Pick and pack in Ireland: a beginner's guide to understanding the process

Are you looking to optimise your warehouse and ensure customer satisfaction? Then you need to understand the pick and pack process. 

Storage and warehousing services can seem complex. However, the pick and pack process is essential to managing your inventory efficiently and delivering excellent fulfilment services. That's why we've put together a beginner's guide to help you understand the process.

Pick, pack and ship: an overview

 Whatever storage and warehousing services you choose, including fourth-party logistics, the basic protocol stays the same:

• Receive orders: Once a customer places an order, your e-commerce channels integrate with your warehousing systems.

• Pick orders: Warehouse workers then select the correct items from the shelves. Choosing the best picking method for your business is at the heart of customer satisfaction and crucial for streamlined fulfilment services.

• Pack orders: Selected items are now packed and labelled, ready for shipping.

• Ship orders: Orders are shipped to your customers using the courier of your choice.

Understanding pick and pack methods

Pick and pack is critical to efficient order fulfilment, so the process must be highly efficient. First, items are located in the warehouse with speed and accuracy before being dispatched to the packing station. This process ensures the customer gets the products they want in perfect condition.

The most popular warehouse picking methods include:

• Piece picking
  Piece picking is a good solution for small businesses with a low turnover. Each order is processed individually, ensuring minimum errors.
  
• Zone picking
  This technique is common when you use warehousing and fulfilment services. Workers pick the ordered products from their designated zone before handing the order on to the next location. Each order passes through the necessary zones and then to the packing station. It's a complex solution that requires the use of technology and inventory optimisation for best results.
  
• Batch picking
  If you're a small business with a high turnover, batch picking could be the most efficient way to fulfil your orders. One worker picks multiple orders simultaneously. These may be items grouped in the warehouse, so there's an efficient route between products, minimising time and effort. These items are then distributed to the individual orders. Pick and pack software ensures the efficiency of the system.
  
• Wave picking
  Wave picking combines batch and zone picking. Workers zone pick for multiple orders before the order progresses to the next area. Finally, all items are sorted into individual shipments before packing.

Improving pick and pack efficiency

If you're going to get your pick and pack strategy right, you need to know how to improve efficiency and overcome the challenges of order fulfilment. These tips should set you off on the right foot:

• Optimise your layout
  Your warehouse layout directly correlates to efficient order turnaround, minimising the lead time on pick and pack and reducing operational costs. In addition, using ABC analysis can help you locate items more efficiently, so they're picked and packed with ease.

• Use technology and automated solutions
  Pick and pack is repetitive work. Using technology and automated solutions, including cloud-based WMS and advanced real-time analytics, can help your workforce stay safe, improve efficiency, and boost productivity.

• Explore storage and warehousing services
  A successful fulfilment strategy is about more than neatly stacked shelves. So if you're keen to improve your perfect order rate, streamline your operations and achieve greater customer satisfaction, then talk to us at Titan Solutions.

Our storage and warehousing services scale to your needs so you can ship to your customers with speed and efficiency. contact us today to discuss the perfect fulfilment services for your business.