Order picking refers to the process of taking inventory out of its designated warehouse location and starting off the delivery process. A good Warehouse Management System provides complete automation of the picking process to avoid any errors or issues. 

In the process of picking, a Picklist is provided to the warehouse staff or to automated equipment that scans a tote or bin to get the locations of the item. Once the shelf is located, the inventory is scanned, picked and then sent out for packing and delivery.

In cases when an item cannot be located at a given shelf, another SKU of the same item is scanned till the inventory is available on a given shelf.

As the process of picking is time taking, it is necessary to have a technologically advanced warehouse management system in place that can carry out multiple scans and checks to quickly locate goods in a warehouse and then help the staff collect it and move forward with other processes.

By deploying the right picking processes for your warehouse operations you can provide your business with the ease to enhance the overall customer experience.

Right picking process involves: provide efficiency and accuracy, better order fulfillment and processing, increase the overall revenue of business.

The right picking process:

• Provides higher efficiency and accuracy
• Allows better order fulfilment and processing
• Increases overall revenue of business
• Enables faster and smoother deliveries 
• Reduce manpower and stock management costs
• Saves time and efforts

To begin the process of picking, you need to first initiate serialization of products which helps you track each item in your warehouse for better and quicker picking process by giving them a unique code. Serialization is done using barcode systems that generate a combination of unique characters in 2D or 3D format that are then put as labels on each item and scanned for details at the time of picking processes. 

There are various picking processes you can use, depending on the fulfilment requirements of your eCommerce business.

1. Zone Picking 

For large warehouses that cater to multiple zones, the process of zone picking is recommended as it compiles large volumes of inventory for each particular zone with unique SKUs respective to them. 

By doing so, the warehouse staff or automated tools assigned to each zone can easily pick up products and initiate order processing. The process of zone picking allows you to:

• Improve efficiency of collecting goods
• Speeds up collection of multiple items
• Decreases move around time within the warehouse
• Allows multiple pickups in one go

A picking bin, tote or box may move around various zones until it has collected all the required SKUs from that particular zone.

2.Batch Picking

This method of picking is used to fulfil multiple orders of the same item but in various quantities. Batch picking allows warehouse staff or automated equipment to move around for longer distances, collecting Items having the same SKU but different demands. Batch picking can also be done for the same channels, same logistics provider, priority orders etc.

Ideal for eCommerce businesses, the process of batch picking enables you to:

• Increase order fulfilment rates
• Decrease travel time for picking
• Save on warehouse space 
• Organize inventory in a better way

Batch picking is recommended if you wish to make the most out of your small or big warehouse and to equip your staff to fulfil multiple customer orders at the same time.

Type of picking: Zone picking, batch picking, wave picking, cluster picking

3. Discrete Picking

The process of discrete picking involves collecting orders one at a time, providing complete staff assistance to a single item till the time the order processing is complete. Discrete picking is advised for small warehouses that get a lesser number of orders. With discrete picking, you get to:

• Allows higher response time for order fulfilment
• Reduces the possibility of wrongful deliveries
• Enables easier tracking of orders 
• Eliminates the need for multiple touchpoints

Discrete picking is a simple and easy process that allows your warehouse staff with the ease to perform with complete accuracy, increasing your chances of providing better customer service.

4. Wave Picking

Wave picking is quite similar to discrete picking, except for the fact that it allows scheduling. Each order to be picked up can be allotted a specific time slot to further simplify the entire process.

Wave picking works best for warehouses with heavy demands and different kinds of inventory, as it helps the picker to:

• Create separate order and group them based on priority
• Align the picking process with that of shipping and delivery time
• Manage warehouse operations more efficiently
• Reduce workload on staff and keep the picking process uninterrupted

With wave picking, you get to manage your manpower and achieve higher order fulfilment ultimately increasing your overall productivity.

5. Cluster Picking

To fulfil multiple orders at the same time, the process of cluster picking is done. The method requires the warehouse staff to collect various items at the same time while separating them into unique boxes or bins to avoid mix-ups.

With Cluster Picking, you get to:

• Reduce time to collect orders
• Prioritise stocks over another 
• Easy sorting of products 
• Select the fastest route to pick multiple items

Cluster picking enables the picker to do two things at a time which improves your time to pick, pack and deliver.

Checklist of Picking

Based on the size of your warehouse, availability of products, variety of items, demand, manpower and location of your facility, you can use any of these picking methods and by automating your picking processes you will be able to achieve higher supervision of your warehouse operations with greater ease to focus on strengthening your customer relations, strategizing to enhance your services and improving your productivity.

Unicommerce is a platform that empowers your business to accomplish all of the above and more! 

The fully automated and technologically advanced Warehouse Management System of Unicommerce helps you manage all your picking needs, select the best method that works for your facility and then simplify your warehouse operations.

Experience the true potential of your business with us today, click here to know more about our services or request a demo today!

Read our other relevant blogs for warehouse management to better understand the must-haves of warehouse operations in order to increase your business capabilities and achieve greater growth.

1. Prerequisites of Warehouse Management: Vendor Onboarding and Procurement.
2. Simplifying Receiving and Putaway Operations of Warehouse: Prerequisites of Warehouse Management
3. Boost the Efficiency of Warehouse Operations with Packing and Dispatch
4. Warehouse Returns and Cancellations Management [Reasons, Problems and Solutions]

The picking process is the next big step of warehouse operations and the first step towards providing a highly satisfying experience to the customers who have placed an order with your business.

Order picking refers to the process of taking inventory out of its designated warehouse location and starting off the delivery process. A good Warehouse Management System provides complete automation of the picking process to avoid any errors or issues. 

In the process of picking, a Picklist is provided to the warehouse staff or to automated equipment that scans a tote or bin to get the locations of the item. Once the shelf is located, the inventory is scanned, picked and then sent out for packing and delivery.

In cases when an item cannot be located at a given shelf, another SKU of the same item is scanned till the inventory is available on a given shelf.

As the process of picking is time taking, it is necessary to have a technologically advanced warehouse management system in place that can carry out multiple scans and checks to quickly locate goods in a warehouse and then help the staff collect it and move forward with other processes.

By deploying the right picking processes for your warehouse operations you can provide your business with the ease to enhance the overall customer experience.

Right picking process involves: provide efficiency and accuracy, better order fulfillment and processing, increase the overall revenue of business.

The right picking process:

• Provides higher efficiency and accuracy
• Allows better order fulfilment and processing
• Increases overall revenue of business
• Enables faster and smoother deliveries 
• Reduce manpower and stock management costs
• Saves time and efforts

To begin the process of picking, you need to first initiate serialization of products which helps you track each item in your warehouse for better and quicker picking process by giving them a unique code. Serialization is done using barcode systems that generate a combination of unique characters in 2D or 3D format that are then put as labels on each item and scanned for details at the time of picking processes. 

There are various picking processes you can use, depending on the fulfilment requirements of your eCommerce business.

1. Zone Picking 

For large warehouses that cater to multiple zones, the process of zone picking is recommended as it compiles large volumes of inventory for each particular zone with unique SKUs respective to them. 

By doing so, the warehouse staff or automated tools assigned to each zone can easily pick up products and initiate order processing. The process of zone picking allows you to:

• Improve efficiency of collecting goods
• Speeds up collection of multiple items
• Decreases move around time within the warehouse
• Allows multiple pickups in one go

A picking bin, tote or box may move around various zones until it has collected all the required SKUs from that particular zone.

2.Batch Picking

This method of picking is used to fulfil multiple orders of the same item but in various quantities. Batch picking allows warehouse staff or automated equipment to move around for longer distances, collecting Items having the same SKU but different demands. Batch picking can also be done for the same channels, same logistics provider, priority orders etc.

Ideal for eCommerce businesses, the process of batch picking enables you to:

• Increase order fulfilment rates
• Decrease travel time for picking
• Save on warehouse space 
• Organize inventory in a better way

Batch picking is recommended if you wish to make the most out of your small or big warehouse and to equip your staff to fulfil multiple customer orders at the same time.

Type of picking: Zone picking, batch picking, wave picking, cluster picking

3. Discrete Picking

The process of discrete picking involves collecting orders one at a time, providing complete staff assistance to a single item till the time the order processing is complete. Discrete picking is advised for small warehouses that get a lesser number of orders. With discrete picking, you get to:

• Allows higher response time for order fulfilment
• Reduces the possibility of wrongful deliveries
• Enables easier tracking of orders 
• Eliminates the need for multiple touchpoints

Discrete picking is a simple and easy process that allows your warehouse staff with the ease to perform with complete accuracy, increasing your chances of providing better customer service.

4. Wave Picking

Wave picking is quite similar to discrete picking, except for the fact that it allows scheduling. Each order to be picked up can be allotted a specific time slot to further simplify the entire process.

Wave picking works best for warehouses with heavy demands and different kinds of inventory, as it helps the picker to:

• Create separate order and group them based on priority
• Align the picking process with that of shipping and delivery time
• Manage warehouse operations more efficiently
• Reduce workload on staff and keep the picking process uninterrupted

With wave picking, you get to manage your manpower and achieve higher order fulfilment ultimately increasing your overall productivity.

5. Cluster Picking

To fulfil multiple orders at the same time, the process of cluster picking is done. The method requires the warehouse staff to collect various items at the same time while separating them into unique boxes or bins to avoid mix-ups.

With Cluster Picking, you get to:

• Reduce time to collect orders
• Prioritise stocks over another 
• Easy sorting of products 
• Select the fastest route to pick multiple items

Cluster picking enables the picker to do two things at a time which improves your time to pick, pack and deliver.

Checklist of Picking

Based on the size of your warehouse, availability of products, variety of items, demand, manpower and location of your facility, you can use any of these picking methods and by automating your picking processes you will be able to achieve higher supervision of your warehouse operations with greater ease to focus on strengthening your customer relations, strategizing to enhance your services and improving your productivity.

Unicommerce is a platform that empowers your business to accomplish all of the above and more! 

The fully automated and technologically advanced Warehouse Management System of Unicommerce helps you manage all your picking needs, select the best method that works for your facility and then simplify your warehouse operations.

Experience the true potential of your business with us today, click here to know more about our services or request a demo today!

Read our other relevant blogs for warehouse management to better understand the must-haves of warehouse operations in order to increase your business capabilities and achieve greater growth.

1. Prerequisites of Warehouse Management: Vendor Onboarding and Procurement.
2. Simplifying Receiving and Putaway Operations of Warehouse: Prerequisites of Warehouse Management
3. Boost the Efficiency of Warehouse Operations with Packing and Dispatch
4. Warehouse Returns and Cancellations Management [Reasons, Problems and Solutions]

The post Enhance the Operations of the Warehouse with Order Picking: Process and Methods appeared first on unicommerce.com.

It’s time to optimise your retail operations to leverage business growth and increase the footprint in the market.

The first thing that any retail business should ensure is consistent inventory.

Inventory visibility – is the chief contributor to retail success. To ensure round the year inventory visibility across multiple channels of sales, maintaining accurate inventory is necessary. The business should have a inventory management software system that automatically manages inventory levels and visibility. Optimising the fundamental and critical factor like inventory ensure business success.

Efficient order fulfilment – Pick pack and ship on time and intact is what makes your customer happy and wants to come back to you again and again. You cannot do that without gearing up and streamline how orders are managed and fulfilled till the last mile.

Warehouse planning – Lesser wastage of warehouse space is a great way to push your sales volume to the ceiling. Any retail needs to plan and store the inventory in warehouses intelligently, without unnecessary stocking up of a non-moving stock. Planning the warehouse space is critically important to ensure optimum stock availability and order fulfilment.

Scale up to the challenges of omnichannel – Establishing tandem between online and offline sales operations and order management is essential to any retail success. Since the market is moving towards omnichannel, efficient management of both physical and digital processes significantly contribute to the optimising of your retail business.

Seamless shopping experience – Plan your physical retail space to offer the enriching experience of shopping to your customers as an extension of the digital channel. Creating a seamless shopping experience that enables placing an order, paying as convenient, picking up the order from a preferred mode, returning on the most comfortable channel; accelerate the retail business growth many folds.

Cross-selling – of hit and the slacking stock is a smart way to ensure healthy stock rotation and its optimum level. Simultaneously it positively affects the productivity and profitability.

Unified marketing activities – Tailor the promotional activities taking into account your customers’ preferred shopping channels, their shopping pattern, season etc. The activity should have a specific motto to excite and drive the customers to your brand.

Let your data do more – How you handle the data from various channels almost instantly shows on your other retail activities. Analysing and taking action on the periodically generated data helps the businesses steer clear of the non-contributing, unprofitable channels, stock and operations.

Automation is the key – There are two ways to keep a tab on your data flow. One periodic audit of all the retail operations or automating the whole process of inventory, warehouse, orders, offline sales, sales promotional activities etc. Automation of operations not only gives you ample space to work-out your go-to-market strategies but utilises lesser resources to the fullest, increasing productivity.

So, here are some of the tips to optimise your retail operations. To know how best you can automate your operations so that you can focus on core activities of business development and management, check out Unicommerce – suit of e-commerce products.

Our Ecommerce Solutions for Ecommerce Businesses:

• E-commerce marketplace integration software
• Warehouse management system software
• Order Management System (OMS)
• Inventory Management Software

The post 9 Efficient ways to Optimise Retail Operations to accelerate business growth appeared first on unicommerce.com.

The seller meet was organized in Hyderabad on 3rd September, 2016, which was another grand success for Unicommerce after its Pune event, earlier this year.

The main objective of the event was to discuss issues faced by sellers in online selling, and how Unicommerce is helping to solve those issues, especially through launch of some new features like Payment Reconciliation and collaboration with quality listing partners.

The Seller Meet took place at The Golkonda Hotel in Hyderabad, where a good mix of sellers including those starting just now and sellers already selling on multiple marketplaces took part. It was a 3 hour interactive session, where the audience discussed in depth about the challenges they are facing and were very happy with the solutions they got from the Unicommerce team conducting the event.

The event also featured some of the existing customers of Unicommerce who spoke very highly about the product and support provided by the entire Unicommerce team.

The session came to an end with high tea arrangements for the sellers, which served as a good networking opportunity for sellers.

The post Unicommerce Organized a Grand e-Commerce Seller Meet in Hyderabad appeared first on unicommerce.com.

On 18th of June, 2016, Unicommerce organized an Ecommerce Sellers’ Meet in Pune. The purpose of the event was to educate ecommerce sellers about how Unicommerce can help make online selling easy for them. Unicommerce not only ensures that the sellers have more time to focus on their core business operations, but also reduces their day to day hassles of order processing and inventory management.

The event started with a presentation providing an overview and key features of Unicommerce, followed by an interactive discussion with the sellers. They discussed clearly about the issues they faced on daily basis and were satisfied with the responses they got from the team.

Besides, there was a special segment in the event where our existing customers shared their experiences with Unicommerce. Most of them stressed on the necessity of having Unicommerce for hassle free online selling, saying that one can trust the product with their eyes closed.

Although initially the event was scheduled for 2 hours, we extended it to another 1 hour due to the overwhelming response from the sellers. Everybody was intrigued by the information shared in the event. And a lot of them requested the team to organize more such events in Pune in the near future.

The event came to an end with high tea arrangements for the sellers, which served as a good networking opportunity for them. We must say that it’s been a great experience for us. We look forward to reaching out the dynamic online seller community across India. For further details on the same, please watch out this space.

The post Ecommerce Sellers​’​ Meet by Unicommerce in Pune appeared first on unicommerce.com.

My name is Md. Adil. I am a shoe seller from Agra. I have been into online selling for past 3 years. And I am associated Unicommerce from last 1 year. We have family business of shoes and hence, I thought online selling would be better as we can see -these days, sellers are using online platform for their business. And also because Unicommerce is an excellent solution in online multichannel inventory management, better than the other available options in the market.

The advantage that I got from Unicommerce is their customer service, which I liked very much. Whenever, there is any issue whether technical or other, you can immediately reach them through email or call them directly for help.

Besides, through Unicommerce I am able to sell on multiple channels- as it got almost all the major channels integrated, like –Paytm, Flipkart, Amazon, eBay, obviously Snapdeal and so on. At least on the channels I am selling at are available in Unicommerce. That’s why Unicommerce is a better option for me to sell on multiple channels, for multi-management.

Another advantage of Unicommerce – it is very economic (cost effective). Spending 2-3 rupees per order, even if your product is low priced, range between of Rs.500 to Rs.600 then also it’s very economic, very much cost effective.

I don’t think, one should think twice to use Unicommerce.

The post Seller Success Story 1 #SellmorewithUnicommerce appeared first on unicommerce.com.

If your eCommerce business is soaring, a strong realization must have occurred to you that, everything cannot be under your control at the same time. Various supply chain operations need a kind of supervision which demand ample time and expertise as well. But you just can’t keep on hiring employees in-house for every task. Obviously, that won’t be feasible for your business which has just started to make profits. Also, manually handling time-bound tasks allows for more chances of mistakes. The consumer’s demands today are high and mighty and to cater to being a brand you can not afford to have errors while delivering products.

An eRetailer has a lot of tasks to do – starting with supply chain management, inventory, shipping and returns, product catalog, customer service strategy, and marketing – all these key components that make up an online business.
So how can business owners focus on completing several equally important tasks at hand? The solution is simple: By outsourcing and using technology.

Think about it.

You Sell on Online Marketplaces and Pay Commission.

Marketplaces like Amazon, Alibaba, Flipkart, etc take care of attracting the large crowd, they make all the noise and advertise on all the online and offline channels. They provide the infrastructure and take care of all the technical aspect of ensuring a functional website which can sustain large number of visitors. So, you do understand that – it’s better for you to let them do the marketing and handle technical aspects and share the profits with them instead of wasting your resources on it.

You Rely on the Logistics Companies for Delivery

Because that’s not your core business. Exactly. You use their service and you pay for it. They have the domain expertise, they have the experience and they will do the job better, cheaper than you could possibly do.

You Depend on the Vendor for Packaging Material

You could have arranged all those cardboard boxes or plastic bags. But you don’t. You just buy these from Dyna Corp or such companies. Because that makes sense. You are not into the packaging business. You are a seller of apparel or jewelry or whichever things you deal in.

There comes a point in your company’s lifecycle when you must decide between using technology or continuing to do manage all operations manually. Read on to know why you should use technology to optimize your Order Fulfillment Process.

Order Fulfillment is Vital for your Ecommerce Business 

It’s time for you to understand the complexity, the scale, and the importance of order fulfillment. Then you will be able to appreciate the fact that Order fulfillment is a full-time job on its own. If you are hell bent on doing it, then your core business will suffer.

Let’s take a deep dive and understand the finer nuances of order fulfillment.

They include the following – 

Order syncing: Receiving customer orders from the various marketplaces/platforms that you sell on.

Inventory: Before you even start receiving orders from Marketplaces, you need to ensure there is enough inventory in place and that it reflects correctly on all marketplaces.

Warehousing: Storing of products and retrieval of items according to the orders.

Vendors and Purchases: If the required product is not in stock, raise a PO from the right vendor.

Packing and Labeling: Get the orders packed and labeled.

Invoicing & Billing: Preparing the invoice / bill to the customer of their product.

Shipment and Tracking: The delivery of the goods to the customer and tracking till the delivery is done successfully.

Returns: Managing the return logistics in case the goods are not accepted by customers. Or, the product is damaged and not accepted by the multiple channels. 

Imagine doing all the above steps-    

For Every order, 

From Every marketplace that you sell on, 

Every single day!!!!

Order fulfillment is So important for your business, that you should NOT do it at all! 

You shouldn’t try to do it all by yourself (manually) as it turns out to be hectic while dealing with bulk orders or during seasonal sales. Let’s see what happens when you do it. Have a look at Why you should take it seriously and not treat it like just another task.

• Allot Inventory Manually to multiple marketplaces  –

That means – You will have to block some inventory on each marketplace. So if you blocked 50 SKUs at one where demand turned out to be low and you blocked 50 SKUs on the different marketplace where demand was too high. In each case, because of Inventory blocking, you lose out on sales and simultaneously the cost of carrying unsold inventory rises.

• Manually Syncing the orders –

There would be a time lag between order placed and you manually processing it. As you will not be able to sync in real-time unless you are awake 24/7. You will take a periodic dump. For no reason, you have added one more day to the delivery date. The customer will not appreciate this at all.

• Manual handling of the warehouse –

If the stock in the warehouse is not updated in real-time, you don’t have confidence while accepting orders. It might happen that after taking the orders, you realize it’s out-of-stock. This increases the lead time as extra time is needed to deliver items or even you may have to cancel the order after receiving it. This leads to lower customer satisfaction. 

• No holistic view of entire order journey

It’s easily possible to lose track of some orders due to human error while manually managing the inventory. No real-time connection with multiple vendors – you will miss out on some sale opportunity or sometimes you won’t be able to fulfill orders after promising. Your business suffers.

• Printing Invoice, Labeling manually –

It’s human nature to make mistakes. But your customers are not forgiving if you misplace their orders because of wrong invoicing or labeling.

Every instance above means one more unhappy or unsatisfied customer. In the e-Commerce world filled with fickle minded customers who are spoilt for choice and where loyalty runs low and reputation is all that matters. So this could be potential business suicide.

So how can automated order fulfillment software help you

By now, I am sure you are convinced about the necessity of using technology for order fulfillment.

If you still can’t decide then you should probably go through the benefits listed below-  

Save costs: It can bring your processes on track from day one and cuts manpower costs considerably.

Focus on Growing your business: It helps you to focus your time and energy on your core business activities while an integrated system manages the logistics and challenged in the order fulfillment process.

Redirect saved costs to Customers to increase loyalty: With fickle customer loyalty and continuous competitive pressure on prices, you can redirect the saved money to offer attractive pricing.

Eliminate administrative/operational headaches: There are a lot of back-office headaches and hassles associated with each process and which can be done away with, increasing personnel & business productivity

Increase customer satisfaction: Delivering the right products at the right time in a way that is consistent with customer’s expectations, time and again is what will garner loyalty and referrals from customers. It is an excellent way to increase customer retention.

Time to Evaluate your Daily Habits

You need to be honest with yourself and ask yourself how much time in the day are you spending on the order fulfillment process – tracking orders, shipments, inventory management, etc. As a retailer, almost all your time should be spent on core business activities such as strategic planning, marketing, product selection, and customer relations. But do you even spend 30% on your core business while selling online? Probably Not.

The reason that you chose to sell on an e-commerce platform is to avoid the huge costs involved in setting up a physical brick & mortar set-up, marketing and advertising to customers, resource investment and operational expenses. However in building the in-house capabilities for order fulfillment if you are still incurring capital investment in developing the technology, recruiting and training IT specialists, then it certainly defeats the entire purpose of selling online.

The need of the hour is to focus on your core competencies and let technology products take care of the rest. Unicommerce is one such software that will look after your eCommerce business operations entirely. With the single dashboard and single login, you can manage all your order syncing smoothly and with the proper ERP integration with your software, to make your experience smooth and satisfactorily.  Look for your convenient plans right now! 

The post Dear Multi Channel eTailers – Order Fulfilment is None of Your Business appeared first on unicommerce.com.