{"id":4329,"date":"2023-01-11T18:25:50","date_gmt":"2023-01-11T18:25:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shipbob.com\/uk\/blog\/zone-picking\/"},"modified":"2025-08-22T00:16:13","modified_gmt":"2025-08-22T00:16:13","slug":"zone-picking","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.shipbob.com\/uk\/blog\/zone-picking\/","title":{"rendered":"Zone Picking: Guide, Benefits, and How it Works in the Warehouse"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Table of Contents<\/p>

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

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

The importance of warehouse zoning<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pros & cons of zone picking<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How does zone picking work?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to implement zone picking with a 3PL like ShipBob<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Get started with ShipBob <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zone picking FAQs<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Your warehousing activities play a critical role in the entire supply chain<\/a> and determine its effectiveness. As such, building an effective and responsive supply chain requires optimising every aspect of your warehouse management<\/a> and order picking process. This often involves businesses adopting efficient warehouse picking<\/a> processes such as zone picking. In this guide, we take a closer look at what this is and how your business can benefit from it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Zone picking is an order picking process in which pickers are assigned to pick items from a dedicated zone of the warehouse. In this process, the warehouse is divided into distinct zones or sections based on various characteristics such as item category or picking requirements. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So for example, you may have one section for fresh produce while another zone is dedicated to frozen foods. Other warehouses may have zones dedicated to items that need to be picked using a forklift while another zone is set aside for items that can be handpicked. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regardless of how you set up these zones, each picker will only pick items from the zone that\u2019s assigned to them. That means if another item from the order is located in a different zone, another picker will be assigned to pick it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are various types of picking. Here’s how zone picking compares to other picking methods. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zone picking vs. wave picking<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

While zone picking involves dividing the warehouse into separate zones, wave picking involves bulking similar orders and setting a timeframe to pick them. This is intended to maintain a picking schedule that\u2019s optimised according to other activities such as shipping. So for example, you might schedule a wave so that all the relevant orders are picked and ready to ship before your shipping partner\u2019s pickup time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zone picking vs. discrete picking<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

On the other hand, discrete picking involves a picker working on one order, picking one line item at a time. In other words, the same picker will pick all the items in the order and get them ready for shipping. This is the most straightforward picking method and makes sense to use in smaller facilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zone picking vs. batch picking<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Alternatively, in batch picking<\/a>, orders are batched together and assigned to a picker, who then picks up all the items from the batch. The goal is to reduce movement and travel time, especially if the same SKU can be found in multiple orders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which picking method is best for my business?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The ideal picking method for your business depends on a number of factors such as the size of your warehouse and the characteristics of your products. For instance, zone picking is often ideal of large warehouses that hold a diverse range of products as it helps to reduce travel time and improve inventory accuracy<\/a>. However, you\u2019d also need a strong workforce to help you carry this method out efficiently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wave picking is a great option for optimising your schedules and ensuring that orders are shipped out on time. Meanwhile, discrete picking can be a straightforward and easy option for businesses that are just starting out and have smaller warehouses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep in mind that you don\u2019t necessarily have to stick to one picking method. You can even combine multiple strategies together to fit the unique needs and characteristics of your warehouse. For example, zone picking may be combined with wave picking to save time while ensuring timely shipments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The importance of warehouse zoning<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Zoning your warehouse may seem like a lot of work. However, it offers plenty of benefits that can contribute to better warehouse management. Here are some of the key benefits of warehouse zoning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Organising warehouse space<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Warehouse zoning involves classifying different areas of the warehouse and grouping them based on shared characteristics. So you may have multiple zones based on attributes such as product type, size, and velocity. As a result, your warehouse space is neatly organised to store similar products together in the same area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By having dedicated spaces to store your products, you can streamline the putaway and retrieval processes in addition to order picking. This makes it easier for employees to sort and store inventory to dedicated spaces after receiving them in the warehouse. Similarly, one picker can be assigned to pick multiple items from the same zone, which reduces the need to move between different areas of the warehouse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Improving efficiency<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When items are stored in dedicated zones, it can significantly improve efficiency by reducing travel time and movement. Instead of having to move between multiple locations inside the warehouse to store or retrieve inventory, your employees can do it in a single trip for each zone. In other words, your employees don\u2019t need to waste too much time travelling inside the warehouse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Enhancing safety and security<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Warehouse zoning allows you to maintain separate areas for high-value items and high-risk items, which helps you maintain better safety and security. For instance, you may store flammable liquids or corrosive materials in dedicated sections where you can set up safety parameters to prevent leakages and fires, thus helping to better protect your warehouse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similarly, you may have warehouse zones with security cages so you can safely store high-value items. This can help you to effectively prevent theft and tampering, which are some of the leading causes of loss for businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reducing product spoilage<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Warehouse zoning makes it easier to maintain dedicated areas for items that need to be stored under special conditions. For example, you may have refrigerated zones for items that need to be stored in low temperatures, in order to prevent food from going bad and causing food-borne illness<\/a>. Similarly, the dry storage zone can be maintained and equipped to keep moisture away. As a result, you face a lower risk of product spoilage, which can cause huge losses for your business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How does zone picking fit into warehouse management?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s no doubt that zone picking is a useful strategy for increasing your warehouse efficiency. However, its effectiveness can only be realized when it becomes a part of your overall warehouse strategy. This strategy will include a plan to effectively carry out warehouse management<\/a> processes so that different warehousing activities can be completed seamlessly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a typical warehouse management strategy, you will lay out a plan to store and organise your inventory strategically so as to improve efficiency and allow for ease of movement. So if you\u2019re planning to use zone picking, you\u2019ll need to divide your warehouse into different zones at this stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similarly, using a zone-picking system will determine how the receiving, sorting, and stowing processes must be carried out. Inventory will need to be sorted during receiving and then stowed in their respective zones. Like with zone picking, you may assign a worker to put away SKUs in one zone while another worker handles a different zone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zone picking plays one of the most crucial roles during the order management and fulfilment processes. Once orders are received, you\u2019ll be generating picking lists for different zones so that orders can be picked and then fulfilled with minimal travel time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In short, you\u2019ll need to carefully manage different aspects of your warehousing activities based on your zone-picking strategy. This will enable you to improve picking efficiency and optimise other aspects of your warehouse management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pros & cons of zone picking<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To better understand whether zone picking is the right option for you, it\u2019s important to carefully weigh the pros and cons. Let\u2019s take a look at the key advantages and disadvantages of zone picking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zone picking pros<\/h3>\n\n\n\n