Tote picking through the App

Tote Picking (or Consolidated Picking) is an enhance picking option where the picker splits the items picked into individual orders whilst picking.

There are multiple benefits to tote picking.

• It reduces walking for the picker as they are picking multiple orders at once, therefore not revisiting the same location multiple times.
• It speeds up the despatch process as all the items are split into orders as they arrive at the packing bench.
• When you have the pickwave size optimised, the packer and picker should work at the same speed so as the packer finishes, the next picker trolley arrives
• In some circumstances, a plastic 'tote' could be replaced by the end packaging (cardboard box etc.) so that the products are actually placed in the packaging in which they will be despatched, as the picker picks.

With tote picking, as you progress through the pickwave, picking items, the products that make up each order will be grouped into one tote, ready for quick and easy despatch.

A typical example of how tote picking works is as follows:

4 orders are on a pickwave:

Order 1 =    1 x SKU A
                    1 x SKU B

Order 2 =    1 x SKU A
                    1 x SKU B
                    1 x SKU C

Order 3 =    1 x SKU A
                    1 x SKU C

Order 4 =    2 x SKU B
                    1 x SKU C

The picker would have a Trolley with four totes on it. (A, B, C & D)

You will need to barcode the Totes with simply A, B, C etc.

Please Note - Each trolley that you have will need Totes A, B, C etc. You cannot have one trolley with A, B &C and the next Trolley with D, E & F.

The pickwave would be as follows:

• 3 x SKU A
• 4 x SKU B
• 3 x SKU C

The tote picking process is then as follows:

The picker gets to the location of SKU A and is instructed to pick 3 units.

They are then instructed as follows:

• Place 1 unit in Tote A (Order 1)
• Place 1 unit in Tote B (Order 2)
• Place 1 unit in Tote C (Order 3)

The picker is required to scan the relevant 'Tote' barcode to confirm that they have placed the item in the correct container on the trolley.

They move onto the next location for SKU B and are instructed to pick 4 units and to:

• Place 1 unit in Tote A (Order 1)
• Place 1 unit in Tote B (Order 2)
• Place 2 units in Tote D (Order 4)

Then onto the last location for SKU C and pick 3 units:

• Place 1 unit in Tote B (Order 2)
• Place 1 unit in Tote C (Order 3)
• Place 1 unit in Tote D (Order 4)

The picker is now finished and they have 4 totes, each containing the correct items for each of the 4 orders.

Despatching the orders

**This is done on the main UI, not the app.

When the pickwave is completed, the trolley is taken to the packing bench.

The packer opens the pickwave on the system and then uses the “Scan Products” function on the main system (not the app) to despatch the orders.

Then simply work Tote A to Tote Z.

• Take any item from Tote A, scan it and then if it is the only item the order will despatch. If more items are needed, another screen will popup and tell you the items you need to scan to complete the order, these items will all be in Tote A.
  
  
• When all items are scanned the order will despatch.
• You then repeat the process on Tote B, Tote C etc.