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Top Mistakes in Picking Operations in Warehouse

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Pyropswms

What is Warehouse picking & packing?

The warehouse picking process focused on retrieving and preparing items as per customer purchase orders. Essentially, it involves gathering and consolidating the specific products comprising a customer’s order. To enhance this process and attain peak efficiency, businesses can harness the technological advancements and digital capabilities provided by a warehouse management system (WMS).


How is the picking process in a warehouse with a WMS (Warehouse Management System) executed?

When executing the picking process using warehouse management system software, operators rely on picking assistance devices such as wireless RF scanners. These devices receive instructions from the WMS, displaying crucial information like item locations, quantities to pick, and specific items to locate. Operators simply confirm their actions upon completion to receive new instructions.

The warehouse picking process with a WMS marks a significant advancement from paper-based picking, where operators rely on printed lists to assemble orders. This technological approach greatly streamlines picking, particularly for businesses handling numerous orders, as manual management poses a considerable risk of inventory control errors.


Picking process in a warehouse is a critical operation, and even small errors can lead to significant problems. Here are some of the top mistakes in warehouse picking:

Picking the wrong item

One of the most common picking mistakes is selecting the wrong item from the shelves. This can happen due to misreading product codes, incorrect labeling, or a lack of familiarity with the product.


Picking the wrong quantity

Another common mistake is selecting the wrong quantity of items. This can happen when staff miscount or fail to verify the order quantity before starting the picking process.


Picking from the wrong location

If the warehouse is disorganized, staff may pick items from the wrong location. This can lead to delays in fulfilling orders, misplaced items, and increased labor costs.


Failure to update inventory

If staff members fail to update inventory levels in real-time, other staff members may pick the same item. This can lead to stockouts, delays in fulfilling orders, and reduced customer satisfaction.


Rushing through the picking process

Warehouse staff may rush through the picking process to complete orders quickly, leading to errors. This can result in mis-picks, miscounts, and other picking mistakes.


Inadequate training

If staff members are not adequately trained on the picking process, they may make mistakes due to a lack of knowledge or experience. Training should include proper picking procedures, order verification, and product knowledge.


Failure to double-check orders

Another common mistake is failing to double-check orders before they are sent to shipping. This can lead to incorrect orders being sent to customers, which can damage the reputation of the company.

By avoiding these mistakes, you can ensure that your picking operations are efficient and accurate. Regular training, process standardization, and using technology solutions like barcode scanning can help reduce picking errors and improve your warehouse operations.

improve your warehouse operations. Check out a few tips to avoid picking errors in warehousing & know more about insights to reduce errors.


Optimize Warehouse Picking Process With WMS

To enhance warehouse picking and packing efficiency, we require the best warehouse management system (WMS). Pyrops WMS helps with their warehouse management system software to manage the inventory in real time, reduce picking, packing, and shipping errors, and scale with ease.

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