What is tote picking?
Tote picking assigns a physical tote (bin or container) to each order while you pick. As you scan items, they’re grouped into that tote so you always know which items belong together.
It’s ideal when you have multiple pickers and packers, or when you want to reduce packing errors and speed up handover. Each tote clearly represents an order (or group of orders), so packers can scan the tote and see exactly what needs to be packed.
Step 1: Set up your device
Before you start picking, open the Starshipit mobile app and go to: Settings → Tote Settings, then turn on:
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Enable tote functionality during picking
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Packing tab default to tote scan (optional – keeps you on the right screen when packing)
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Restrict totes
- Choose One order per tote if you want to keep it simple.
- Or None if you plan to group multiple orders into the same tote.
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Must scan tote to place items (optional – requires scanning a tote barcode each time you place an item, for extra accuracy)
Step 2: Start picking
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On your phone, head to the Picking tab.
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Tap your orders, then hit Begin Picking.
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If you have One order per tote enabled and you’re picking multiple orders (for example, 3 orders), the app will ask you to scan the same number of totes (3 totes).
- Scan using a Bluetooth scanner, or type in the tote IDs.
- Each scanned tote is automatically linked to one of the orders.
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As you begin scanning items, the app automatically assigns them into the correct tote.
- For each scan, you’ll see which tote the item belongs in.
- Simply place the item into the tote as instructed.
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If you enabled Must scan tote to place items, a modal will appear each time you need to place an item.
- You’ll be prompted to scan (or type in) the tote ID before putting the item into the tote.
- This adds an extra confirmation step to help reduce placement errors.
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When you’re done, hit Complete Picking. The totes are cleared and ready for the next pick.
Bonus: Managing your totes
If you scroll to All totes on this device, you’ll see a list of all the totes you’ve been using. Tap a tote to:
- Switch between totes if you're picking for multiple orders.
- Remove an item from a tote if you made a mistake.
- Mark a tote as full so no one can add anything else to it.
- Unselect the active tote to stop picking into it.
Step 3: Pack the orders
- Go to the Packing tab in the app.
- Scan or type in the tote ID.
- You'll only see orders linked to that tote.
- Choose an order, validate the items, mark as packed and/or print your label, and you're done.