Picking Pick List Products

Picking is the process of going through the warehouse and retrieving the products listed on the pick list. The picking process varies depending on whether the warehouse uses inventory locations or not, and whether the picker uses a scanner to record the products picked.

Picking without Inventory Locations

Use the printed pick list as a guide for which products to pick and where to pick them from. For warehouses using designated locations, the locations for each product are indicated on the print. The print is sorted by the primary designated location. Products without a designated location are listed at the bottom and sorted by item number.

When picking is complete, return to the shipping station for check out. Follow these steps to complete picking:

1. From the sidebar navigation, go to Orders › Ship.
2. Open the pick list, and click on Pick Products.
3. On the Picking Manifest, enter the quantity Picked for each product. Alternatively, select Pick All if everything was picked.
4. At any time, you can Close the Picking Manifest, and return later to complete picking.
5. When everything picked was entered, click Complete Picking.

If some products were not picked, the pick list is marked as partially picked. Orders with unpicked products are placed On-Hold as they cannot be fulfilled. When orders are removed from a pick list, the picker may end up with picked products that have no corresponding orders to pack.

Picking by Scanner

To reduce human error during the picking process, the picker scans a barcode as the product is picked off the shelf. Any identifier available on the packaging can be scanned, as long as it is associated with the product. Scan a product identifier associated with a unit of measure to pick the quantity of that measure.

Use a scanner connected to a portable computer mounted on the picking cart. To pick by scanning, follow these steps:

1. From the sidebar navigation, go to Orders › Ship.
2. Open the pick list, and click on Pick Products.
3. On the Picking Manifest, scan the product barcode to record a pick.
4. At any time, you can Close the Picking Manifest, and return later to complete picking.
5. When picking is complete, click Complete Picking.

Goflow will sound an error beep if the picker makes a mistake. Ensure the computer volume is loud enough so the picker can hear the alert and correct the error. Two types of mistakes are possible:

• Wrong Product - If the picker scans a product not on the pick list, an error will sound and the scan will be rejected. Simply return the product to the shelf.
• Wrong Quantity - If the picker double scans a product, a chiming sound alerts the picker but the scan is accepted. The Complete Picking button is disabled until the over-pick is corrected. To return the product, reduce the quantity in the Picked column.

Picking with Inventory Locations

Use the printed pick list as a guide for which products to pick and where to pick them from. The locations for each product are indicated on the print. For products that need to be picked from multiple locations, each location is listed on a separate line. The pick list is sorted by aisle and bin numbers, allowing the picker to systematically navigate the warehouse.

Products with insufficient inventory cannot be picked. Additionally, for multi-item orders, if any product is unavailable, the remaining products in the order should not be picked either, as the order cannot be fulfilled as is. These products are listed at the bottom of the pick list without a corresponding inventory location.

When picking is complete, return to the shipping station for check out. Follow these steps to complete picking:

1. From the sidebar navigation, go to Orders › Ship.
2. Open the pick list, and click on Pick Products.
3. Specify the quantity Picked for each product. Alternatively, select Pick All if everything was picked.
4. In the From Location, enter the location from where you picked the products.
5. When everything picked was entered, click Complete Picking.
6. Select the Shipping Location where the inventory will be moved to, and click Complete Picking.

Use one of three methods to enter the From Location on the picking manifest:

• Manual - Select from the available locations where a product is stored. For products picked from multiple locations, enter the quantity for the first location, then click on the plus sign to add another line for the next location.
• Automatic - For products stored at a single location, click on Auto Select to fill in the locations automatically.
• QR Code - Each time a pick list is printed, a unique QR code is generated. The QR code contains a list of products along with the suggested From Location. If all products were picked according to the suggested locations on the printed pick list, you can easily complete picking by scanning the QR code in the scan bar.

Understanding Suggested Locations

For products that can be picked from multiple locations, Goflow suggests the best location guided by three priorities:

• Minimizing trips - Suggest the fewest number of locations possible. It's preferable to pick a product from a single location that has all the needed inventory rather than from multiple locations with only partial quantities.
• Minimizing redundancy - Suggest the location with the least stock. When two locations both have all the needed inventory, it's preferable to pick from the location with less quantity. This speeds up the depletion of low-stock locations and consolidates storage into one location.
• Minimizing loose unit handling - Suggest a location with full boxes. While it is generally preferable to pick from locations with less quantity, exceptions are made for locations that allow picking full sealed boxes over breaking a box to pick loose units.

To illustrate, consider a product stored in three locations:

• To pick 3 units, Bin C is suggested, as it requires a trip to one location only.
• To pick 2 units, Bin B is suggested, because it has less stock than Bin C.

To illustrate whole-box preference, consider a product stored in three locations:

To pick 4 units, Bins A and B are suggested, as Bin A has the lowest stock. However, if the product's default shipping unit of measure is 2, implying that the product is boxed in units of 2, then Bins B and C are suggested. This allows picking a box of 2 from each location, even though it leaves three locations with one unit each.

A pick list does not reserve inventory in the suggested locations. Multiple pick lists for the same product may compete for inventory at the same location. Consequently, it is possible that the picker may not find all the products at their suggested locations if another picker has already picked those products to fulfill a different pick list.

Picking by Scanner with Inventory Locations

To use a scanner with inventory locations, scan the location label before scanning the products. The location only needs to be scanned once when moving to a new location or picking a new product. For subsequent picks from the same location, just scan the products.

Goflow will sound an error beep if the picker makes a mistake. Ensure the computer volume is loud enough so the picker can hear the alert and correct the error. Two types of mistakes are possible:

• Wrong Product - If the picker scans a product not in the selected location, an error will sound and the scan will be rejected. Scan the new location first, and then scan the product again.
• Wrong Quantity - If the picker double scans a product, a chiming sound alerts the picker but the scan is accepted. The Complete Picking button is disabled until the over-pick is corrected. To return the product, set the quantity in the scan bar to -1, and scan the product again before returning it to the shelf.