In the world of warehousing and eCommerce, time is measured in seconds, not minutes.

Shave even 30 seconds off a repeatable process, and across thousands of orders those seconds add up to real labor savings.

One of those critical processes that all eCommerce and warehouse businesses deal with is order picking.

How you handle order picking in your warehouse can make or break the efficiency and profitability of your operation.

In this post, we’ll go over the following:

• What order picking is and why it’s so important
• Why efficient order picking directly translates to more profit
• How to choose the best order-picking methodology for your business
• Which KPIs to track to measure picking performance

What is order picking?

Order picking is the process of gathering customer orders from inventory in a warehouse or distribution center.

This often involves selecting the right items in the right quantities and packaging them for delivery. It is a crucial part of the supply chain process, as it ensures that customers receive the right items at the right time.

It may seem odd to make a big deal out of order picking. After all, how hard can it be?

An order comes in and you go get it. Simple.

And while it may be simple for a small boutique eCommerce business with a few SKUs, order picking gets very complicated, very quickly.

This is especially true once you start adding additional warehouses, multiple SKUs, and warehouse employees to the mix.

What happens when you upgrade your warehouse and you’re getting dozens of orders per minute across seven different SKUs, which are all spread throughout different areas in your storage space?

Admittedly, this is a pretty great problem to have.

But not having a good order-picking strategy in place can eat away at any potential gains earned from this influx of customers.

How does efficient order picking lead to higher profits?

Efficient order picking can help businesses increase profits in a number of ways.

Firstly, it reduces the time and labor costs associated with fulfilling orders, which lets businesses protect their margins.

It also improves customer service and satisfaction by ensuring that orders are filled quickly and accurately. This can lead to increased customer loyalty, which in turn leads to higher sales volumes.

Finally, accurate picking keeps your inventory records reliable, because every mis-pick leaves the system out of step with what’s on the shelf.

Order picking methodologies aren’t exactly the most exciting things in the world of business, and we’ll go out on a limb and say they’re probably not the reason you started an eCommerce operation in the first place.

However, order picking both directly and indirectly affects bottom-line revenue and, therefore, must be optimized.

What are the different types of order picking?

Due to the complexity of order picking in larger warehousing operations, industry leaders have developed a number of order-picking philosophies to minimize error and maximize warehouse efficiency.

The following are the most popular.

Single-piece order picking

Single-piece order picking (also called discrete order picking) is by far the simplest order picking methodology. It involves selecting each product individually and boxing it for shipping.

It is, however, the most labor-intensive process, as employees must find each individual item manually. It is very accurate, though, and allows workers to select items from a wide variety of locations.

It’s also the best fit for smaller businesses or solopreneurs without any employees.

Case picking

Case picking (also called full-case picking) means pickers pull whole cases or cartons instead of individual units. It suits orders that ship in case quantities, such as wholesale and B2B orders and retail store replenishment. Because each pick moves a full case, it takes fewer touches per unit than piece picking, and the cases often go straight to the shipping dock.

The limit is the order profile. Case picking only works when customers order in case quantities. A common hybrid uses case picking for replenishment, moving full cases from reserve storage to the pick face, and single-piece picking for customer orders. Sellers that serve both retail buyers and consumers often run both methods side by side.

Wave order picking

Wave order picking releases groups of orders to the warehouse floor at scheduled times, often timed to carrier pickups, shipping methods, or areas of the warehouse.

It’s a planning tool as much as a picking method, because pickers inside each wave still use other approaches, such as batch or zone picking.

It takes a bit to wrap your head around wave picking, so here’s how it usually breaks down step by step.

1. A manager receives customer orders.
2. Those orders are grouped into waves based on criteria such as shipping method, arrival of delivery vehicles, or area within the warehouse.
3. Once the wave plan is accepted, it’s released to the warehouse staff, usually through a warehouse management system.
4. Each warehouse employee is assigned a particular function within that wave, with the expectation that, with reasonable productivity, each staff member will complete their assigned function on time.

There are many benefits of wave picking, especially for larger warehouses. For one, it allows managers to intelligently plan their days and assign specific duties to employees.

It also helps measure the productivity of each staff member and function within each wave (pallet unloading, forklift operation, and so on).

Finally, it can produce a more predictable end result, since each wave has a designated start and end time.

Batch order picking

Batch order picking means picking items for several orders in one trip. A picker collects everything needed for a group of orders at once, and the items are then sorted by order, either during the pick or at a sorting station.

Because pickers walk the floor once for many orders, batch picking cuts travel time. It works best when orders are small and contain similar items, and when you have enough volume to fill each batch.

The trade-off is the sorting step. If items get mixed up, orders ship wrong, so use scanning to verify each item against its order.

Once picking and sorting are complete, the orders are packed and shipped.

Zone order picking

Zone picking divides the warehouse into zones, each dedicated to particular SKUs or product categories and covered by assigned pickers.

The idea is that staff learn their zone and can pick items more quickly and accurately than if they had to search the entire warehouse for each order.

In many setups, each zone’s picker fills part of the order, or the order passes from zone to zone, and the parts are consolidated before packing.

Zone picking also makes it easier to track inventory levels in each zone and to size bins for the products stored there.

It tends to suit larger warehouses with many SKUs. The trade-offs are the consolidation step and uneven workloads when one zone is busier than the others.

Pick path sequencing

Whatever method you use, the route a picker takes through the warehouse matters.

Warehouse management systems typically offer several pick path options, such as zig-zag, serpentine, and forward-and-reverse, and use them to sequence each pick list so pickers cover less ground.

Pick path sequencing pairs well with any of the methods above. SkuVault, for example, generates pick lists that show pickers an efficient route to collect all the products on an order with minimal backtracking.

How to make order picking more efficient

As we’ve argued, order picking is an essential part of any warehouse’s operations, and it’s important to use as many tools and techniques as possible to simplify the process.

Here are a few tips for making order picking more efficient:

1: Automate as much of the process as possible with technology and software

This can include anything from barcode scanning technology to automated carts and vehicles.

We definitely recommend investing in inventory management software, especially if you’re doing anything more advanced than single-piece picking.

For example, SkuVault has built-in features that support wave picking and many of the other order picking methodologies described in this post.

Employees can have digital pick lists and wave assignments sent to their mobile devices, allowing them to view the most efficient picking routes and interact with their assigned wave functions. For what to look for, see our guide to warehouse picking software.

2: Use zone picking to break down orders into smaller, manageable tasks

Zone picking can reduce errors and improve productivity by breaking down orders into discrete zones that are concentrated around certain SKUs or product categories.

It also helps optimize bin sizes for each zone, ensuring that space is used effectively.

3: Make use of pick-to-light systems

Pick-to-light systems help employees locate products in the warehouse quickly and accurately.

Lights at the storage locations indicate which items should be picked and in what quantity, which cuts the time pickers spend searching and checking pick lists.

4: Implement RFID technology or barcodes for tracking orders and inventory

RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology can identify items and shipments without a line of sight, so you can capture many items quickly and see more detail about what’s moving through the warehouse.

It can also help reduce picking errors and increases visibility into your inventory levels at any given time.

RFID costs more than barcodes, so if you’re not quite ready for a full RFID rollout, at least start with barcodes. Not sure what the difference between barcodes and RFID is? Find out in our online guide.

5: Consider outsourcing picking to a 3PL

If you don’t have the space, staff, or equipment to build an efficient picking operation in-house, a third-party logistics (3PL) provider can pick, pack, and ship orders from its own warehouses. That turns picking into a variable cost and frees your team for other work.

You give up some direct control and pay handling and storage fees, so compare the full fee schedule before deciding. Our guides to how much a 3PL costs and what a 3PL does cover the model and the numbers.

6: Optimize your warehouse layout

Pickers lose time walking, so layout matters. Group like products together, place your fastest-moving SKUs closest to packing, and create dedicated pick paths. Clear bin labeling helps too, and our guide to warehouse optimization goes deeper.

Order picking KPIs to track

You can’t improve what you don’t measure. Track these four numbers for each picker, shift, and picking method, using your warehouse management or inventory software where possible:

• Order picking accuracy: the share of orders (or order lines) picked correctly. Divide correctly picked orders by total orders picked and multiply by 100. When accuracy dips, our guide to picking errors covers the common causes and fixes.
• Order picking time: the average time it takes to pick an order, from the moment it’s released to the moment it’s ready for packing. Longer times point to travel distance, congestion, or stock that isn’t where the system says it is.
• Orders picked per hour: how many orders (or lines, or units) one picker completes in an hour. Choose one unit of measure and keep it consistent, so you can compare pickers and methods fairly.
• Productivity rate: output per labor hour, such as units picked divided by total hours worked. If you count all paid hours, it shows how much of your paid time produces picks.

Look at trends, not single days, and set targets from your own baseline. When you change method, such as moving from single-piece to batch picking, compare the same KPIs before and after. For ways to improve them, see our guide to improving warehouse picking speed.

The best order picking methodologies for various businesses

In this section, we’ll take a look at a few hypothetical eCommerce businesses and assign them the most appropriate picking methodologies.

The goal is for you to imagine order picking in action and perhaps choose the right picking methodology for your business based on the given examples.

Example 1: A handmade eCommerce business that specializes in selling small, lightweight items such as jewelry and accessories.

For this type of business, single-piece picking is probably the best option. The lighter weight of these items makes it easier to grab one item at a time instead of having employees go through multiple layers of product or sort through a complicated order pick list.

Example 2: A home decor eCommerce business that sells a wide variety of items and often experiences large fluctuations in order volumes.

This business will likely benefit from wave picking, which releases orders to the floor in planned groups and makes sure that each employee has the right items for their assigned wave.

Since order volumes often fluctuate, wave picking allows you to adjust your resources and personnel accordingly.

Example 3: A large apparel eCommerce business with multiple SKUs and order sizes.

In this case, zone picking is probably the best option. This allows you to break down orders into smaller tasks and assign them to employees based on their physical location in the warehouse.

It also helps reduce errors by allowing each employee to focus on specific product categories and eliminating any confusion over which items should be picked or fulfilled first.

Example 4: A wholesale supplier that ships full cases to retail stores alongside a small direct-to-consumer shop.

Case picking handles the wholesale orders, and single-piece picking handles the consumer orders, so each order type uses the method that matches how it’s bought.

FAQs about order picking

How fast do order pickers go?

Picker speed varies with order size, warehouse layout, picking method, and technology, so no single benchmark fits every operation. Track your own order picking time and orders picked per hour, then improve against that baseline.

What is a batch pick?

A batch pick is when a picker collects the items for several orders in a single trip, and the items are then sorted by order.

Batch picking is often used when orders are small and contain similar products, such as apparel or electronics, and need to be picked quickly.

What is case picking?

Case picking is an order picking method where pickers pull full cases or cartons instead of individual units. It’s common for wholesale, B2B, and retail replenishment orders, where customers buy in case quantities.

What KPIs should I track for order picking?

Four core KPIs are picking accuracy, picking time, orders picked per hour, and productivity rate (output per labor hour). Track them by picker, shift, and method, and compare against your own baseline.

What are the benefits of RFID technology for order picking?

RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology can identify items without a line of sight, so it can capture many items in a single pass and give you more detail on how orders move through the warehouse.

That can help increase order accuracy and reduce picking errors. It costs more than barcodes, so weigh the benefits against your order volume and budget.

What are the duties of a typical order picker?

A typical order picker’s duties mainly involve selecting and collecting items from the warehouse shelves according to customer orders.

They may also be responsible for logging orders into the system, packing items in containers, and ensuring all orders are properly labeled and tracked.

In addition, they may need to check inventory levels and restock shelves as needed. To ensure accuracy, order pickers must always double-check the items they are picking to make sure they match the customer’s order.

Final thoughts

In conclusion, order picking is an essential part of any warehouse operation, and it requires a skilled team of employees to ensure accuracy and efficiency.

Knowing which order-picking technique is best for your business will help you optimize your operations, reduce errors, and improve customer satisfaction.

Ultimately, with the right combination of personnel, processes, and tools, you can achieve maximum efficiency for all your order-picking operations.

SkuVault’s features can help you optimize any of the above-mentioned order-picking methodologies, so be sure to check out our warehouse management features or request a demo if you’re looking for a comprehensive inventory management solution.