Pick and Pack Services | Easy Guide to Order Fulfillment

Have you ever ordered something online and wondered how quickly it gets to your doorstep?

The secret behind these quick delivery solutions is the efficient pick and pack services.

Now the question comes; what is pick and pack?

Flexi Couriers is here with an easy detailed guide on pick and pack service in order fulfilment. We’ll explore what it involves and how it helps transport your goods efficiently from the warehouse to your hands.

So, let’s discover the fascinating behind-the-scenes of online delivery operations and their key benefits to eCommerce businesses.

What is Picking and Packing?

Pick and pack are central steps in the order fulfilment process for e-commerce and various businesses.

When a customer orders from any website, the pick and pack solutions ensure that the right items are picked from inventory, packed carefully, and made ready for delivery to the customer’s address.

So, here we get a clear definition of pick and pack processes:

• Picking is collecting the product from the inventory.
• Packing is packaging and preparing the product for delivery to the customer.

These processes require accuracy, speed, and careful attention to guarantee efficient order fulfilment and a great customer experience.

How Do Pick and Pack Services Work?

Pick and pack fulfilment and logistics involve different tasks. Picking involves finding and collecting items from their storage locations in the warehouse. On the other hand, packing is about preparing these items for shipping.

Here’s a simple breakdown of what each process involves:

Now that you’ve got the basics of pick and pack, let’s move ahead to explore the process in detail.

Pick and Pack Process in Order Fulfillment | 5 Easy Steps Explained

To understand the whole pick and pack logistics, it’s important to understand the basic steps of order fulfilment. As soon as an order is placed, it goes through these processes: receiving, picking, packing, shipping and confirmation of order handling.

5 Steps Involved in Pick and Pack Fulfillment:

• Receiving Order
• Picking Order
• Packing Order
• Shipping Order
• Tracking Order

Now, let’s take a closer look at each of the five stages of order fulfilment.

1. Receiving the Order

Order fulfilment begins the moment you receive a new order request.

In eCommerce, this is usually done through systems that connect your sales channels with your inventory or warehouse management software (WMS).

When a customer makes a purchase, the system locates the item in your inventory and creates a packing slip. This slip contains some important details including:

• customer’s name
• address
• quantity of items ordered
• expected delivery date and time

The packing slip then directs warehouse staff to pick the item from the inventory.

2. Picking the Order

Once an order request is received, the next step is to collect/pick the items from the inventory. This involves moving goods within the warehouse.

An inventory worker takes the packing slip, which lists the items to be picked, and goes into the warehouse to collect them.

At this stage, efficiency is key. Workers need to be very familiar with the warehouse layout to quickly find and pick up items for shipping.

The way you organise your inventory highly affects the accuracy and speed of the pick and pack process. By better organising your storage areas and using inventory management software, you can improve both the visibility and the efficiency of your warehouse delivery operations. This helps ensure that the pick and pack logistics run smoothly.

3. Packing the Order

Once the workers have gathered all the items for shipping, they move on to packing.

Packing happens at a special station where everything is carefully packed, sealed, and labelled for shipping. This step is super important because it helps reduce returns and problems with shipping.

One big thing to think about during packing is how you package items.

The packaging needs to keep the products safe during shipping. If it’s not right, the items could get damaged. For instance, if you’re delivering food or perishable goods, you’ll need sealed containers and temperature-controlled storage solutions to keep it fresh.

Moreover, using the right packaging is important because it can affect costs. You want packaging that fits the size of what you’re sending.

4. Shipping Order

Getting your order ready and sent out is a natural part of the process. It’s called order shipping. It happens after everything else is done.

Once your items are all picked and packed, they head to the loading area.

That’s where the drivers come in to take them from the warehouse to you. One thing to watch out for is too many drivers trying to pick up at once. This can slow things down a lot. But using special software can help. It lets us schedule pick-ups so each driver comes in one after the other.

This way, the warehouse team has time to load up each vehicle. And the drivers can get out of the loading area smoothly. By planning deliveries better, we can work more efficiently and make sure your order gets to you on time.

5. Tracking Order

After your order is shipped, you’ll get an email with all the info you need to track it. It’s super easy and smooth. So, you can relax and do other business stuff while your order is on its way.

Pick and Pack Methods Involved in Order Fulfillment

Many eCommerce businesses use different pick and pack warehouse methods for their order fulfillment needs. They are discussed below:

5 Picking Methods

There are five different picking strategies important for efficient order fulfilment. Let’s review them quickly:

1. Piece Picking / Discrete Order Picking

This is the simplest method for picking orders.

In discrete or piece picking, a person picks items from each order separately, one by one. It’s often used by companies with few orders or big/heavy items.

It’s the most common one but might not be that efficient. It’s because of the time it takes to walk around and pick items. Thus, the orders can take longer to process when there are many of them.

2. Batch Picking

Batch picking is a method where orders are grouped into batches.

Instead of picking one order at a time, each picker handles multiple orders together. This reduces the time spent travelling between single picks by a lot.

This picking is a good way to manage if you have many orders to deliver. You gather all orders for products located in the same warehouse area. Batch picking ensures that pickers move through the warehouse efficiently.

Even if your business is small, you can still use batch picking. This means collecting all your orders in a single day instead of handling them as they come in.

Moreover, when you need the same item for several orders, it’s smart to pick them all at once. This saves you from going back and forth between different areas, speeding up order processing.

3. Wave Picking

In wave picking, you gather multiple orders together. You take two invoices from the printer together and collect the items needed for each order at the same time. This saves time because you don’t have to go in and out of the warehouse twice.

4. Zone Picking

In warehouse operations, zone picking means dividing items into different areas for picking orders.

Each zone has specific items to pick.

Workers or machines pick items from their assigned zone. For example, in a warehouse with various zones, items like large appliances are handled using specialised equipment in one zone, while smaller items are manually picked in another zone.

Once items are picked, they’re either grouped together in the same zone or taken to the sorting and packaging area.

5. Automated Picking / Technology-based Picking

This picking method involves the use of technology. So, basically, there are mainly two of the most important technological advancements for order pickers:

• Voice-Assisted Picking

Here, your picker wears a microphone headset as the most important piece of equipment. Thus, pickers listen to the directions about where to go and what to choose.

• Mobile Order Picking

Mobile scanning technology can be a good match for your warehouse if all your products have unique barcodes. A WMS (Warehouse Management System) can send picking details and the best picking path to your pickers’ mobile devices. This helps them pick the product quickly and easily.

3 Packing Methods

Good packing strategies not only help ensure products arrive safely. But they also save money, improve customer satisfaction, and boost brand awareness. Here are three important packing methods:

1. Cartonisation

This involves choosing the best-sized box for each order. By using the right size, businesses can avoid wasting space, cut shipping costs, and keep products safe during delivery.

There are also software tools that analyze the order’s size and suggest the most suitable packaging, making the packing process more efficient.

2. Kitting

Kitting is when multiple items are grouped together in one package. This method offers different benefits, such as:

• making customers feel more valued
• reducing packaging waste
• creating chances for cross-selling

Businesses can bundle related items together. This makes the package more appealing and encourages customers to buy more.

3. Branded Packaging

Branded packaging helps businesses add a personal touch to each order. It offers benefits like:

• showcasing their brand
• creating a unique unboxing experience
• leaving a lasting impression on customers

Customised boxes, tissue paper, stickers, or thank-you notes with the company’s logo and colours can really enhance the brand’s presence and build customer loyalty.

Benefits of Choosing Pick and Pack System | How it Helps Your Business?

1. Increases Speed of Packing & Shipping

When you choose pick and pack services, your items zip off to customers quicker. You can either hire super-speedy packers or train your own team to pack fast. However,

hiring and training take time and money. That’s why many businesses go for third-party pick and pack services—it’s faster and cheaper.

2. Provides Customisation According to Your Needs

These fulfilment centres are like custom-fit gloves. Need more space? They’ll expand. Need extra hands? Plenty of staffing options are available to meet your business needs.

3. Saves Time / Offers Greater Efficiency

The right pick and pack method saves time, making everything run smoother. It speeds up order processing and lets you handle everything from storage to packing in one spot. This streamlines the process, making it easier to gather products from different spots and get them packed and labelled quickly.

4. Ensures Order Accuracy

A well-organised picking and packing results in getting and delivering accurate orders. Sending the right stuff to your customers is important, and this system ensures you get it right.

5. Results In Higher Productivity

Keeping productivity up can be tough, but a pick and pack system demands attention and keeps everyone on their toes. Plus, it comes with methods that boost employee productivity, making the whole operation more efficient.

6. Improves The Organisation

A well-managed pick and pack system is key to a successful and organised warehouse. Labelling items clearly and grouping them properly in master cartons makes workers’ jobs effortless.

No more hunting through boxes or asking around for things.

7. Boosts Customer Satisfaction

Using third-party pick and pack services speeds up delivery, improves order accuracy, and makes customers happy. Getting the right orders to customers quickly boosts loyalty and satisfaction.

8. Saves You Money / Less Expensive

While pick and pack can save you money compared to other options, it’s not without costs. There are various charges involved in order fulfilment, such as:

• Receiving orders
• Processing orders
• Training employees
• Hiring new staff for pick and pack services
• Employee salaries
• Expenses for warehouse management software
• Keeping inventory updated consistently
• Packaging materials like boxes, bags, cartons, pallets, totes, etc.
• Labels for packages
• Quality control procedures
• Sealing boxes and many other essentials.

Eventually, when it comes to final costs, business owners often aim to minimise shipping costs as much as possible.

Are you looking for an efficient and affordable order fulfilment?

Contact Flexi Couriers | Get Efficient Pick and Pack Services with Affordable Delivery Solutions

Don’t stress about deliveries—let us handle them for you.

Our services include reliable temperature-controlled storage and delivery of chilled, frozen, and ambient products. We serve businesses of all sizes.

Don’t settle for slow and unreliable deliveries. Choose Flexi Couriers for the speed, efficiency, and control necessary to keep your business growing.

Call us at 086 388 1117 or Get a Free Quote now