What Is Pick & Pack Fulfilment?
Most e-commerce retailers will use the pick and pack fulfilment system to send their products around the world. Previously, an entire pallet or container would have to be filled to then send off for shipping. Pick & pack allows small orders to be sent faster, easier, and with cheaper postal charges.
Master cartons are placed strategically around the warehouse, allowing pickers to easily find and pack items into smaller boxes or envelopes that are then sent to specific customers. This process works much better for all parties (warehouse staff, e-commerce owner and the end-user).
Challenges of Pick & Pack Fulfilment
There is a requirement for fine organisation and communication skills when it comes to pick and pack fulfilment. Making the process streamlined is essential to running an efficient, cost-effective operation.
The way to make this process profitable is to make it as easy and fast as possible to handle large volumes of different orders in a short amount of time possible with as much accuracy as possible.
There are different pick and pack techniques that can be utilised depending on the number of orders you handle and the size of your warehouse.
Pick & Pack Strategies
The common challenges of pick and pack are addressed by employing one of the four common techniques listed underneath:
Piece Picking
Many organisations begin with piece picking because it is a straightforward picking method. Workers pick orders one at a time as they receive them. Workers take an order into the warehouse and fill it by picking items off shelves until the order is complete. It’s important to note that this picking process is inefficient in most warehouses; it is best suited to the smallest warehouses.
Batch Picking
Warehouses with more traffic utilise batch picking because it is more efficient. Similar to piece picking, batch picking involves picking items for individual orders; however, workers who batch pick fulfil more than one order at a time.
Zone Picking
Zone picking involves dividing the warehouse into areas called zones. Order pickers pick items from their assigned zones only, and workers pass boxes from one zone to the next for orders that require items from multiple zones. The boxes may be passed manually or with conveyor belts. Zone picking is more efficient than piece picking and batch picking.
Wave Picking
Wave picking combines zone picking and batch picking. Workers using this strategy are assigned to zones and pick orders in batches and pick them only within those zones.
Customer expectation is another challenge faced by the pick and pack industry. Amazon, in many respects, has made it very difficult for smaller operations to run an effective online business, as the service that Amazon provides cannot be matched by those with smaller budgets.
Many customers, accustomed to online shopping, expect all products to be in stock, shipped within a day or two, arrive at the precise time estimated and don’t want to pay for delivery.
Attempting to match these expectations can be a very tricky challenge, especially for those who are new to the fulfilment challenge. The knowledge, experience and resources needed are often only available when using an experienced 3rd party agent (such as ourselves).
Benefits of Pick and Pack Fulfilment
The ease for organisations to fulfil orders for customers makes pick and pack services essential to fulfilment centres. Customers enjoy having a range of items available to select from and companies often have an increase in orders when there is more choice. As the fulfilment center receives orders, pick and pack workers gather requested items from the master cartons and package and label them for shipment.
When the communication, organisation and management work in harmony, the pick and pack method drastically increases the customer satisfaction.
Experienced pick and pack workers are able to fulfil orders accurately, in good condition ensuring they are sent out on time, with good packaging and labeling, every time.
Organisations also utilise pick and pack fulfilment because it is cost-effective. By nature, the pick and pack process is designed for orders of various sizes, so minimum order charges typically do not apply. Pick and pack also often eliminates collecting items from different storage facilities and sending them elsewhere for packaging and labeling. The streamlined nature of pick and pack makes it more efficient overall, which keeps costs low.
Pick and pack is a way of life for eCommerce fulfilment. Pick and pack workers are key to fulfiling orders and meeting customer expectations, and organisations need to continually work to streamline operations to make sure their pick and pack work is done as efficiently, accurately, and cost-effectively as possible.
If you would like to talk to us about your pick and pack requirements, you can call us on 0843 515 2222, or send us a message through the website using the contact form on the page.