Designing a Pick-and-Pack Process That Scales
The pick-and-pack process is the heartbeat of any fulfilment operation. For small businesses, it's often the first place that informal habits become costly. Understanding the three main picking methodologies — single-order, batch, and zone — and when each is appropriate is the starting point for building a process that works at your current volume and continues to work as you grow.
Single-order picking is straightforward: one picker, one order, picked and packed in sequence. It's appropriate for low volumes, high-SKU-count orders, or operations where accuracy is paramount and speed is secondary. The main limitation is that the picker spends a high proportion of time travelling rather than picking.
Batch picking groups multiple orders together and picks all items for several orders in a single warehouse pass. This reduces travel time significantly when orders have overlapping SKUs — common in operations with a focused product range. The trade-off is the need for a sorting step after picking, which introduces its own error risk if not managed carefully.
Zone picking divides the warehouse into sections and assigns pickers to zones. Each picker handles only their zone's items; orders are consolidated at a merge point. This approach works well when you have distinct product categories in different areas and enough volume to justify the coordination overhead.
Choosing between these isn't a permanent decision — many operations use different methods for different order types or seasons. The key is making the choice deliberately rather than by default.
Pack station design
A well-designed pack station reduces errors and pack times. The essentials: all materials within arm's reach (tape, void fill, labels, boxes), a clear staging area for picked items, and a defined flow direction so there's no ambiguity about where things go next. A simple printed checklist at the station — reviewed and updated regularly — is more reliable than memory.
