What is Wave Picking?
Wave picking is a type of picking method where orders are grouped and picked by pickers in batches at specific intervals in a day. This type of order picking keeps certain factors in mind, including shipping date, item type, and warehouse zone. It can either be done manually or with the assistance of warehouse software.
Significance of Wave Picking
Wave picking eliminates the need to organize items in sequence, which can be time-consuming and lead to mistakes. It comes with several other benefits, like:
- This pickup method can schedule waves per the carrier’s shipping schedule, thereby increasing productivity.
- Wave picking includes collaboration with other variations, making it a multi-factor process.
- Pickers can save on travel time and ensure productivity at work.
- Complex data analysis can be utilized to gain better performance of wave picking.
- The picking and packing operations are distinguished to allow rechecking of every order.
- Since the work production is at its best, customers are satisfied with the logistics service.
Prerequisites of Wave Picking in Logistics and E-Commerce
The primary prerequisite for wave picking is establishing and sending a fulfillment order to the warehouse based on a common factor. Subsequently, wave picking works in these steps:
- Scheduling the waves according to the pickup availability can ensure that all orders are fulfilled on time.
- Picking the items according to waves is done by pickers once they are assigned orders.
- The last step involves sorting the orders and shipping them to the destination. This is done via warehouse software or a system that tracks orders.
Use Cases of Wave Picking
Suppose a company ABC, schedules a wave wherein workers are supposed to pick up all the components of a high-priority order from their biggest customer. Therefore, with this, shipping deadlines are met, and the order fulfillment process becomes more efficient.