The Different Kinds of Pick and Pack and What Can Work for You

Lately on the CRWS blog, we’ve covered a lot of pick and pack information. Though the process is a simple set of procedures, there are different ways that product can be picked to suit their individual needs.

As a quick refresher, the term “pick and pack” refers to a shipment model where items are picked from the warehouse shelves according to purchase orders collected from a point of sale, packaged on site, labeled and then shipped to the customer. So, simply put, the order is picked from the shelf and packed in the same place.

Now that you know what pick and pack is, we’re going to go over the five most popular ways it can be made into a functional solution for a business.

Discrete Order Picking

Discrete order picking is a process preferred primarily by small businesses. Because they do not have a massive influx of orders at one time, they are able to focus their time and energy on picking and packing one order at a time.

Basically, discrete order picking works by fulfilling orders one at a time in the order they were received. With a smaller product catalog and a lower order volume, this is the best way to ensure that there are little mistakes in the order fulfillment process. However, as businesses grow, this fulfillment process becomes less feasible.

Batch Picking

This time, instead of picking and packing one order at a time, a batch of SKUs is picked at one time. With batch picking, every order that contains SKU A will be picked first, pulling only that product, before moving to SKU B and so on. This allows a larger volume of orders to be packed at one time, while still reducing the likelihood of mistakes.

Wave Picking

This is where things start to get a little bit more complicated. This type of picking blends discrete and batch picking together, grouping and fulfilling similar orders during scheduled time frames.

With wave picking, it’s very important that inventory is being managed closely and the warehouse is optimized for the highest efficiency possible. This is generally used when there is a high volume of orders that have similar SKUs, shipping deadlines, or products that are near each other in the warehouse.

Zone Picking

Ideal for larger businesses with a high rate of inventory turnover, zone picking consists of having employees assigned specifically to different zones in the warehouse, only picking from that zone. From there, they pass the order on to another employee in another zone to complete the order. This is the kind of picking process that Amazon would use.

Once again, this requires a highly optimized warehouse and closely managed inventory.

Each style of pick and pack requires oversight and a higher level of optimization from a warehousing partner. Ultimately, no matter the solution, it comes down to what works best for each individual business. These pick and pack strategies can be enacted in house, or by a 3PL partner when the fulfillment process starts to get too complex.

CRWS is proud to provide pick and pack services to a variety of different industries, tailored specifically for their fulfillment process. Contact us today to see how we can help you manage costs and satisfy customers.