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- A pick list guides warehouse employees on which inventory items are needed to complete customer orders, detailing shipment information, warehouse location, and item specifics.<\/li>\n
- The design of a pick list is influenced by the picking method employed, such as pick-to-order, batch picking, or zone picking.<\/li>\n
- Digital pick lists, accessible via mobile devices, are gaining popularity due to their ability to reduce human errors and integrate seamlessly with Warehouse Management Systems (WMS).<\/li>\n
- Including essential details like SKU, product description, warehouse location, and pick quantity can significantly reduce picking errors.<\/li>\n
- Accountability in pick lists, with fields like “Picked By” and “Checked By,” ensures a two-step verification process, enhancing accuracy in order fulfillment.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Picking List Guide: What You Need to Know (Free Picking List Template)<\/h2>\n
As you expand your warehouses, your warehouse operations costs will rise. Among all your warehouse operations costs, labor accounts for 60-70%.<\/p>\n
Order picking<\/a> accounts for more than 50% of those labor costs. Almost 70-80% of a warehouse employee\u2019s time is spent on picking, which accounts for 60% of total warehousing<\/a> costs.<\/p>\n
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Designing an efficient order picking process around a clear and streamlined picking list is vital to making the most of your labor hours. You can also eliminate costly errors during fulfillment.<\/p>\n
\nIn this guide, we\u2019ll cover all the details you need to include when designing a pick list:<\/p>\n
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- What is a picking list?<\/a><\/li>\n
- How your picking method dictates your pick list design<\/a><\/li>\n
- Components of a picking list<\/a><\/li>\n
- How to create a pick list that\u2019s just right for your warehouse<\/a><\/li>\n
- FAQs: Pick List<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n
What is a Picking List?<\/h2>\n
A pick list tells your employees which inventory is needed to fulfill customer orders. Generally, a pick list shows the shipment information, warehouse location, and item information. Once you\u2019ve received customer orders, you can generate pick lists for your warehouse pickers.<\/p>\n
If you have a warehouse management system (WMS) or an inventory management system<\/a> (IMS), pick lists are generated automatically when your customers complete an order.<\/p>\n
Picking lists are also known as pick tickets or pick lists.<\/p>\n
Startups and smaller operations with low order volume may pick-to-order as those orders come in. As businesses scale, they often use a WMS which may include a custom designed picking list for batch picking or zone picking. We\u2019ll get into picking methods in the next section.<\/p>\n
With a pick ticket designed, warehouse staff will either use a digital system or printed copies to retrieve items for shipping.<\/p>\n
Before the advent of mobile technology, printed picking lists were standard in warehouses. While less common now, it can still be an effective method. The biggest downside to printing a pick list is that your order picking productivity<\/a> can be affected.<\/p>\n
Digital pick lists can be pushed to mobile devices and are becoming more commonplace. A digital picking list helps reduce human error with product scanning, can track metrics on picker performance, and often integrates perfectly with a WMS to provide optimal routes through the warehouse.<\/p>\n
Some people like to have an actual pick list in hand while fulfilling orders. Some warehouses won\u2019t print the pick lists, and instead create jobs for their pickers. Whether your warehouse uses a digital picking list or a printed one is entirely your preference.<\/p>\n
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BONUS:<\/strong> Before you go any further, download our Pick List Excel Template<\/a> to give you a head start in creating your own picking lists.<\/p>\n
Pick List Design Depends on Your Picking Method<\/h2>\n
Your pick list design will vary depending on the picking method you use in your warehouse. That process depends largely on a few factors like:<\/p>\n
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- Total number of products sold<\/li>\n
- Velocity and volume of orders<\/li>\n
- Size of your business<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
It also may vary depending on whether you use manual picking vs picking automation<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Continue reading to learn about the most common order picking methods<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Pick-to-Order<\/h3>\n
This is the most basic method for picking product in the warehouse and is most commonly found in smaller warehouse operations with minimal products. This approach may or may not use a custom picking list. Some brands use the customer\u2019s individual order receipt or packing slip to select the product to be shipped.<\/p>\n
Using a picking list is still recommended in smaller operations as a pick ticket often limits the amount of non-essential information and data that pickers don\u2019t need.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s ideal when a picker is pulling all the items per order one order at a time because any slowdown can cause significant shipping delays for that customer and others to follow.<\/p>\n
Batch Picking<\/h3>\n
Batch picking is similar to single order picking, though there are some slight variations to the picking list. Rather than just the products for a single order, the picking list is designed to efficiently pick a number of orders in one trip.<\/p>\n
Once all the products in the batch have been picked, the picker delivers the items to the packaging area. Then the products are sorted and packed in the appropriate orders for shipping.<\/p>\n
Zone Picking<\/h3>\n
When you use this method, your picking lists will be product-based instead of order-based.<\/p>\n
Each employee is assigned to a zone in the warehouse. As orders come in, the employee\u2019s individual pick list populates with all the products that need to be picked within their zone. Once a list is complete, it\u2019s delivered to the sorting and packaging crew to assemble the individual orders.<\/p>\n
In this method, a single order could actually be split across multiple pick lists if the products on that customer\u2019s order are spread out through multiple warehouse zones.<\/p>\n
This approach is also known as wave picking<\/a>.<\/p>\n
- How your picking method dictates your pick list design<\/a><\/li>\n
- What is a picking list?<\/a><\/li>\n
![\"pick-list-01-800x556\"](\"https:\/\/f.hubspotusercontent30.net\/hubfs\/3469233\/Images\/Emails\/Blog\/pick-list-01-800x556.jpg\")
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