Custom Picking Methods

Picking methods need to be accurate, labour saving and timely. The best picking method is dependent on the product type and volume of orders and how many picks per order. Piece picking is where individual products are picked, typical of mail order companies, there are thousands of products on the inventory but only a few picks per order; making the cycle time from order to shipping short. Typical piece picking methods are:

Individual (Basic) Picking
Best where orders have moderate to high number of products. Order volume is low. Store products on pallets or fixed shelves. Each picker has one order to pick. The warehouse needs to have most frequently sold items in the most accessible area and larger items closer to the end of the picking run.

Group (Batch) Picking
Each picker has a consolidated picking list with multiple orders. Picker picks goods for all orders. To avoid mixing up orders, it usually best to separate individual orders by using a customised picking truck. This saves time where the number of products per order is low and works at low and high order volumes, saving time by picking all similar products for multiple orders in the same place.

Sector (Zone) Picking
This method of picking is synonymous with the conveyor systems. One or two pickers per sector pick all goods for the order within that area and then pass on the goods and the picking sheet to the next zone or shipping area as appropriate. This method works well with automated picking systems but different zones can accommodate automated and manual picking as required. It is ideal for high volume of orders, large inventories but low picks per orders.

Ripple (Wave) Picking
Simultaneous picking of orders, in different sectors/groups and then sorted and reconciled for each individual order to pack and ship. This method has a short cycle time, which benefits orders with multiple picks. The possible bottleneck is in the reconciling of orders.
The table below summarises the optimum uses of each system.