilment processes and minimising warehouse travel and search time. The following strategies can help optimise your pick-and-pack warehouse:

Chaotic Inventory Management

Avoiding placing visually similar items together
Chaotic inventory management deliberately disrupts conventional organisation methods. By storing visually similar items apart, the likelihood of picking errors decreases. For instance, placing a medium black dress near grey baseball caps or pink sweaters improves picking accuracy.

Volume Inventory Management

Prioritising high-turnover SKUs closer to packing stations
Volume inventory management arranges SKUs with the highest turnover closest to the packing station, while slower-selling products are stored farther away. This minimises the distance staff must travel during order picking.

Class-Based Inventory Management

Grouping items based on shared traits
Class-based inventory management involves grouping items according to shared characteristics such as turnover rate or packing requirements. For example, products that require bubble wrap or large items that do not need additional packaging can be grouped together.

Mobile Shelf-Based Order Pick Systems (MSOP)

Utilising robotic systems to bring shelves to pickers
Mobile shelf-based order pick (MSOP) systems employ robots to transport shelves directly to pickers and return them to the warehouse floor afterwards. This approach enhances efficiency by reducing picker travel time within the warehouse.

OUR TOP ORDER PACKING TIPS

As items move into packing, the right processes can ensure that your pick-and-pack order fulfilment drives customer satisfaction. 

Here are our top 5 packing tips to help optimise your current process:

1. Right-Sized Box: Use boxes that fit items snugly to reduce shipping costs and prevent damage.
2. Use Infill for Protection: Cushion items with materials like shredded cardboard to prevent shifting during shipping.
3. Choose the Right Tape: Select the appropriate tape for strength and sustainability, and apply it correctly to prevent damage.
4. Optimise for Dimensional Weight: Reduce pick and pack fees and shipping costs by using compact packaging.
5. Implement Kitting Services: Adapt packing techniques to accommodate assembling SKUs into subscription packs or promotional bundles.

The Benefits of Pick and Pack

Pick-and-pack fulfilment centres allow online retailers to offer numerous products. Subsequently, customers benefit from choice, and retailers can make more sales.

It is also a cost-effective way of fulfilling orders. All your products are stored in one location, eliminating expensive transport fees, and there are usually no minimum order size requirements. 

If done effectively, it can directly increase customer satisfaction, as it ensures that orders can be shipped quickly. Fulfilment centres typically remain open 24/7 to process orders placed at any time, making next-day delivery possible. And with proper storage, items have adequate protection to keep them in good condition.

The Challenges

Ineffective stock management and organisation can hinder your pick-and-pack system. You need high levels of communication and coordination to fulfil orders swiftly without making mistakes. 

Pick-and-pack warehouses also struggle with inaccurate information about their inventory. If you lose track of your stock, you risk running out of particular items and being unable to fulfil orders. It can also make finding products incredibly difficult, slowing down your efficiency and increasing the time it takes for a customer to receive their delivery.

How Can You Improve Your Accuracy?

Improving the accuracy and efficiency of your system will increase the number of orders you can fulfil in a day and eliminate unnecessary mistakes. Here are some simple techniques you can employ:

1. Organisation and labelling

Regular stocktaking will keep your inventory information up-to-date and give your warehouse staff accurate details of product locations. Therefore, it takes them less time to gather and complete orders. 

2. Assign each SKU a location

An SKU (stock-keeping unit) is a code assigned to a product to identify it in the stock management system.

By breaking down your warehouse into zones, rows and shelves and using a logical labelling system, you can make finding products easier. Then, you can give each SKU a dedicated location that a worker can go to and instantly choose the correct product, irrespective of size and colour.

3. Reduce time spent walking

Unfortunately, workers have to spend dead time walking through the warehouse. Reducing this wastage will increase the number of orders packed daily, which is especially crucial in busy periods. You can: 

• Create the most efficient routes between items
• Provide clear directions to different areas of the warehouse
• Keep often bought together items close to each other
• Batch pick

4. Organise your stock by sales

You should place your most popular products next to packaging areas to reduce the time spent gathering them. Divide your warehouse into inventory zones next to packing areas, starting with the most popular and ending with dead stock.

Integrating Automation

Some pick-and-pack warehouses are implementing advanced technology to guide their workers and increase speed. Here are some of the most popular systems:

Product Identification Light

A light system reduces the time required to find individual items. Each storage bin has a light that is independently controlled by a central system. When an order comes through, your processing system generates a barcode that a worker can scan. The system responds by activating the lights of the required items so that the worker can easily spot them. 

Mobile Scanning

If you equip your products with unique barcodes, a warehouse worker can use a mobile device to track the items required to fulfil an order. When the worker scans a barcode, the central warehouse management system identifies it as the correct item and logs it as selected, offering real-time insights into your inventory. Plus, the mobile device can provide an optimised route around the warehouse to save time and energy when collecting the correct items. 

Voice-Activated Systems

With the increased use of technology in warehouses, workers now have an alternative to mobile scanning. They wear headsets to communicate with the central system, keeping their hands available to collect items. It may seem trivial, but this method decreases gathering time. 

Completing Pick and Pack Fulfilment Tasks

To complete pick and pack tasks, you should follow a simple process. You will be assigned orders and need to select the items and package them correctly, ready to be shipped to the customer. Depending on the warehouse’s system, you could be assigned to a specific zone or have to follow a route to gather the required items.

Required Skill Set

If you are working in a large, sophisticated warehouse, you may need technical skills. For example, if you have to operate a forklift, you need a specific licence in the UK. An employer might look for this skill when hiring or provide training and qualifications as part of the role. 

You will need to work with mobile scanning and voice command systems. However, when you enter a new warehouse, your employers usually teach you how to use their specific interface.

Why You Should Outsource Pick and Pack

Opting for third-party pick and pack means you do not have to worry about order fulfilment. If you have a growing e-commerce store and need efficient order processing and packing, look no further than ADP Distribution. 

With our 19,000-square-foot pick-and-pack warehouse located in the heart of England, Birmingham, we can store and package all your orders and then hand them to couriers to deliver. By choosing our pick and pack services, you benefit from over 50 years of combined experience and our bespoke inventory management system, helping you get your products to your customers.

If you want to start using our services or learn more about what we can offer, contact our friendly experts today.

FAQ

What is pick-and-pack order fulfilment?

Pick and pack is a warehouse order fulfilment system that involves collecting the items for an order and packing them into a single order. 

Is warehouse picking and packing difficult?

The pick and pack process is simple to follow. However, an ineffective inventory system can make finding the right items challenging.

How much does pick and pack fulfilment cost?

Pick and pack typically costs between £2 and £5 per order. This price covers the costs of storage and warehouse workers’ pay. You may also find that bulk rates are available to save money on large numbers of items. 

What is the pick and pack system?

The pick-and-pack system is a method used in warehouses to fulfil customer orders efficiently. It involves selecting items from inventory (picking) and then packing them for shipment.

What is a pick-and-pack warehouse?

A pick-and-pack warehouse is a facility where products are selected from inventory (picked) and then packed for shipment to fulfil customer orders.

What is the pick and pack process flow?

The pick and pack process flow outlines the sequence of steps involved in fulfilling customer orders in a warehouse. It typically includes order picking, packing, and shipping.

What is the picking process in a warehouse?

The picking process in a warehouse refers to the activity of selecting items from inventory to fulfil customer orders. This process is a crucial part of order fulfilment and typically involves locating, retrieving, and preparing items for shipment.

What is pick pack and dispatch?

Pick, pack and dispatch is a simple extension of pick and pack. You find a product, package it and then pass it on to a courier for delivery.