In this article, readers will learn exactly what pick and pack fulfillment is, and the various automation tools utilized by a 3PL for greater efficiency and cost savings. The various pick and pack methods are defined, the benefits of outsourcing to a 3PL are covered, and the challenges and pitfalls are explained as well.
Pick and Pack Fulfillment
Pick and Pack Fulfillment is a very familiar term, with most people envisioning warehouse workers manually handling items, moving them from one location to another, or packaging them. Although we may believe we know what pick and pack is, the truth is that there are many different ways of picking and packing. In this article, we will cover the automation and the strategies that assist the warehouse worker in accomplishing this order fulfillment process.
Why is Pick and Pack Fulfillment Critical for eCommerce?
Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) and Business-to-Consumer (B2C) sales involve high order volumes for single items or small quantities of items. This type of sale requires pick and pack fulfillment and shipping, and not bulk pallet shipping.
Accuracy is critical. The pick and pack fulfillment process is highly accurate when the fulfillment center utilizes barcode scanning technology, feeding into the inventory management technology of the fulfillment center. Order accuracy is achieved through this system-driven picking, done by the fulfillment center.
The client of the fulfillment center is the company selling the product. The person receiving the product is the customer. The better and more professional the picking, packing, and shipping, the happier both the client and the customer will be.
The fulfillment service can optimize the packing at the client’s request, and it can also utilize branded packaging, which a number of companies prefer. Shipping is the outcome of pick and pack. The item/s is picked from inventory and packed into a package, made ready for shipping, protected against shipping damage, and shipped via the most efficient and cost-effective means.
How Does AMS Fulfillment Execute Pick and Pack Operations?
AMS Fulfillment has offices and warehouses on both coasts, with East Coast locations near Philadelphia and West Coast facilities in the Los Angeles area. The pick, pack, and ship process takes place in all of the AMS warehouses. Having facilities on both coasts allows for speedy transit times and cost-effective shipping for customers.
AMS utilizes a proprietary warehouse management technology called WAMS. This excellent system is the backbone of fulfillment in that it communicates with the Inventory Management system, in which clients see the movement of their products. The AMS proprietary technology system creates accuracy in monitoring inventory. Best-of-breed technology systems and cutting-edge fulfillment automation ensure the accuracy.
The automation tools utilized by AMS include handheld devices that do barcode scanning and ring scanning. AMS also utilizes several more means of assisting our warehouse associates in the pick and pack process. Put-walls are utilized to sort picked items into individual orders, assisting greatly in the pick and pack process.
AMS also utilizes auto-baggers for polybagging, sealing, and labeling orders at high throughput. Additionally, there are methods of pick and pack that save steps and serve to optimize the efforts of the workers. These methods are called batch picking, wave picking, and zone picking. AMS is focused on making the process of picking and packing efficient, deriving the most out of employee movement, and reducing strain.
AMS Fulfillment is adept at picking and packing. AMS serves both eCommerce/B2C businesses as well as wholesale/B2B. The fulfillment service uses varying processes based upon several factors, including the number of SKUs, order metrics, and volumes.
Pick & Pack Methods Explained
Batch Picking: Batch picking is defined as a grouping of multiple customer orders with similar SKUs where a single picker will collect items for multiple orders in one trip, thereby reducing travel time. In an online store or pick and pack warehouse, batch picking is considered an efficient method of pick and pack, most effective when there are consistent orders for similar items that can be successfully batched. This method helps optimize warehouse operations and shipping processes, supporting the needs of an ecommerce business across various ecommerce sales channels.
Zone picking: Zone picking is an order-picking method where the warehouse is divided into distinct zones. The purpose is to reduce picker travel time because the workers are assigned to pick items from a specific zone. In pick and pack warehouses and online stores, zone picking also leads to greater accuracy, and it allows pickers to specialize, which is an additional benefit for efficient warehouse operations and streamlined shipping processes.
Wave picking: Wave picking is a warehouse strategy that groups multiple orders into waves. The definition calls it a combination of batch and zone picking that is timed according to the order priority, similarity of the SKUs, and similarity of carriers and carrier pickup windows. In pick and pack warehouses, wave picking optimizes picker routes and streamlines the fulfillment process by allowing pickers to collect items for several orders at once, improving shipping processes for ecommerce businesses. AMS’s Warehouse Management Systems (WAMS) schedules waves based on order priority, SKU similarity, and carrier pickup windows.
Benefits of Outsourcing Pick & Pack to a 3PL Like AMS
There are significant benefits to outsourcing pick and pack to a 3PL like AMS. Companies that provide third-party fulfillment are typically more efficient with fulfillment than companies that accomplish pick and pack in-house. Utilizing a 3PL allows for a reduction in labor costs due to this efficiency. One of the reasons for the efficiency is the optimization of picker travel and the reduction in waste.
A 3PL like AMS also has far greater capacity to handle spikes and seasonality. This scalability saves in labor costs and also in-house overhead. Another benefit of outsourcing to a 3PL like AMS is that the staff is thoroughly trained. They have pick and pack expertise, and they are trained to be accurate. Also, the scanning technology utilized by the 3PL leads to lower error rates.
A 3PL with the quality of AMS will be able to provide custom packaging, sustainable materials, and consistent unboxing. This leads to a much better experience for the customer. There are also advantages in that AMS has high-end warehouses with security, and it also has both East and West Coast locations.
Challenges and Common Pitfalls
One of the most important challenges in pick and pack is inaccuracies in inventory. To avoid inaccuracies, there must be a very good warehouse management system. AMS Fulfillment has its own proprietary system for warehouse management, and there is a strong focus on accuracy. Without a good warehouse management system in place, stock-outs could happen.
Pick paths must be optimized in order to protect from over-picking or the establishment of inefficient pick paths. This is a common pitfall. At AMS, it is the warehouse management system (WAMS) that creates the optimized pick paths.
More challenges include cost trade-offs, packaging inefficiencies, and returns management. AMS, as the 3PL, has a cost advantage due to automation vs manual labor, as well as the size of the SKU counts. And, when it comes to packaging, AMS will know the correct amount of the proper material to protect the item during shipping, and the branding of the packaging will be consistent, chosen by the client.
Returns management is always a challenge and a pitfall when not handled properly. AMS has a highly trained returns management team that knows how to properly handle returns for a wide variety of clients. There are no issues with regard to handling unpicked returns, reverse logistics, and restocking that might be experienced with a company doing in-house fulfillment.
Conclusion
Pick and Pack service is an essential part of eCommerce fulfillment. A 3PL service, such as AMS Fulfillment, is expert at fulfillment accuracy, utilizing a proprietary warehouse management system, as well as the technology to provide several different methods of efficiently picking and packing items for shipment to their clients. AMS Fulfillment provides all fulfillment services from locations on both the West and East Coasts. AMS is adept at picking and packing for both eCommerce/B2C businesses as well as wholesale/B2B.
