Referring to warehouse services, pick and pack fulfillment is the process that takes place after an order is placed from an online ecommerce store. Pick and pack is an important part of ecommerce fulfillment.
Picking refers to selecting the proper quantities of each item from its selective location in the warehouse. Packing refers to placing those picked items into the proper box, along with the appropriate packing materials and documentation before the package is labelled, shipped and delivered to the end customer.
Pick and pack fulfillment must be well structured to reduce the cost of fulfillment. On the picking side, this means reducing your labor as required to accurately choose the right products for an order. Warehouses that do pick and pack fulfillment have a few different techniques to do this, such as batch picking, piece picking, wave picking and zone picking.
Different Pick Types
Below, we’ll explain what you need to know about each.
- Batch Picking – For this pick type, employees hand pick products that are batched together as one versus picking them one at a time.
- Piece Picking – This pick refers to when a picker handpicks each product for a whole order, usually as orders come in.
- Wave Picking – For this pick type, the pick team is designed a specific zone and uses batch picking too. This is often used for multiple orders versus single orders.
- Zone Picking – In this case, your pick team is designed a specific area in the warehouse, only picking one order at a time in that area. Orders that have multiple products from another zone often use a conveyor belt to get that product from one zone to the next.
Understanding Packing
Packing involves placing the items into the right sized box with the right packaging materials to ensure they reach their final destination as wanted and undamaged.
To reduce your costs, packing should keep an order within the smallest number of boxes and use the right packing materials for each item. Most warehouses do have management systems in place that can help pick which box will be the most appropriate choice for any given order.
When choosing a warehouse, pick and pack services are vital to your fulfillment success. A good warehouse can turn around orders quickly and with a high accuracy rate. It’s an essential part of the fulfillment process.
While pick and pack fulfillment is vital, Thill offers clients the opportunity for quick turnaround for orders and other services, such as
- Order Management Software – You need to know how your inventory is moving in real-time. Our powerful order management software (OMS) gives you the real-time data you need to make the right decisions for your business. You need to have the ability to track products and orders in real-time, this is the only way you can make the right timely decisions in your business.
- Distributed Inventory – Thill has multiple fulfillment centers and warehouses strategically placed all across the United States. We allow you to split your inventory as needed, allowing you to reach your customers faster and cost-effectively.
- Bulk Shipping Discounts – Here at Thill, we ship thousands of products with the 4 main shipping carriers daily. Due to this, we can provide our clients with bulk shipping discounts others can’t match.
- White Label Services – When you partner with Thill, we don’t use our name. We understand how important it is to your company to have your own branding.
- Branded Packaging – If you have your own packaging, more power to you! We’ll make sure we use it to package all of your products. Custom packaging is extremely important for your brand, first impressions matter. What do your customers see when they first open your order?
As you can see, warehouse pick and pack fulfillment plays a key role in the fulfillment process, ensuring the “right” products get out at the “right” time to the “right” customers.
If you’re ready to talk to one of our fulfillment experts, you can reach us during regular business hours at 1-920-967-9201 or you can use our contact form.
