What’s The Definition of Wave Picking?
Wave picking is a technique for order picking in warehouses that aims to improve the efficiency of warehouse management. This technique includes releasing orders for fulfillment and organizing them based on a specific factor such as warehouse zone, items, etc.
Usually, waves in this technique are grouped based on multiple factors. The factors can be shipping schedules, carriers, replenishment picking, shift changes, available workforce, similar products, and warehouse priorities. Now that we learned more about the definition of wave picking let’s dive into the advantages that a company may obtain when following that technique!
What Are The Advantages of This Method?
Except for the improvement of the efficiency of warehouse management, wave picking plays a crucial role in a company’s workflow. And here’s why:
1. Enhanced Tracking
When portable scanning devices are connected to a Warehouse Management System, it is quite easy to predict picker progress throughout a wave when there is a defined timetable. Managers may see what tasks still need to be completed and how much progress has been achieved in real-time.
2. Order and Shipping Accuracy
Wave picking provides the ability to double-check SKUs to ensure that all the orders are fulfilled accurately. Regarding the shipping accuracy, wave picking analyzes shipping schedules and resources so it makes it possible to organize the time so as to complete orders before cargo may be delivered to a terminal.
3. Eliminated Errors
Pick and pack processes are differentiated. Thus there are the warehouse management team will have two chances to check that the order was fulfilled correctly. Also, if a barcode scanning system is added to the process then it will be even more secure and the errors will be eliminated. In fact, eliminating errors will help the team be more organized and maintain an efficient workflow.