There are various systems for arranging a fulfilment centre, but there is no one-size-fits-all solution that will work for every company. Instead, the needs of a particular business will shape the ways in which they will organise their warehouse and arrange shipments.

One of the most common types of supply chain management processes is pick and pack, which involves disassembling large volumes of product ordered in advance, picking only the relevant type and quantity of a product requested and repackaging them with the appropriate labels and invoices.

It is the most straightforward and scalable system on paper, but efficiently doing so without a lot of unnecessary work, travelling and organisational problems requires a specialist, dedicated system that allows for inventory to be loaded, prepared and processed ready for picking and packing.

This can not only affect warehouse design, location and planning, but it also affects how orders are managed and the workflow of a warehouse.

This is why a third-party logistics (3PL) fulfilment partner can be so vital, but which facts can affect the efficiency of a pick and pack warehouse?

Real Time Order Management

It is vital to know exactly at all times the progress of particular orders, how much stock is available and if there are any potential delays that need to be communicated to customers.

Implementing a system that keeps track of orders in real time is vital for this, and can provide efficiency bonuses by identifying potential areas of your business that are causing delays and bottlenecks.

Optimised Inventory Slotting

The most common tasks in any business should be the easiest and simplest as they will be undertaken most often, and this is the principle behind slotting methodology.

Slotting is the optimisation of warehouse inventory based on reducing the time and number of steps it takes to pick the most common items, which typically equates to placing them in appropriate locations.

The best way to optimise this is through a mix of expertise and a data-driven approach to logistics management. Most businesses will be aware of the products they should optimise based on popularity and an established knowledge of their customer base, but having the flexibility to optimise is essential as well.

Avoiding Inventory Shortages

Alongside location, slotting also focuses on avoiding running out of popular products and causing delays in shipping that can lead to frustration, cancelled orders or customers deciding to go elsewhere. After all, a customer cannot buy what you do not have available to sell.

A pick and pack system inherently requires an advanced inventory management system, which not only optimises picking items that are already available, but also analyses the velocity of items, allowing businesses to see and optimise their acquisition of stock based on the most recent data.

Minimising Discreet Order Management

One of the biggest issues of order management at scale is minimising the number of inherently inefficient discreet orders, or orders that are picked one by one.

At a very small scale with a limited number of products and customers, this level of inefficiency is relatively unavoidable, but as your customer base gets bigger, one of the first steps a business will need to take when scaling its operations is to develop more efficient ways to fulfil orders.