What batch picking is
With single-order picking, someone takes one order, walks the shelves to collect it, packs it and starts again. With batch picking, they take a group of orders, collect every item for all of them in one walk, and then sort the items back into orders.
The walk is where the time goes. Batching turns many short walks over the same shelves into one route.
When it pays off
Batch picking works best when:
- you ship many small orders a day, with one to five items each;
- the same products show up in many orders, such as bestsellers or a sale;
- your stock lives on shelves your team has to walk between.
If you ship a handful of large orders, or everything fits on one table, picking order by order is usually simpler. Many stores do both: batches for the morning rush, single orders for the rest of the day.
The walk is where the time goes. Batching turns many short walks into one route.
Name your bins
A batch list is only as good as its sort order, and the sort order comes from your bin locations. A simple scheme works best:
- Zone, then shelf:
A-01,A-02,B-01. The letter is the aisle or area; the number is the shelf or bin. - Number in walking order, so sorting by bin is the same as walking the route.
- Label the shelves with exactly the same codes the list prints.
In Shopify, keep each product’s bin in a metafield, so it travels with the product and every tool can read it.
Keep orders apart with totes
Once items for many orders are in one basket, you need a way to sort them back. Numbered totes are the easiest: give each order a tote, and print a tote list that says which order goes in which.
Pickers can sort into totes as they walk, which is faster with a cart, or drop everything into one crate and sort at the packing table, which is simpler with a basket.
A morning routine
- Select the orders that are ready to ship and print a batch list sorted by bin.
- Walk the route once, ticking off each line.
- Sort into totes using the tote list.
- Pack each tote with its order slip and check the item count.
- Mark the batch as picked, so nobody picks those orders twice.
Common mistakes
- Bins out of walking order. The list jumps around the warehouse and the route gets longer, not shorter.
- Variants on the same shelf without labels. Size M and size L look alike in a hurry. Give variants their own bins, or at least their own labels.
- Batches that are too big. Start with ten to twenty orders. Sorting a huge batch takes back the time the walk saved.
- No check at packing. A quick count against the order slip catches most picking mistakes before they ship.
