Warehouse Management

Batch Picking

Pick multiple orders in one warehouse trip. Reduce travel time by 60% and ship more orders per hour without adding headcount.

See How It Works

Why Single-Order Picking Limits Throughput

Excessive Travel Time

Pickers walk the same aisles repeatedly for each order. In a typical warehouse, 50-60% of pick time is just walking.

Flash Sale Bottlenecks

During BFCM or product drops, single-order picking can't keep up. Orders pile up while pickers handle one at a time.

Rising Labor Costs

Adding pickers to keep up with order volume increases costs. Efficient picking methods let existing staff handle more orders.

How Batch Picking Works in Fulfil

Group orders by SKU or location, pick all items in one trip, then sort into individual orders at the pack station.

Key Capabilities

SKU-based batching
Group orders with common SKUs. Pick 50 units of Product A in one trip instead of 50 separate trips.
Optimized pick routes
System sequences picks to minimize travel. Serpentine paths through aisles reduce backtracking.
Pick-to-cart workflows
Use multi-tote carts. Each tote represents an order. Scan item, scan tote, move on.
Configurable batch sizes
Set batch limits based on cart capacity, order complexity, or picker experience.
Real-time COGS tracking
Every pick updates inventory value and calculates COGS. Finance sees margins as orders ship.

Batch Picking Workflow

1

System creates batch

Groups similar orders automatically

2

Picker claims batch

Assigns batch to picker on mobile app

3

Optimized pick path

App guides through warehouse efficiently

4

Scan and sort

Scan item, app indicates which tote

5

Deliver to pack station

Totes ready for packing and shipping

Results from Batch Picking

60%

Reduction in travel time

2-3x

More orders picked per hour

50%

Lower labor cost per order

Same Day

Flash sale order fulfillment

When to Use Batch Picking

Single-Item Orders

Perfect for DTC brands with high volume of 1-2 item orders. Pick 50 units, sort into 50 orders.

Flash Sales

When thousands of orders hit at once, batch picking is the only way to keep up.

Popular SKUs

When 20% of SKUs drive 80% of volume, batch picking those SKUs dramatically improves throughput.

BFCM Season

Black Friday through Cyber Monday requires 3-5x normal throughput. Batch picking makes it possible.

Common Questions

How many orders should be in a batch?

Depends on cart capacity and order complexity. Most operations use 10-25 orders per batch for multi-item orders, or 30-50 for single-item orders. Start conservative and increase as pickers get comfortable with the workflow.

What equipment do I need?

Mobile devices (phones or tablets) with the Fulfil app, and multi-tote carts. Each tote represents one order. A typical cart holds 15-25 totes. Barcode scanners speed up the process but phone cameras work too.

What about multi-item orders?

Batch picking works for multi-item orders too. The system groups orders that share SKUs. As you pick each item, the app tells you which tote(s) need it. Some operations use cluster picking for complex multi-item orders.

How does batch picking affect accuracy?

Accuracy improves with barcode validation. Scan each item and the system confirms the correct tote. Errors are caught immediately. Without scanning, accuracy depends on picker attention—slower single-order picking is sometimes more accurate for complex orders.

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Financials

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