Picking orders

Overview

Picking is the process of collecting stock from warehouse locations for a released order. Before picking can begin, an order must be released and stock allocated — WMS then creates pick jobs that tell your team exactly what to collect, from which location, and in what quantity.

This guide covers desktop picking from the WMS web interface. If your team uses handheld devices, see Mobile picking instead.

See Orders and allocation for how to release orders and trigger pick job creation.

The picking dashboard

The Picking dashboard lists all active pick jobs. For each job you can see:

• Job ID or Batch Pick ID
• Type (single order or batch)
• Status (Pending/Ready, In Progress, Completed)
• Number of orders and lines in the job

Pickers select a job, review what is required, and then walk the warehouse to collect items.

Shared interface features

All pick types — single order, batch, and replenishment — share the same interface:

• Barcode scanning to confirm picks
• Unit of Measure support — quantities respect any parent/child UoM configuration on the product
• Scan history — a log of all scans made during the session
• +/− buttons for manual quantity adjustment when scanning is not available
• Mark complete to finish an individual pick line

Single-order picking

One pick job corresponds to one order. WMS has already allocated specific stock in specific locations (and batch/serial where applicable).

Working a single-order pick job

1. Select a job from the Picking dashboard.
2. Review the picking list:
   • SKU and description
   • Quantity to pick
   • Source location
   • Batch or serial information (if applicable)
3. Walk the warehouse and collect items from each location.
4. Scan or confirm each item as you pick it.
5. Mark the job as Completed once all lines are done.

As items are picked, allocations update from ALLOCATED to PICKED and stock reduces at the source location.

Short picks

If stock is missing or less than expected, record the quantity available and mark the pick short. WMS flags the shortage so you can investigate via a stocktake or adjustment, or partially ship the order and fulfil the rest when stock is available.

Batch picking

Batch picking combines items for multiple orders into a single pick job, reducing warehouse travel. The picker walks the warehouse once collecting combined quantities, then items are sorted to individual orders at the packing bench.

Working a batch pick job

1. Select the batch job from the Picking dashboard. The job shows a Batch Pick ID.
2. Use the picking list — combined quantities per SKU and location across all orders — to collect everything in one pass.
3. Sort items into totes or compartments labelled per order, or sort at the packing bench.
4. Mark the batch job as Completed once all items are picked.

Progress bars show completion at both the overall batch level and per individual order. You can remove or skip individual orders from a batch if needed — for example, if one order is cancelled mid-process.

Tote picking

Tote picking is a variant of batch picking where items are assigned to specific totes representing individual orders. Useful for high-volume runs with many small orders.

1. Assign tote destinations at the start of the job.
2. Pick items and place each into the correct tote for that order.
3. Complete the tote pick transfer.

After completion, orders flow through the normal downstream packing workflow.

Partial picking

If you cannot complete a pick job in one pass, use Partially Pick or Partially Stage to record progress and continue later:

1. Open the pick job.
2. Scan and confirm the quantities picked so far.
3. Select Partially Pick or Partially Stage.

These actions are only available after some progress has been recorded.

Next steps

• Mobile picking — handheld picking for floor-based teams.
• Packing and shipping orders — verify, box and ship picked orders.
• Expedited fulfilment — skip picking for urgent orders with Pack Now.

Overview

Picking is the process of collecting stock from warehouse locations for a released order. Before picking can begin, an order must be released and stock allocated — WMS then creates one or more pick jobs that tell your team exactly what to collect, from which location, and in what quantity.

This guide covers:

• How pick jobs are created and what they contain
• Working single-order pick jobs
• Batch pick jobs (multiple orders in one run)
• Tote-based picking
• Handling short picks and discrepancies
• Mobile picking

See Orders and allocation for how to release orders and trigger pick job creation.

The picking dashboard

The Picking dashboard lists all active pick jobs. For each job you can see:

• Job ID or Batch Pick ID
• Type (single order or batch)
• Status (Pending/Ready, In Progress, Completed)
• Number of orders and lines in the job

Pickers select a job, review what is required, and then walk the warehouse to collect items.

Shared picking interface

All pick types — single order, batch, and replenishment — use the same interface:

• Barcode scanning to confirm picks
• Unit of Measure support — quantities respect any parent/child UoM configuration on the product
• Scan history — a log of all scans made during the session
• +/− buttons for manual quantity adjustment when scanning is not possible
• Mark complete to finish an individual pick line

This consistency means your team works the same way regardless of job type.

Single-order picking

One pick job corresponds to one order. WMS has already allocated specific stock in specific locations (and batch/serial where applicable).

Working a single-order pick job

1. Select a job from the Picking dashboard.
2. Review the picking list:
   • SKU and description
   • Quantity to pick
   • Source location
   • Batch or serial information (if applicable)
3. Walk the warehouse and collect items from each location.
4. Scan or confirm each item as you pick it.
5. Place items into your equipment (trolley, tote) or directly into an order container.
6. Mark the job as Completed once all lines are done.

As items are picked:

• Allocations update from ALLOCATED to PICKED.
• Stock reduces at the source location.
• Stock moves into the picker's Equipment location (where configured).

When an item cannot be found

If stock is missing or less than expected:

1. Record the short pick (pick the quantity available).
2. WMS will flag the shortage.
3. You can then investigate via stocktake or adjustment, or partially ship the order and fulfil the rest when stock is available.

Batch picking (multiple orders at once)

Batch picking combines items for multiple orders into a single pick job, reducing warehouse travel. The picker walks the warehouse once and collects combined quantities, then the items are sorted to individual orders at the packing bench.

Working a batch pick job

1. Select the batch job from the Picking dashboard. The job shows a Batch Pick ID.
2. Use the picking list — which shows combined quantities per SKU and location across all orders — to collect all items in one pass.
3. Place items into totes or compartments labelled per order, or sort at the packing bench.
4. Mark the batch job as Completed once all items are picked.

Visual progress bars show completion at both the overall batch level and at the individual order level within the batch.

You can remove or skip individual orders from a batch if needed — for example, if one order is cancelled mid-process.

Tote picking

Tote picking is a variant of batch picking where items are assigned to specific totes representing individual orders. This is especially useful for high-volume picking runs with many small orders.

1. Assign tote destinations at the start of the job.
2. Pick items and place each into the correct tote for that order.
3. Complete the tote pick transfer.

After completion, orders flow through the normal downstream packing workflow.

Stage pick recovery

If a problem occurs during a staged pick (such as a network interruption), you can recover and resume from where you left off rather than starting the job over.

Partial picking

If you cannot complete a pick job in one pass — for example, some stock is not available yet — you can use Partially Pick or Partially Stage to record progress and continue later:

1. Open the pick job.
2. Scan and confirm the quantities you have picked so far.
3. Select Partially Pick or Partially Stage.

These actions are only available after some progress has been recorded. If nothing has been picked yet, the standard full-action controls remain.

Mobile picking

Pick execution is supported in the Starshipit WMS mobile app, including:

• Standard location-first picking with barcode scan and quantity confirmation
• Tote picking with tote destination assignment
• Staging picked items to the packing bench

Mobile picking is ideal for floor-based teams who need fast, hands-free execution.

Next steps

• Packing and shipping orders — how to verify, box and ship picked orders.
• Expedited fulfilment — skip picking entirely for urgent orders with Pack Now.