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.
Advanced 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. With our Customisation Suite, you can add your brand name to the return address of the shipping label.
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.
Pick and Pack FAQs
Who is a leader in pick pack fulfilment?
ShipBob is a leader in pick and pack fulfilment services for ecommerce brands. Our advanced fulfilment technology optimises the picking and packing process to ensure speed and accuracy. With strategically located fulfilment centres in North America, Europe, and Australia, we provide efficient pick and pack operations across the globe . ShipBob’s proprietary software streamlines workflows, while our trained fulfilment teams maintain industry-leading accuracy rates. With our Customisation Suite, brands can leverage branded packaging, marketing inserts, and branded gift notes, and more to enhance the unboxing experience.
ShipBob’s scalable pick and pack solutions grow with your business, handling everything from single-item orders to complex multi-SKU shipments, ensuring your customers receive their orders quickly.
How does ShipBob’s proprietary pick-and-pack software ensure high order accuracy and speed?
ShipBob’s pick-and-pack software optimises fulfilment through mobile scanning technology that verifies each item during picking, barcode confirmation at every stage, and optimised pick routes that minimise warehouse travel time.
ShipBob’s system batches similar orders to improve efficiency, uses image verification to confirm correct products, and implements automated quality checks throughout the process.
As a result of these checkpoints, ShipBob’s proprietary technology results in 99.9%+ order accuracy while processing hundreds of thousands of orders daily.
What pick-and-pack fee structure can brands expect at ShipBob?
ShipBob has a fulfilment fee and per-unit pick fee, plus additional charges for special orders (including dangerous goods and HAZMAT, returns, etc.). Learn more about pricing here.
ShipBob’s pricing model eliminates hidden charges like minimum order requirements or peak season multipliers to provide predictable costs that scale with your business growth.
How does inventory distribution across warehouses impact ShipBob’s pick-and-pack efficiency?
Strategic inventory distribution improves pick-and-pack efficiency by positioning products closer to end customers, reducing shipping costs while enabling faster delivery.
Using multiple fulfilment locations helps you avoid regional disruptions and allows order volume to be distributed across facilities during peak periods.
This network approach prevents any single location from becoming overwhelmed, maintaining consistent pick-and-pack speed and accuracy even during high-demand periods like Black Friday/Cyber Monday or after going viral online.
What are best practices for packaging optimisation in pick-and-pack operations?
To optimise packing, brands can standardize box sizes that accommodate most orders, use polybags for soft goods to reduce dimensional weight, and implementing system-guided package selection based on order contents.
Pre-determine which items require additional protection and create standard operating procedures for fragile products. Consider packaging materials that minimise waste while ensuring product protection, and regularly analyse shipping data to identify orders where dimensional weight charges are increasing costs unnecessarily.
How can brands monitor pick accuracy and fulfilment speed through ShipBob’s dashboard?
ShipBob’s dashboard provides real-time monitoring of key pick-and-pack metrics including order accuracy percentage, average fulfilment cycle time (receipt to shipment), lines picked per hour, perfect order percentage, and exception rates by type.
Brands can view performance trends over time, compare metrics across fulfilment centres, and set up automated alerts for performance deviations. The system also enables order-level tracking to investigate specific issues and identify process improvement opportunities.
What features should businesses look for when evaluating pick-and-pack fulfilment services?
When evaluating pick-and-pack services, look for:
- Barcode verification systems that ensure accuracy
- Clear SLAs for processing timeframes
- Transparent fee structures without hidden charges
- Experience with similar product types; ability to handle product-specific requirements (fragility, temperature sensitivity, HAZMAT)
- Flexible packaging options including custom materials
- Batch order processing capabilities
- Integration with your sales channels
- Real-time visibility into fulfilment status
- Detailed reporting on accuracy and efficiency metrics
