{"id":1106,"date":"2020-02-05T22:31:00","date_gmt":"2020-02-05T22:31:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shipbob.com\/uk\/blog\/batch-picking\/"},"modified":"2026-02-26T20:13:50","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T20:13:50","slug":"batch-picking","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.shipbob.com\/uk\/blog\/batch-picking\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Batch Picking? Benefits, Methods, and Why Fulfilment Batching is an Efficient Warehouse Picking Process"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Table of Contents<\/p>

** Minutes<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n

What is batch picking?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How does batch picking work? In 4 steps<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Top 2 advantages of batch picking<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zone picking vs. batch picking vs. pick-to-order: which is best?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Implement batch picking with a WMS<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How ShipBob\u2019s picking process streamlines fulfilment batching<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

ShipBob’s WMS<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conclusion<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Batch picking and fulfilment batching FAQs<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Picking is one of the most important steps of the order fulfilment<\/a> process. Yet one of the biggest killers of warehouse efficiency is when employees spend too much time picking items for a single order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are many methods for the order picking<\/a> process \u2014 pick-to-order, zone, wave, cluster<\/a>, and one of the most efficient: batch picking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If there are many of the same orders that need to be fulfilled at one time, you can use batch picking. The batch picking process is a popular choice because it\u2019s focused on reducing your employees\u2019 foot travel inside the warehouse and prioritizes faster picking rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this article, we\u2019ll go over what batch picking is, the benefits of batch picking, and how batch picking compares to other warehouse picking methods<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is batch picking?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Batch picking or fulfilment batching is the process of retrieving inventory for multiple customer orders at once<\/b>, rather than picking items one at a time. The goal of batch picking is to increase <\/span>operational efficiency<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>so a single picker picks a batch of orders so they can reduce repeated trips to the same location for different orders<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Picture this: If there are two commonly ordered together items in a single order that are on opposite sides of a warehouse, you can take some of that inventory to a new station where pickers can repeat the same motions instead of walking back and forth <\/span>for <\/span>single order picking<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Common examples of batch picking include fulfilling backer rewards for a crowdfunding<\/a> campaign, a product launch, and large volumes of the same order. If your order combinations vary greatly, it\u2019s more difficult to use batch picking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How does batch picking work? In 4 steps<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When your customer places an order, the items must be retrieved from a pick and pack warehouse<\/a>. Instead of assigning one order at a time to a picker, a group of the same orders are assigned to a single picker. Here\u2019s more on how batch picking works:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Generate picking lists for each order<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A picking list<\/a> is a document that communicates the items that need to be shipped to a customer, including the SKU(s), quantities, and inventory storage<\/a> location(s).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Batch picking works best for orders that have identical picking lists. This way, the picker has a list of orders queued up that will be sent to different customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s pretty rare to use printed lists these days. Modern warehouses have pickers use wearable devices and technology to aggregate, assign, and complete each order (and eliminate paper).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Group orders by common items<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

For batch picking, you need to group orders that include the same exact items into a batch. An order management<\/a> system or warehouse management system (WMS)<\/a> can automatically group batchable orders that contain the same items and quantities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Give a batch to a picker<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A WMS can generate batch pick lists for each picker to retrieve items in the most efficient way. If you\u2019re doing this manually, you may need to create the recommended route for each picker to efficiently grab all SKUs<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Pick all items in the order<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Each picker must follow the picking list to pick the right items and optimise the route so they don\u2019t waste time or take unnecessary steps. Once the SKUs have been picked for the batch orders, the orders can be handed off to a packer and the picker can get started on the next batch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Top 2 advantages of batch picking<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Efficiency is key to running a successful <\/span>fulfilment centre<\/span><\/a> and supply chain. Batch picking is focused on less walking and <\/span>faster order processing<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Less foot travel for employees<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Warehouses can be huge, and travelling to each area of a warehouse can take significant time. <\/span>If your employees have to grab items from multiple, far locations, it\u2019s going to take longer to fulfil orders<\/b>. Batch picking helps centralise operations, so employees can complete the same task in bulk and travel less distance.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Faster picking rates<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Speedy fulfilment is a big success factor for your warehouse operations. With batch picking, your employees will have to move around the warehouse less, so they can get their job done faster. As a result of less travel and time between orders, pickers can go through orders faster, reducing the average time to fulfil an order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zone picking vs. batch picking vs. pick-to-order: which is best?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Zone, batch, and pick-to-order are three of the most common picking methods used in warehouses, each with their own set of pros and cons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In general, pick-to-order is best for very small businesses, where order volume is low and you need to get orders out in a timely manner. If you only sell one or a few items, or all of your inventory fits in one room, then your pickable products will all be in close proximity to the picker with only perhaps a few steps or seconds to get to the next SKU<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In other words, if the picker is also the packer or you only have a few people handling retail fulfilment<\/a>, pick-to-order will be a good solution for your business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zone and batch picking are more efficient than pick-to-order systems and used by larger businesses that have their own warehouse, a high SKU count, and the technology that can find orders that contain the same SKUs and quantities or understand the proximity of storage locations in a warehouse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zone picking involves multiple pickers picking different products within the same order. Imagine an order with 10 items in it. If three SKUs are in the Southern part of the warehouse, three are in the Northern section, and four are on the Eastern side, then you can have one picker in the North, one in the South, and one in the East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like the concept of zone coverage in sports, zone picking helps individuals stay put in one area, while others cover the other zones. Unlike batch picking, zone picking does not require the same items to be ordered. It\u2019s another way to be efficient, although it can be very challenging to distribute the workload evenly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Implement batch picking with a WMS<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To streamline a batch picking process, you need the right tech in place. ShipBob has a best-in-class warehouse management system (WMS) for brands that have their own warehouse and need help managing inventory in real time, reducing picking, packing, and shipping errors, and scaling with ease. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With ShipBob\u2019s WMS<\/a>, brands with their own warehouse can even leverage ShipBob\u2019s fulfilment services in any of ShipBob\u2019s fulfilment centres across the US, Canada, Europe, and Australia to improve cross-border shipping, reduce costs, and speed up deliveries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Request ShipBob’s WMS pricing here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How ShipBob\u2019s picking process streamlines fulfilment batching<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

ShipBob is a third-party logistics (3PL<\/a>) company with a large network of fulfilment centres to provide fast, affordable shipping. Direct-to-consumer ecommerce brands outsource fulfilment<\/a> to ShipBob rather than lease and manage their own warehouse, hire a team to pick and pack orders, and handle the busywork of ecommerce logistics<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through its technology, <\/span>ShipBob is able to route each order to the warehouse that is closest to the end customer, analyse orders, and assign picking routes that are optimised for pickers.<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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