Batch Picking
Batch picking is an order-picking method in which several customer orders are grouped into a single batch and picked together in one pass through the warehouse. Each storage location is visited only once, and the collected quantity is afterwards split across the individual orders.
Batch picking (also called batch or multi-order picking) is a two-stage order-picking method in which several customer orders are grouped into a batch and picked together in a single pass through the warehouse. Instead of processing each order individually, the system sums up the demand of all bundled orders per item and lets the picker visit each required storage location only once. Only afterwards is the collected quantity split across the individual orders.
The central lever of the method is the drastic reduction of travel time. In classic single-stage picking, a large share of the effort goes into walking between the racks – for small orders with few lines, the travel share is especially high. If the same fast mover appears in twenty orders, its storage location is visited only once instead of twenty times with batch picking. That is precisely why batch picking is one of the most effective methods in high-volume mail order and e-commerce, where many small-line orders with overlapping assortments come together.
At a glance
- Several orders are bundled into one batch and picked together
- Each storage location is visited only once – minimal travel time
- Two-stage: first collect (pick), then split across orders (sortation)
- Ideal for many small orders with overlapping assortments
- Needs ERP/WMS control for batch building and allocation
How batch picking works
Batch picking generally runs in two stages. In the first stage, the system forms a batch: following defined rules – such as order intake, shipping method, target zone or maximum line count – it selects a group of orders and consolidates their demand per item into a shared picking list. From this combined list a travel-optimized route results, along which the picker removes the total required quantity of each item in a single pass.
In the second stage, the collected goods are split cleanly per order. This sortation (also called the "split") can happen directly during picking, when the picker places the goods straight into the compartmented totes of a picking cart, or downstream at a sorting station, where the collected batch is distributed across the individual order totes. Only after this allocation are the orders complete and move on to packing and shipping.
Pick-and-sort and pick-and-pass
In practice, two variants dominate. With pick-and-sort, the entire batch is first grabbed as a collected quantity and afterwards sorted onto the orders at a separate station – efficient when picking, but with additional sorting effort. With pick-and-pass (also cluster or multi-order picking), the picker carries a cart with several compartmented totes and immediately places each removed item into the correct order tote; the elaborate second sorting step is eliminated, but handling at the rack is more demanding. Which variant makes sense depends on the assortment, order size and the degree of system support.
Why batch picking matters
The benefit of batch picking lies in productivity. Because travel time is the largest cost block of picking in many warehouses, bundling the routes often lifts pick performance – measured in lines or units per hour – considerably, without any additional conveyor technology being required. The effect is especially strong with a typical e-commerce order structure of many one- and two-line orders and an assortment in which a few fast movers keep recurring.
Two prerequisites stand against this. First, the clean per-order split requires extra care: any error in the sorting stage assigns items to the wrong order and produces two faulty deliveries at once. Second, batch building tends to lengthen the throughput time of the individual order, because it is only started once enough suitable orders are available for a sensible batch. For rush orders and same-day shipping, batch picking is therefore often combined with priority rules or with single-stage individual picking.
When batch picking pays off
Batch picking pays off above all where many small orders with high item overlap occur and the routes are long. Rules of thumb: a small average line count per order, a pronounced fast-mover structure after an ABC analysis and a high daily order volume speak for the method. With large, assortment-wide orders or very low volume, by contrast, bundling brings little, and simple order-by-order picking remains superior.
Batch picking in the ERP system
In the ERP or merchandise management system, batch picking sits between order confirmation and goods issue. The system decides which open orders are grouped into a batch, reserves the quantities in stock, consolidates the demand per item and generates a travel-optimized combined pick list – usually for mobile data capture via handheld scanner. Every removal is scanned and immediately posted against book inventory, so that availability and stock stay correct in real time. In the sorting stage, the system assigns the removed quantities to the individual customer orders and reports them as picked to packing and shipping.
How deeply the method is supported depends on the system. Many ERP and e-commerce systems already ship with batch building and paperless combined picking; in highly automated or high-volume warehouses, a specialized warehouse management system (WMS) takes over the fine control of batches, zones, sortation and conveyor technology and reports the results back to the ERP. Items subject to batch or serial numbers are already captured during the combined pick and assigned to the respective order in the sorting stage.
Distinction: batch picking, zone and wave picking
Batch picking is often confused with related methods, which however bundle by a different criterion. Batch picking bundles by orders: several orders are picked together by one picker and separated afterwards. Zone picking, by contrast, bundles by warehouse area – each picker handles only "their" zone, and an order is consolidated across several zones. Both principles can be combined: within a zone, picking can be done batch-wise (zone-batch picking).
Wave picking is the time-based bracket above this: it controls when which batches are released, in order to synchronize them with shipping cut-off times, packing capacity or conveyor technology. Batch picking thus describes the "what is picked together", zone picking the "where", and wave control the "when". Batch picking differs from pick-and-pack in that the latter only means the connection of picking and packing, whereas batch picking describes the type of order bundling.
Example
Example: online cosmetics retailer with 6,000 items
An e-commerce retailer ships around 700 orders per day, most of which contain only one to three lines – often the same bestsellers. In the original order-by-order picking, an employee walked through the warehouse for each order individually; the travel share was over 60 percent, and the same fast movers were visited hundreds of times a day.
After switching to paperless batch picking in the ERP, the system now groups up to 24 orders into a batch. The picker pushes a cart with 24 compartmented totes along a travel-optimized route through the warehouse (pick-and-pass), scans each item and immediately places it into the correct order tote. Fast movers were placed close to goods issue after an ABC analysis. Result: roughly half the travel time per order, a noticeably higher pick performance and a real-time inventory that is correct at all times – without any investment in conveyor technology.
Frequently asked questions
Related services
Questions about Batch Picking in your ERP project?
We advise vendor-neutrally – and implement it ourselves on request.