"What Does “Pick And Pack” Mean? E-Commerce Terms Defined"

If you’re considering starting your own e-commerce business, itcan be easy to become confused by all the various e-commerce terms, and “pick and pack” is no exception! If you’re not familiar, pick and pack is a type of order fulfillment that is most commonly used by e-commerce retailers that primarily receive small to medium-sized online orders. This can also put that it is a part of E-commerce fulfillment warehouse.

This type of order fulfillment can be a little confusing atfirst, which is why, in this guide, we’re going to be taking a closer look at the pick-and-pack order fulfillment process, as well as explore some of the different strategies many e-commerce companies will take to help streamline the process and prevent errors. 

What Does the Term “Pick and Pack”Mean?

If you aren’t familiar with the term, “pick and pack”essentially refers to the process of picking a certain number of items from the shelves in a warehouse (as per customer order) and then packing them so they can be shipped off to the customer who has made the purchase.

This type of purchase fulfillment method is the most common forall types of e-commerce companies, as many people will place an order online, from which the physical goods purchased will then go through the pick-and-pack process to ensure successful delivery within the specified time frame.

For this type of order fulfillment to be a successful part ofany e-commerce business, it is critical to ensure that there is an organized warehouse that will allow the warehouse picking staff to efficiently locate the items that have been purchased ready to be packed and then sent.

Errors must be avoided as much as they can be when picking and packing, as the last thing that any business wants is unsatisfied customers due to missing items in an order. Due to this, along with ensuring that there is an organized warehouse for the pick and pack process to work, it is also imperative that the business has talented workers with a good eye for detail, a great team player attitude, and the ability to work in a fast-paced environment.

Plus, as a side note, along with guaranteeing a smooth pick andpack process, it is also worth keeping in mind that a business that has an organized warehouse will also ensurethat proper stock inventory can be taken. Not only will this contribute to the smooth running of the company, but it will help to prevent the warehouse pickers from getting their workflow interrupted due to customers placing orders on items that might not be in stock.

What Are the Main Challenges of Pick and Pack Order Fulfillment?

As we have already briefly touched upon in the section above,even though picking and packing is a standard order fulfillment process for e-commerce businesses, that doesn’t necessarily mean it is without any drawbacks.

The only way for a pick-and-pack order fulfillment process torun smoothly and be a success is if the business has staff that can work under pressure, have good coordination skills, and have a good eye for detail. This is especially true during busy times of the year when businesses might need to get a lot of orders picked, packed, and shipped off within a short timeframe.

For a pick-and-pack order fulfillment process to work, it isalso extremely important that the business has an organized and easy-to-navigate warehouse. This will help to prevent confusion and difficulty finding items that can potentially lead to delays in the fulfillment of the

order, as well as lower the chance of potential human error.

That being said, even though pick-and-pack order fulfillmenthas its benefits, there are still afew challenges that this type of order fulfillment process can come with. For example, one of the biggest challenges that many business owners face is trying to streamline the pick and pack process to optimize the warehouse workers’ ability to fulfill more orders without compromising on quality.

To achieve this, many businesses will introduce the best pickand pack strategy for their team that aligns with the size of the warehouse, how big the team is, and the order volumes. This leads us to our next section.

Pick and Pack Order Fulfillment Strategies:

To overcome some of the most common challenges that thepick-and-pack order fulfillment process can bring - many e-commerce companies will begin utilizing one of the four pick and pack order strategies that we are going to be outlining to you below:

1. Piece picking: For the most part, piece picking is the most common way to pick and pack. This particular strategy simply consists of picking orders as they are received and is most commonly used by small e-commerce companies that are just starting. This particular method can even be successfully done by one person, depending on order volume.

2. Batch picking: Businesses that have a lot of orders will typically tend to opt for the batch-picking method over piece-picking. Workers will be required to fulfill more than one order simultaneously.

3. Zone picking:  Zone picking is another pick-and-pack order strategy that divides the warehouse into specific zones. Warehouse workers will only pick items from designated zones that they will have been assigned to at the beginning of their shift, and workers will be required to pass boxes from zone to zone for the orders that might require items from different zones. This can be done manually or with conveyor belts and is best suited to e-commerce businesses with large order volumes and a big warehouse.

4. Wave picking: Last but not least, we have wave picking. If you aren’t familiar with this term, wave picking is essentially a pick-and-pack strategy that combines elements of zone gathering with batch picking. Warehouses that use this strategy will assign warehouse workers to specific zones, and they will only pick batch orders that fall within these zones.

Wrapping Up

You’ve reached the end of the article! Now that you have takenthe time to read through our guide, we hope that we have been able to give you a much clearer picture of what the term “pick and pack” is and why it is such a typical order fulfillment process for e-commerce businesses.

Along with that, we also hope that this guide has given you aclearer picture of some of the potential challenges the pick and pack order fulfillment process and 3pl fulfillment process can bring, as well as giving you a clear idea of what some of the best pick and pack strategies that you can use to overcome them.

If you are looking for a pick-and-pack fulfillment service for youre-commerce business, contact Victory Lane Solutions today!

Originally published at - https://victorylane.mystrikingly.com/blog/what-does-pick-and-pack-mean-e-commerce-terms-defined