Guide
A pick, pack and dispatch workflow that scales past one room
Updated 3 min read
The short answer
A reliable fulfilment workflow has six stages: receive and verify inbound stock, put it away to a known location, generate batched pick lists, verify each item at packing by scanning, hand over to the courier as a recorded manifest, and cycle count continuously. Accuracy comes from verification at packing — the last point where a mistake is still cheap.
- Six stages: receive → putaway → pick → pack-verify → dispatch → count
- Scan verification at packing is the highest-return single change
- Batch picking beats order-by-order picking above roughly 50 orders a day
- Every location needs a name, even in one room
The six stages
- 1
Receive against the purchase order
Count what arrived and compare it to what was ordered before it touches a shelf. Short shipments found at receiving are the supplier's problem; found three weeks later they are yours.
- 2
Put away to a named location
Every shelf, bin and rack gets a code. Even in a single room this is worth it, because a pick list that says where to go stops depending on one person's memory.
- 3
Pick in batches, along a route
Above roughly fifty orders a day, picking one order at a time means walking the same aisle repeatedly. Batch several orders into one pick list ordered by location and sort into orders afterwards.
- 4
Verify at packing
Scan the item against the order before it goes in the box. This is the single highest-return change most operations can make: it is the last moment a wrong item costs pennies rather than a return, a refund and a metric hit.
- 5
Dispatch as a recorded handover
Parcels leave as a manifest the courier acknowledges. Without that record, a parcel that never arrives becomes an argument with no evidence.
- 6
Cycle count continuously
Count a slice of SKUs every week — fast movers more often. A discrepancy found within a week has a traceable cause; one found at annual stocktake does not.
Returns and RTO are a seventh stage people forget
Parcels come back for two different reasons and they need different handling. A customer return has been opened and must be inspected before it can be resold. An RTO parcel was never delivered and is usually still sealed, but it still needs to be physically received before its units re-enter sellable stock.
The rule that prevents phantom inventory: stock returns to sellable on physical receipt and inspection, never on a courier tracking event.
The four numbers worth tracking
- Pick accuracy
- Correct items picked ÷ total items picked. Scan verification is what moves it.
- Orders dispatched same day
- The measure that actually drives marketplace SLA performance.
- Inventory accuracy
- Counted quantity ÷ system quantity, from cycle counts. Below 98% and your stock number is fiction.
- Return-to-sellable time
- How long a returned unit sits before it can be sold again. Usually the most ignored trapped cash in the building.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between picking and packing?
Picking is collecting the items for an order from their storage locations. Packing is verifying those items against the order, boxing them, and attaching the shipping label. Verification belongs at packing because it is the last point where a mistake is still cheap to fix.
When should I switch to batch picking?
Around fifty orders a day. Below that, picking order by order is simpler. Above it, walking the same aisle repeatedly costs more time than the sorting step that batch picking adds.
When should returned stock become sellable again?
On physical receipt and inspection, never on a courier tracking event. Adding stock back when tracking says 'returned' creates phantom inventory that will oversell.