{"id":21097,"date":"2025-04-14T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-04-14T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shipbob.com\/uk\/blog\/pick-to-tote\/"},"modified":"2026-01-15T20:41:56","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T20:41:56","slug":"pick-to-tote","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.shipbob.com\/uk\/blog\/pick-to-tote\/","title":{"rendered":"How Tote Picking Transforms Warehouse Efficiency: An Ecommerce Deep Dive"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Doing tasks one at a time can be helpful \u2013 but that\u2019s rarely the case in ecommerce picking.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Imagine your brand stores inventory in a huge fulfilment centre, and pickers can only pick a single item for an order at a time. It might take them ages to walk all around your facility, picking up an individual product, and bring it back to their packing station before leaving to find the next one. Unsurprisingly, it also guts your operational efficiency.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is why a lot of ecommerce brands opt to leverage tote picking. By picking-to-tote, warehouse associates can spend less time walking around a warehouse and pick far more orders with less effort. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this article, we\u2019ll unpack the pick-to-tote strategy, compare it to other picking strategies, and discuss how to optimise pick-to-tote systems with the right technology and partners.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is pick-to-tote (warehouse tote picking)? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Pick-to-tote is a warehouse order picking<\/a> strategy in which pickers pick and place items for an order directly into designated receptacles (also known as totes).  <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

This enables pickers to pick all items for an order in one trip through a warehouse, instead of walking back and forth from storage to a packing station after picking each individual item. This, in turn, allows for more efficient handling and improves overall picking efficiency for high-volume order fulfilment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Overview of the pick-to-tote process <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The pick-to-tote process begins with a warehouse management system<\/a> (WMS) generating a picking list<\/a> that\u2019s assigned to a dedicated picker. These picking lists include the items and quantities in each order, as well as the optimal route through the warehouse for minimal walking.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tote picking is a type of batch picking<\/a>, meaning that pickers will almost always pick multiple orders at totes at a time. Each order gets its own dedicated tote, and the picker brings multiple totes with them as they move around the warehouse. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The picker transports the totes using a pick cart, and travels through storage areas to retrieve items from their assigned list.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once they retrieve an item, the picker deposits it into a dedicated bin for the order, where it\u2019s grouped with other items from the same order. That way, each order\u2019s contents is already separated from the others once they\u2019re sent to the next stage of fulfilment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Benefits of pick-to-tote for warehousing efficiency <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

With pick-to-tote, all the items needed for an order are picked during the same trip through the fulfilment centre. This minimises the need to go back and forth between stations, reducing travel time and improving picking efficiency. Moreover, it helps to improve order accuracy,<\/a> since tote picking makes it easier to see what items in what quantities have been picked for each order, which minimises duplicate or missed items. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Common use cases for pick-to-tote in order fulfilment <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

While any warehouse of fulfilment centre could use the pick-to-tote method, it\u2019s particularly suitable for: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

1) Like orders or batches<\/strong> \u2013 If you receive lots of orders that share many of the same products, tote picking saves pickers the hassle of revisiting the same location multiple times. Instead, by grouping similar (or even identical) orders on the same cart, pickers can pick multiple items from a single storage location and add them to different orders\u2019 totes to essentially pick multiple orders simultaneously. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2) High-volume operations<\/strong> \u2013 If your brand must get orders out the door as soon as possible, tote picking minimises repetitive actions and reduces travel time, helping your team pick orders faster. Tote picking also makes it easier to verify that each order is complete and accurate, which is crucial (as rushed picking is often more prone to fulfilment errors).  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How pick-to-tote compares with other picking methods <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Pick-to-tote vs. pick-to-carton<\/h2><\/div>
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In the pick-to-carton approach, items are picked and placed directly into the carton that will be used for shipping. This makes pic-to-carton ideal for companies that sell products that are all of similar size and weight. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 <\/td>Pros <\/td>Cons <\/td><\/tr>
Pick-to-Carton <\/td>Eliminates the need for a dedicated packing process Streamlines order sorting and handling to improve efficiency <\/td>Requires pickers to determine correct carton sizes before picking Higher risk of order errors (as packers have less opportunity to identify mispicks or missing items before shipping) <\/td><\/tr>
Pick-to-Tote <\/td>Does not require pickers to determine the optimal packaging size for each order  Higher order accuracy (as packers usually have the opportunity to identify mispicks or missing items before shipping) <\/td>Requires an additional packing process May require additional time for sorting and handling during packing <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/section>\n\n\n\n

Pick-to-tote vs. pick-to-belt<\/h2><\/div>
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In the pick-to-belt approach, items retrieved from storage are directly transported to packing stations using conveyor belts. This may speed up the picking process for high-volume operations but also comes with a few disadvantages. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 <\/td>Pros <\/td>Cons <\/td><\/tr>
Pick-to-Belt <\/td>Allows picked items to quickly move on to the next stage of fulfilment  Minimizes the need for manual handling, allowing you to save on labour costs <\/td>Requires high initial investment (as conveyor belt systems can be expensive) High risk of damage when transporting more fragile items <\/td><\/tr>
Pick-to-Tote <\/td>Require less investment in physical equipment (as carts and totes are usually less expensive than mechanical equipment like conveyor belts)  Supports more careful material handling <\/td>Pickers must first retrieve all the items from an order before moving it to packing stations Requires a more hands-on approach to item handling <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/section>\n\n\n\n

How to choose the right picking method for your operations <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

With multiple approaches to picking out there (including wave picking<\/a> and zone picking<\/a>, not described here), it can be hard to know if you\u2019re using the right one. Before investing a significant amount of resources in one pick method, make sure you consider differnet factors of your business, including: <\/p>\n\n\n\n