Picking or Packing——Definition and Difference

Improvements in overall warehouse efficiency can be achieved by optimizing the two important steps of picking and packing.

In logistics, distribution centers, and other industries, picking and packing are essential, they are one step before and one step after, but there are differences, this post will take you to explore the definition and differences between picking and packing, read on together!

What is Picking?

Similar to picking something, picking goods is based on the products in the order, designated for picking.

The whole process can be carried out by warehouse workers, by manual operation, the process of picking is often a time-consuming and labor-consuming part of the whole warehouse operation; however, in the case of automated warehouses, there is no need to manually pick, it will be robots or conveyor belts, and so on such automated systems to complete.

What is Packing?

Packaging is the packing of products for shipment. Firstly, you need to select the packaging materials according to the size, quantity, and specific characteristics of the products;

Secondly, you need to verify the important information such as the model, quantity, weight, size, and volume of the goods;

Lastly, you need to put labels on the outer package with the number, address, and tracking code so that you can track the relevant information of the goods at any time and any place.

If your goods are shipped on pallets, you will also need to pack the pallets. All of these processes ensure that your products are packed tightly, and labeled correctly and that there are fewer accidents involving collisions during shipment.

Why is Picking and Packing Process Efficiency Important?

Today’s network shopping in the same day delivery or next day delivery is more and more flexible, very test warehouse picking and packaging efficiency, the need for timely response, shorten the time.

Picking as the first step in completing the order, efficient and ready to pick is very important, by the study, picking accounted for a proportion of warehousing costs as high as 60%, and picking errors will affect the completion of the entire order and the cost of the warehouse;

Packing as the last step before shipment, also plays a vital role, because improperly packaged products may result in transit accidents, resulting in damage to the goods, thereby reducing customer satisfaction, therefore, the correct and efficient picking and packing can improve the entire warehouse operation process.

What is the Difference Between Picking and Packing?

After understanding the definition of picking and packing, I believe you have a preliminary understanding of the differences between them, the following table to help you more simple and direct distinction between them;

6 Types of Picking and 3 Types of Packing

• Piece Picking: picking single orders by the piece, suitable for small retail businesses;
• Batch Picking: picking multiple orders at once, for businesses that need to save time;
• Zone Picking: picking in a designated area, suitable for businesses with large shipments;
• Wave Picking: simultaneous picking of different orders in different areas, suitable for large retail industries;
• Person-to-PersonPicking: pickers find goods in the warehouse according to order requirements;
• Goods-to-People Picking: the machine locates and picks goods in the warehouse and hands them over to the picker;

• Primary packaging: the first layer of packaging in direct contact with the product;
• Secondary packaging: packaging several identical goods;
• Tertiary packaging: for transportation;

Ways to Improve Picking and Packing Efficiency

1. Use warehouse management system WMS, reduce manual operation, more automation, and improve the whole warehouse;
2. installing automatic packaging machines for packaging to reduce manual work time;
3. Using mobile barcode scanning and automatic identification equipment to help automate picking and improve sorting accuracy;

Conclusion

When your warehouse is facing the following problems: not efficient enough, picking is not fast enough, packing is not tight enough, this is all in the picking and packing steps.

You can contact OKE Storage company, we not only have a wide variety of warehouse storage management systems that can be customized according to your warehouse but are also able to help you to effectively change your warehouse picking and packing.

One-stop service, please contact OKE’s professional team, to ensure you have no worries after the sale!