Pick & Pack Fulfilment Guide
Order fulfilment involves a complex series of interconnected processes related to receiving and shipping orders. One of the first and most important process in order fulfilment is picking and packing.
This guide will introduce you to the basics of pick and pack fulfilment, as well as show you how ShipBob manages much more than just picking and packing.
So, what do you want to learn?
- What is pick and pack fulfilment?
- How much does ShipBob charge for pick and pack fulfilment?
- How does ShipBob work?
- What other services does ShipBob offer?
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What is pick and pack fulfilment?
In a warehouse, pick and pack fulfilment is the process that occurs after an order is placed from an online store. Warehouse picking is when you use a picking list to find & retrieve the proper quantities of each product from its respective location in the warehouse. Packing is the placing of the items into the proper box, along with the appropriate packing materials and documentation before the package is labelled and shipped to the end customer.
Pick and pack strategies explained
Pick and pack fulfilment must be streamlined to reduce the cost of ecommerce fulfilment. For picking, this means reducing the labour required to choose the right products for an order. Warehouses that do pick and pack fulfilment have a few different ways to do this: piece picking, batch picking, zone picking, and wave picking.
Picking orders
- Piece picking is when an employee/picker handpicks each product for an entire order, as they come in.
- Batch picking is similar to piece picking, except that orders will be done in batches all at once, instead of one at a time.
- Zone order picking is when employees are assigned to a specific area of the warehouse and only pick one order at a time within that area. If an order needs products from more than one zone, it is handed off usually via conveyor belt.
- Wave picking is a combination of batch and zone picking, where employees will stay within a zone but pick more than one order at a time.
Packing orders
Packing involves placing the items into the appropriate sized box with the right packaging materials to ensure they reach their final destination undamaged in the most cost-effective way. To reduce shipping costs and maintain order accuracy, packing should keep an order within the smallest number of boxes and use the right type of packing material(s) for each product. Many warehouses will have a warehouse management system that can help detail which box will be the most appropriate choice for the order at hand.
When choosing a warehouse, pick and pack services are the bread and butter. A good warehouse can turn around orders quickly with a high accuracy rate, that manages quality control, and eases the shipping process to maintain high customer satisfaction.
ShipBob’s pick and pack warehouse fulfilment services
ShipBob is an industry leading tech enable 3PL that offers a range of services for DTC brands looking to improve their fulfilment. Along with an accurate and speedy pick and pack process, ShipBob offers the following order fulfilment services to ecommerce businesses.
Distributed inventory
With a network of warehouses across the country that perform pick and pack services, ShipBob lets customers split their products across any combination of warehouses to store and ship them closer to the end customers. Not only does less distance reduce logistics costs, but it also speeds up delivery times.
Free software
While you won’t need software that tells you which box to use, you will want to keep track of your inventory levels. ShipBob’s proprietary software simplifies inventory management and lets you run detailed reports to keep track of vital metrics for your business.
Order management
All of the orders that ShipBob processes are updated in real-time through their central dashboard. Answering customer questions becomes extremely easy when you have all the information at hand, including ecommerce order tracking numbers.
White label service
With ShipBob, packages won’t have our name printed anywhere but the shipping label, so your customers won’t be able to tell the difference.
Branded packaging
Do you have packaging that you’re not ready to give up? No problem. ShipBob understands that unboxing is a vital part of the brand experience and will pack your orders in your own custom packaging.
Bulk shipping discounts
ShipBob ships hundreds of thousands of packages with the four major U.S. couriers daily. They’ve negotiated bulk shipping discounts, so the savings are always passed onto you.
Pick and Pack FAQs
1. What is a pick and pack fee?
A pick and pack fee is the fee associated with picking a piece of inventory out from a warehouse and packing it for shipment.
2. What is a pick and pack warehouse?
Warehouses have inventory stored in them that will be picked and packed right after an order is placed.
3. What is pick packing?
Pick packing is done by a pick packer (that’s a tongue twister). The pick packer goes through the warehouse or fulfilment centre to pick up a piece of inventory and complete their picking list.
