Large Order Wave Picking
Efficient Warehouse Management on the East Coast
Getting your customers’ orders off the shelves and ready for shipment can be daunting. Walking from one end of the warehouse to the other, making sure all the correct products are grouped together, can take a great deal of time.
If you have a large volume of orders, it’s easy for picking efficiency to decrease as orders increase. When you have items scattered throughout a warehouse, and workers have to walk from one end to the other just to fulfill one order, it’s incredibly inefficient and wastes lots of man-hours.
To prevent this large time loss, wave order picking groups together nearby SKUs from multiple orders. Instead of three people running all across the warehouse to each fulfill one complete order, those three orders are split into “zones,” with one person responsible for picking the items in his or her zone from each of the three orders.
The warehouse team at Cannon Hill Logistics is experienced at coordinating large order wave-picking efforts for maximum worker efficiency. We work hard to get your products to your customers as quickly as possible each and every time.
The Advantages of Large Order Wave Picking
Improved Efficiency
A large order wave picking system can have a profound impact on the efficiency of your business. Unlike fixed wave picking — which groups orders together in predetermined batches — dynamic wave picking, a variant of wave picking, allows for the real-time grouping of orders into waves based on factors such as order size, priority, and pick zone. This flexible approach to wave picking will allow your business to manage high-volume orders more effectively than ever before.
By dynamically creating waves throughout the day, our warehouse management system (WMS) can optimize labor schedules and resources, ensuring that our pickers are assigned to the right tasks at the right times. These advantages of wave picking allow your business to meet customer demands efficiently and scale its operations as needed, which is particularly helpful during peak seasons or periods of increased demand.
Reducing Inaccuracies
Another benefit of large order wave picking is its ability to reduce inaccuracies and errors in the picking process. Traditional order-picking methods may lead to mistakes when handling multiple orders simultaneously — increasing the risk of shipping the wrong items to customers. In contrast, wave picking ensures that orders are grouped together strategically, minimizing the chances of confusion or mix-ups.
Warehouse managers can implement quality control checks at key points in the process, such as pre-wave and post-wave picking, to ensure accuracy and enhance customer satisfaction. Reducing errors will not only save your business time and resources but will also help you maintain a positive reputation.
More Adaptability
The benefits of large order wave picking extend to improving adaptability and scalability within warehouse operations. When comparing wave picking to other methods, such as batch or zone picking, it becomes clear that it provides a more flexible and adaptive approach. As the number of orders fluctuates, wave-picking systems can adjust accordingly, efficiently allocating resources and labor.
This adaptability is important for businesses that experience seasonal variations in demand or sudden spikes in order volume. By improving adaptability, wave picking contributes to enhanced overall operational efficiency, reducing unnecessary costs associated with underutilized resources.
Greater Customer Satisfaction
Simplifying the management of high-volume orders and reducing inaccuracies and errors in the picking process makes it much easier for your businesses to satisfy customers. In addition, the scalability of large order wave picking will help you meet customer demands effectively. By taking advantage of our warehouse management system and software, your business can reap the rewards of this popular picking method.
To Learn More About How the Wave Picking Process Can Improve Your Business Operations, Call Us Today
Trust our skilled logistics professionals to make the most of every second when it comes to picking, packing, and shipping your customer orders. To learn more about how a large order wave picking strategy can help your business operations, call today for a quote!