Overview
- Starshipit has a number of features you can use to streamline your pick and pack process.
- Learn how you can use Starshipit to efficiently manage your pick and pack process and how to create an efficient pick and pack station using Starshipit.
What this guide covers
- What is a pick and pack process?
- What is a pick and pack station?
- Set up your pick and pack stations
- Set up additional computers with user accounts
- Set up your printers
- The optimal picking and packing process with Starshipit (Using a barcode scanner)
What is a pick and pack process?
Picking and packing is the process of selecting and packaging products in your warehouse. This involves 'picking' the right products from your inventory and 'packing' them for shipment. Pick and pack is one of the most expensive and time-consuming activities in fulfilment.
Generally you will use a picking list, which includes the items for a number of orders. Once you've picked the items, you’ll take them to a packing station where you can pack them into their individual orders.
What is a pick and pack station?
These are dedicated areas in your warehouse where items are picked and packed for shipment. The setup should be ergonomic, well-organised, and integrated with your order processing system.
Here’s what you should keep in mind:
- Shelving and bins: Organise items for easy access.
- Packing materials: Boxes, bubble wrap, tape, and labels.
- Computers: For accessing Starshipit.
- Barcode scanners: To use with Starshipit’s Workflows.
- Printers: For shipping labels, invoices, packing summaries and packing slips.
Set up your pick and pack stations
Follow our step-by-step guide on setting up and configuring a packing station, using barcode scanners. This is the optimal way to set up your warehouse with Starshipit if you have two (or more) pick and pack stations.
How to set up each station to print
To start, we'll need to set up our pick and pack workstations. Typically, these will contain a computer with Starshipit's Print App and a printer. You can install the Print Application on each computer and use it to sign into the same Starshipit account.
Set up the Print Application (available for Windows and Mac), so you can print labels and documentation directly to your printer. You’ll need to do this for each computer with its own printer, at each pick and pack station.
Note: Print settings are unique per print app, and so need to be configured on each computer.
Download the Starshipit mobile app
Starshipit's mobile app is designed to help you pick and pack in your warehouse. Think of it like a digital packing slip with packing validation built in. The app works with iPhone and Android phones.
Some notes on using the mobile app:
- You can scan barcodes using the device's camera:
- From the orders page: Scan order number to open order
- From the order details page: Scan item barcodes to mark them as packed
- Upon completion of packing, you can choose whether the order should be marked as packed (i.e. a packed tag added), or whether the order should be printed. If you set up the print client this will actually trigger the label to print out the printer
- It's possible to bulk pick orders (i.e. consolidate multiple orders into one packing list). To do this, you can long press on the order and you'll see a checkbox and then you'll be able to select multiple orders.
- You can swap between your child accounts to load different accounts orders.
Set up your packing summaries and packing slips
Packing summaries
A packing summary is a consolidated list of order SKUs, item descriptions and quantities that need to be picked to fulfil a selection of orders. This can be one or several orders. The items on the packing summary will be sorted (by SKU, bin location or item name) so that you can easily locate and bulk pick many items efficiently. Once picked, the items are then brought to a central packing station for packing using packing slips as a reference.
Packing slips
Packing slips help you identify which items need to be packed on a per order basis. You can include information such SKU, item description, quantity, colour, and size on your packing slips.
Set up your packages in Starshipit
Set up your packages and carrier products in Starshipit if you haven't already done so and create barcode sheets with a barcode for each package.
That way, when it comes time to pick and pack, you can simply scan a barcode to select a package.
The optimal picking and packing process with Starshipit (With a barcode scanner)
Below we’ve outlined a best-practice approach for picking and packing using Starshipit, with a barcode scanner. This is just one workflow – you can configure Starshipit in a way that works for you.
For example, you may wish to print shipping labels along with your packing summaries. Or, you may not require packing validation.
Picking your items with Starshipit
Start by printing out your packing slip (and packing summary if packing multiple orders). Then, collect your items from the warehouse.
Check your orders with Packing Validation
Now that you’ve collected your items, it’s time to validate the items for each order.
First, head to Workflows in Starshipit and tick Scan to select packaging, carriers, and print labels.
Then, select Packing Validation. Scan the barcode on the packing slip. Now scan the barcode or enter the SKU of each item to verify it has been packed.
Once you've marked your packing as complete, you will be taken to the order details to select the packaging and print the shipping label.
Scan to select your packaging
Next, we’ll use our barcode scanner to select packages for our orders and assign carrier products.
Simply scan a barcode for each package on your order, and the correct package will be updated automatically.
Note: You can also use shipping rules to assign packages to orders automatically. For example, you could create a rule to assign a package type based on SKU.
Print your shipping label
With our packaging selected and our order packed and ready to go, it’s time to print our shipping label. You can either scan to print using a print barcode or simply click Print in the bottom right of the order details screen.
Attach your shipping label
Now that we’ve printed our label, we can attach it to the package and it's good to go.
