Staci Americas Blog

Warehouse Picking Strategies: PROs and CONs of Various Options

Warehouse picking involves retrieving items from a shelf or bin and moving them to a packing area before shipment. Choosing the right method for your business can easily drive a 6-figure annual labor savings.

This infographic summarizes the PROs and CONs of various warehouse picking strategies, allowing you to make a more informed choice about the best method for your operation.

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PROs and CONs of the most common warehouse picking strategies

 

Single-Order/Discrete Picking

Warehouse associate picks all order items from start to finish, no matter where the item sits in the warehouse. Small sellers often start out using this picking method.

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PROS

CONS

Easy to learn/train

Labor-intensive

Low error rate

High travel times for picker

Good for low order volumes with high number of SKUs per order

Doesn’t scale well

 

Batch Picking

Associate goes to SKU locations to grab cases used to build multiple, identical/similar orders at pack-out stations.

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PROS

CONS

Great for orders with high similarity

Not flexible enough for hot orders

Pairs well with voice/light picking solutions

Requires extra touchpoints

Reduces travel time

Hard to optimize without a WMS

Low labor time per order

Not ideal for large-sized items or orders with high SKU volumes

Ideal for high volumes of small-sized items and/or orders with low SKU counts

May require dedicated prep area

 

Cluster Picking

Warehouse associates push a cart through the warehouse and pick SKUs across multiple orders as they go.

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PROS

CONS

Efficient for multi-order picking

Limited orders per trip (based on cart size)

Minimizes touches compared to batch picking

Long-travel paths when order contains less popular items

Good for small/medium items

Not ideal for large items

 

Zone Picking

Also known as “pick and pass,” picker retrieves all items from assigned zone before passing the order to another associate in next zone.

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PROS

CONS

Pickers gain strong knowledge in one product/picking area

Often needs additional conveyance to improve effectiveness

Minimizes travel time

Inflexible on minimum staffing

Order only travels through zones containing SKUs in the order

Siloed picker knowledge can create scheduling challenges

 

Wave Picking

Another form of zone-based picking where multiple wave pickers simultaneously pick all order SKUs at once from respective zones and send them to single point for consolidation/shipping.

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PROS

CONS

Pickers gain familiarity in one area

Additional labor for consolidation step

Minimizes picker travel time

Needs extra staging space to consolidate/sort

Reduces warehouse floor congestion

Sorting requirements may extend lead times

Separate picking/sorting provides additional built-in accuracy check

Zone-based knowledge limits pickers from covering other zones

 

Many fulfillment providers rely on a single warehouse picking strategy, and that strategy may not be right for your specific requirements. The team at Staci Americas will help you identify the best warehouse picking strategies for your needs. Get in touch to see how we can boost your fulfillment capabilities with optimized picking.

 

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