What is Piece Picking?
Piece picking individual items of an order is picked at a time from the warehouse. It is implemented when an order has several SKUs but smaller items quantity per pick. Piece picking is done at warehouses where vast amounts of products are held before being exported or sold.
Significance of Piece Picking in E-commerce Logistics
Piece picking is a popular method of order picking as it simplifies warehouse operations and lowers labor costs. Here are some more advantages of picking strategies to consider:
- Customer satisfaction: Customers are most satisfied when their orders arrive on time altogether.
- Lower labor cost: The appropriate piece-picking strategy can limit the number of order pickers necessary to fulfill orders.
- More accuracy: Piece picking allows products to be handled individually, allowing one product to be picked at a time. This method enables pickers to detect incorrect goods, resulting in increased accuracy.
Pre-requisites of Piece Picking and How It Works
The basic piece-picking procedure keeps inventory in specific locations on stationary shelves or pallet racks. An order picker selects one order at a time, moving up and down each lane until the complete order is picked. The following are some prerequisites for piece picking:
- Automatic picking devices: Where huge numbers of identical objects, such as water bottles, chairs, etc., are chosen, fully automated picking machines (such as robots) are necessary.
- Stationary shelves: The most common equipment needed for storage in piece-picking operations is the product place in the warehouse.
Use Case With Piece Picking
Consider the case of a mobile phone repair parts distributor who performs piece picking. Here, the distributor selects one item at a time from the storage shelf whenever they receive an order to be fulfilled. Later, they pack and deliver it to the customer. The same process is repeated when they receive another order.