Warehouse managers spend a lot of time on the inbound and outbound aspects of warehouse management, but studies show that the order picking process generally accounts for over half of warehouse operating costs[Ma1] . To help you save time, we’ve put together a list of 17 warehouse picking best practices that will allow your warehouse workers to pick orders more efficiently.

Why Using Warehouse Picking Best Practices Makes Sense

Warehouse picking requires intensive labor and expense, which is why pick operations are always on the list of improvements for distributors. When warehouse picking systems are optimized, it reduces costs and adds to customer satisfaction.  

Generally, warehouse orders are filled by giving pick lists to an order selector. The selector then travels to areas where the items are housed, picking items as they find them, extracting them, and then matching them with the paperwork. When done without an inventory management system, human error can add more time, expense, and frustration to the process.

Of the steps in the warehouse order picking process, traveling accounts for 55% of the selector’s time. Clearly, if the selector has an understanding of where the products are, how many of them are sitting on the shelves, and how many they need, it would make picking and packing much easier.  

And that’s where our warehouse picking best practices come in. Here are 17 tips to help you optimize your picking method.

Increase Efficiency With These Warehouse Picking Best Practices Tips

Not every supply chain distributor will utilize the same picking methods, and there are many processes, methods, and even tools to help optimize the process. Depending on your warehouse setup and design, you may currently use one of these picking systems:

• Individual order picking, picker-to-part, or piece picking is used by smaller distributors. With this method, the selector picks the entire order and adds them to a container or shipping pallet.
• Wave picking is for those distributors that pick and pack orders with multiple items and a varying number of SKUs. This method is conducted in waves, picking all zones at the same time.
• Batch picking happens when selectors pick for multiple orders in one trip. They pick like items or items that are located in similar areas on each trip.
• Zone picking is often used with batch picking and many distributors with large warehouses use this method. Selectors are assigned to a certain zone in the warehouse, and once they’ve picked all the orders, they pass them on to be packed.

No matter which picking method you use, chances are you can increase your efficiency and reduce operating costs with some changes to your system. Here are some of our favorite picking best practices tips:

1. Create a zone that is stocked with all of your fast-moving products. This is called a fast-pick zone or an order-completion zone. It will allow your selectors to work faster and smarter—and reduce traveling and picking time if most of the orders can be filled from this zone.
2. Where you put your fast-picking zone is important, too. Warehouses that locate this zone close to the shipping area save even more time than those that locate the area far away from it.
3. Establish goals and a tracking system that helps reduce stock-outs and items that are not in their proper location. This will reduce traveling time for the selectors and increase productivity.
4. Using warehouse management software to create batch orders for single-line orders will greatly increase productivity because it cuts down on travel time. A selector will be able to travel the same distance while picking multiple items for a batch of orders.
5. Transition to hands free technology that allows your selectors to use their hands for picking, not scanning or looking up the next location. Today’s technology uses voice-directed or pick-to-light that will decrease pick time and save you money.
6. Improve your inventory management, which helps selectors do their job more efficiently, by foregoing the annual physical inventory count and instead using cycle counting. With this system, you will routinely count small groups of inventory which will help you catch discrepancies, reduce leakage, and increase the accuracy of your inventory.
7. Evaluate your inventory slotting regularly. While re-slotting the pick faces in your warehouse takes a lot of time, the benefits you get from doing it quarterly rather than yearly can save you time and money in the long run.
8. Store SKUs separately. When you mix SKUs in the same bin it results in more floor time for the selector. That’s because the selector will be directed to a location, but because multiple SKUs are stored there, they will have to locate the product on the ticket. Studies have shown that this increases the pick time by 15 seconds per instance, which can add up during a day.
9. If you are forced to pick vertically because of space limitations, be sure the store the fastest-moving items at ground level to increase the speed. Store the slower-moving items higher up because they aren’t picked as often.
10. Set up hit density areas in the warehouse to increase productivity. For instance, if selectors pick from 50 areas, they will be much slower than if they only had 10 locations to pick from. You can categorize the zones according to their usage. Locate all of the high pick areas together to save even more time.
11. Create a system where the items are only touched one time by the selectors. Once the item is picked, it should be loaded onto the shipping container having only been touched by the selector. This will reduce human error during the process.
12. A simple way to speed up your picking times is to make sure that your shelves, bays, slots, and aisles are clearly marked with location signs.
13. Use your warehouse management system to scan each item into its location. That way, the selector will always find the item right where it’s supposed to be.
14. Wrong orders cost time and money, but you can reduce or eliminate them if you use barcode scanning when picking every item. To double down on this system, scan the items again at the dispatch point to ensure each item matches the shipping label. But, be sure the pallet SKU isn’t scanned in place of the product SKU at the dispatch area—otherwise, they won’t catch the mis-pick.
15. Use a warehouse management system to prioritize your orders. When the last order is consistently picked first, it can cause delivery delays and unhappy customers.
16. You need to understand the movements of your selectors to formulate a plan to increase productivity. And unless you use a warehouse management system to track their activities, you will have to guess who is productive and who isn’t.
17. Finally, you can get your employees on the improvement bandwagon by posting the real-time progress of each selector. If you really want to stoke a competitive environment, post the errors and picking rates. And if you sense a lack of motivation among the selectors, offer a bonus each week or month to the person with the best stats. Your warehouse management system can easily generate those numbers for you.

Plan to Succeed When Establishing Best Practices

Before you implement any new best practices for your warehouse, it’s important to first establish some benchmarks. Only after you benchmark your current performance can you understand what goals you need to focus on.

And then after you know where you need to improve, you can use best practices to reach your new goals. And don’t forget the role of warehouse management software, one that seamlessly integrates with your sales and delivery solutions. A great WMS can help you efficiently operate you warehouse and manage your product flow.

When you work with beverage distribution software, you keep a close eye on the market. New companies with strong marketing teams emerge all the time, and old favorites stay strong with different demographics. The beverage market also has a strong seasonal component, with different drinks selling better at different times of year. 

With all these changes, are you using your beverage distribution software to keep up with the trends? Tracking beverage trends, both in your own company and with the market as a whole, can help you stay on top of the market and keep up with demand. 

Business Intelligence and Forecasting for Beverage Distribution Software 

First, consider a beverage distribution software with business intelligence and forecasting capabilities. You can accomplish all kinds of tasks with the right business intelligence software. For instance, you can analyze the value of a potential retailer to decide whether or not you want to pursue that retailer. You can pick the best location sites and make quality placements based on those sites. 

Meanwhile, forecasting software can work with business intelligence software to help you make inventory decisions. You can predict which items you’ll need to restock based on purchasing trends. 

Both forecasting and business intelligence software can help you keep an eye on local beverage trends and trends within your own company. The more information you have in these areas, the better decisions you can make. 

Use Route Accounting Software to Track Data Beyond Your Warehouse 

Beverage distribution software isn’t just for warehousing. You can also find a software with route accounting capabilities. Route accounting lets you track things like sales and inventory in real time. You’ll receive updates as they happen, even beyond the walls of your business. Route accounting also lets you track your sales history, suppliers, and promotions, which is essential to running an effective beverage distribution company. 

Route accounting software, just like business intelligence and forecasting, can show you how certain beverage distribution trends apply to your own company. You’ll gain insight on things like seasonal changes, regional beverage popularity, and more. 

Use Analytics to Track Your Own Data 

Similarly, business analytics can show you whether or not you’re responding to market trends effectively. All businesses produce usable data, but few businesses take advantage of that data. If your beverage distribution software comes with data analytics capabilities, then you can make your data work for you. Additionally, you can hire a data analytics provider to handle your data for you. Some software providers also offer data analytics services. 

What do these services do with this data? They gather it into one place and then turn it into simple, usable insights. For example, they might find that your sales change with certain weather patterns, or they may find that some products appeal to specific age groups. Once you have that information, you can turn it into action. You might adjust your marketing plans, for example, or make changes to your inventory. 

Add Mobility to Your Beverage Distribution Software 

If you add mobility to your beverage distribution software, you can keep up with market trends even when you’re not at the office. Merchandiser software can help you track sales opportunities based on current market trends. You can also use mobile surveys to get better insights into these trends. Mobile software can help you track changes in real time, and it can help you better understand the reasons behind the trends. Once you have those insights, you can measure your company’s performance against these market changes, and you can keep your business flexible so that you always respond appropriately. 

The Right Software Gives You More Time to Pay Attention 

You need the right tools to keep up with beverage distribution trends, but you also need the time to monitor those trends. Finding time isn’t always easy, which is why the best beverage distribution software is the kind of software that helps you save time. The more efficient your software, the more time you’ll have to keep an eye on the beverage market. 

It’s all a matter of finding the right tools. For example, you might use a voice-based workflow to keep your warehouses efficient. This way, you can save time by increasing your pick rate accuracy. You can also use palletization to reduce breakage, which means that you’ll spend less time replacing lost inventory. E-commerce software can help you save time, too, by letting you make quick inventory changes and view orders quickly. 

With the right tools, you can win back some of the time that you didn’t have before, which will let you stay on top of market trends. Having the right beverage distribution software can make a big difference to business owners. The better you understand trends in the beverage market, the more confidence you’ll have in your business decisions. 

Want a software that can help you keep your eye on the market? eoStar is here to help. eoStar software provides several solutions, including the ones listed above, to help business owners keep up with beverage distribution trends. Get in touch with us today for more information. 

As we get further along in the year, consumer behavior will change as do the seasons. Each season tends to create a variety of demands across different sectors as it relates to what consumers are seeking with the new weather. On top of the changing seasons, we are also still dealing with the effects of COVID-19. More people are going to want to experience the outdoors as the weather heads towards summer heat, yet there are still concerns about the effects created from the pandemic. 

Given the two significant factors that may affect the supply chain, forecasting software is necessary for any business and warehouse that wants to continue operations and have a positive profit going into the next quarter. 

Forecasting software can allow an enterprise to plan logistics, finances, and workload for future business activities. This software draws on previous data and results to draw possibilities of future results. The paths that are created can be analyzed by management, and the best or optimal route can be chosen.

Here’s a look at the more detailed aspects and benefits of forecasting software. 

Cost Savings

One of the main benefits of forecasting software is its ability to prevent needless spending or investment. Through gauging proper supply levels, warehouses can avoid spending excessive amounts on inventory that may not meet the same level of demand. This will also save on costs when less space is taken up by inventory that is not moving anywhere. With more space free, the warehouse can use it for other inventory that may have different demand thresholds. 

Forecasting software allows warehouses to create inventory levels that provide the right amount of inventory at the right time. In order for this to happen, the software uses different types of forecasting.

Qualitative and Quantitative Forecasting

Qualitative and quantitative forecasting are two different methods in which forecasting software can help warehouses keep proper inventory levels. 

Qualitative forecasting occurs when there is a lack of raw data. This can be the case when a business is new and may not have months or years of historical data from which to draw upon. It may also be useful as a forecasting tool when significant challenges impact the supply chain; a perfect example is the effect of COVID-19. 

In order to perform qualitative forecasting, data collection is done to discover consumer opinion and sentiment. This forecasting draws upon focus groups, consumer surveys, and market research. The collection of qualitative data allows forecasting software to develop possible demand forecasts based on consumer opinion. 

Quantitative forecasting is the opposite of qualitative forecasting. This technique involves drawing on raw data and numbers to perform inventory forecasting. This approach can be more accurate and precise than qualitative forecasting. However, the challenge it faces is that it cannot incorporate present data from significant events such as COVID-19. Quantitative data will draw on historical numbers to discover trend lines over time that impact with different time periods. 

For example, quantitative data in an established warehouse can determine that X number of sleds are sold at the beginning of the winter season. The software can make a note that throughout however many years the warehouse has been operational, they have never shipped above a certain amount of sleds. The management team can use this quantitative data to determine how many sleds they will have in their inventory for the upcoming winter seasons.

Combined, qualitative and quantitative forecasting can provide substantial insights into the future financial and inventory planning for any warehouse. 

Back-end Optimization

Forecasting software allows warehouses to reduce the amount of manual labor necessary for continuing operations. Determining inventory levels related to supply and demand can become more automated with forecasting software. Increased automation reduces the chance of human error, which is always a possibility when labor is performed manually. 

As a result of reducing the likelihood of error, the management of the supply and production cycle will be more efficient. 

Additionally, with more manual labor being refocused in different areas where automation is not available, work productivity will increase. This will ultimately lead to a more efficient enterprise with fewer errors and increased productivity. 

Customer Satisfaction

Inventory forecasting can improve customer satisfaction because it increases the efficiency and productivity of the warehouse. Customers are less likely to encounter “out of stock” messages when browsing for goods. 

Additionally, good forecasting software can improve response speed and shipping times. Due to the process being more automated and precise, less time will be spent trying to identify which goods are going to be shipped. Instead, the supply will already be present in the warehouse and ready to be shipped.

Forecasting software that draws data from trends and qualitative analysis can also identify the types of goods that may fit into new and exciting trends. If a warehouse can utilize that data to get the newest items that are most appealing, more customers will use that warehouse to get those goods before they are sold out. 

Overall, forecasting software will create improved customer satisfaction because it ultimately improves performance and productivity of the warehouse itself.

Business Planning

Regardless of your business size, it is always important to consider growth potential. Of course, managers will want to meet deadlines and thresholds for the immediate future; however, long-term growth should also be considered. With effective forecasting software, warehouses can gain strategic insights into how they will wisely use their resources. It will also create more accurate data reports involving productivity and efficiency in the warehouse. Managers can use this data to plot out their growth path and to avoid or mitigate any challenges they may face.

Contact eoStar

At eoStar, we have developed a variety of software options to improve warehouse logistics and performance. We have decades of experience and are willing to work with you to develop a customized forecasting software experience. Additionally, our team is on standby to provide continual support after our software is integrated into your logistics systems. Contact us today for a consultation.