1. Purpose
When a whole pallet is going out anyway, counting it piece by piece is wasted time. This is how a picker takes the entire pallet in a single scan, and what to do when the option doesn't appear.
2. Scope
Taking a full pallet on the pick step of a free-pick mission in the scanner, and relocating it at the end of the mission. Setting up pallet locations is SWI-001, and applying the license plate is SWI-003, so this picks up from the point where both are already done.
3. Roles & Responsibilities
Role | Responsibility |
|---|---|
Picker | Runs the mission, spots the full pallet option, scans the pallet, and drives it to its destination |
Warehouse supervisor | Keeps pallets to a single SKU with a license plate applied, so they qualify in the first place |
Inventory controller | Confirms the stock stayed intact on the pallet after the move |
4. When you need this
Any free-pick mission where the demand for one product is sitting on one pallet. Typically:
A wholesale or retail order taking a full pallet of a single SKU.
A transfer moving palletized stock out of a reserve area.
Any pick where the picker is already reaching for a forklift rather than a cart.
You don't have to use it. It is offered, never forced. If you'd rather scan units, scan units and the option gets out of your way.
5. Key concept: the pallet is the pick, not a shortcut for counting
Everything else in this document follows from this one idea, and it is the part people get wrong.
What you might expect | What actually happens |
|---|---|
A full pallet pick counts 48 units for you, quickly | Nothing is counted. The pallet itself becomes the pick, and quantities and lots are left exactly as they are |
The stock moves from the pallet into a tote or cart, like a normal pick | The stock never leaves the pallet. There is no inventory movement recorded at the pick at all |
The pick is finished when the scanner accepts the pallet | The mission is finished when you relocate the pallet and scan where it lands. That scan is the move |
So a full pallet pick is a forklift job, not a picking job. That is why it ends by driving somewhere rather than by walking to the next line.
6. Before you start
The option only appears when the pallet genuinely qualifies. Four things have to be true, and a supervisor controls all of them:
Check | Why it matters |
|---|---|
The mission is a free-pick mission | Full pallet picking is offered on free-pick missions only. On other mission types the panel never appears, with no message explaining why. |
The location is a Pallet type location | A rack or bin location holding a pallet is not the same thing. The location type itself has to be Pallet, per SWI-001. |
The pallet has a license plate applied, and nothing nested inside it | A pallet with LPNs stacked on it, or one sitting inside a bigger LPN, is out. See SWI-003. |
The pallet holds one SKU, and only your account's stock | Mixed products don't qualify. Neither does a shared pallet carrying another client's inventory, because taking it would move their stock too. |
7. Procedure: take the pallet
Start the mission and scan the location barcode as you normally would, to confirm you're in the right spot.
Look for the blue FULL PALLET AVAILABLE panel. It lists the license plate number and the quantity on it.
Scan the pallet license plate to take the whole thing. Where only one pallet at that location qualifies, scanning the location barcode a second time does the same job.
Let the scanner move you on. No counting, no unit scans, nothing to confirm.
Carry on with the rest of the mission as usual.
If you'd rather pick units instead, just start scanning product. The panel steps aside the moment you count your first piece and the step continues one unit at a time.
8. Procedure: relocate the pallet and close the mission
Because the pallet is the pick, the mission ends with a move rather than a drop off.
Work through to the end of the mission and wait for the relocation screen listing the pallets you picked.
Drive each pallet to where it needs to go.
Scan the destination where the pallet lands.
Confirm the move. The mission completes.
9. Verification
The step shows its full quantity picked straight after the pallet scan, with no unit counting in between.
The end of mission screen lists the pallet by its license plate number.
After relocation, the inventory screen shows the same license plate at the new location, carrying the same quantity and the same lots it had before. Nothing was split, and nothing was consumed.
No inventory movement is logged against the pick itself. The move you see recorded is the relocation, which is correct, because that is the only time the goods physically travelled.
10. Constraints and caveats
A pallet bigger than the pick is not offered. The pallet quantity has to be less than or equal to what's left to pick. A 60 unit pallet against a 48 unit demand won't qualify, because you'd be taking 12 units nobody ordered.
A pallet smaller than the pick still qualifies, and covers part of the step. Take a 20 unit pallet against a 48 unit demand and the scanner picks those 20, leaving 28 to pick normally. This is worth knowing, because a panel appearing does not always mean the step is done.
Several qualifying pallets at one location means you must scan the license plate. Re-scanning the location is only accepted when exactly one pallet qualifies. With more than one, the scanner answers "Multiple pallets at this location. Scan the pallet LPN.", which is it asking you to say which.
Stock already promised to another task is not available. If another pick or task has a claim on that pallet's inventory, the pallet is out, and the scanner says so when you scan it.
Once you have counted a unit on that step, the option is gone for that step. Restart the step if you want it back.
Nothing about normal picking changes. This is an addition, and every existing mission and habit works exactly as before.
11. What the scanner says when a pallet doesn't qualify
If no panel appeared, scan the pallet license plate anyway. The scanner names the reason rather than just refusing, and each one maps to a fix:
Message | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
Pallet holds other products | More than one SKU on the pallet | Pick units, or consolidate to one SKU per pallet in future |
Pallet holds another account's stock | A shared pallet carrying another client's inventory | Pick units. Never relocate a shared pallet to clear this |
Pallet has nested LPNs | Smaller license plates stacked on this one | Pick units, or unnest the child LPNs first |
Pallet is nested inside another LPN | This pallet sits inside a bigger license plate | Pick units, or take it out of its parent first |
Pallet quantity exceeds the remaining pick | The pallet holds more than the order needs | Pick units. This is working as intended |
Pallet stock is committed to another pick | Another pick already claimed this stock | Pick units, and check what else is allocated there |
Pallet stock is reserved by another task | A task holds a reservation on this stock | Pick units, and clear the other task if it's stale |
No eligible pallet matches that barcode | The scanned code isn't a qualifying pallet here | Check you scanned the pallet's license plate, not the product |
12. Worked example
A free-pick mission calls for 48 units of a single product, and all 48 are sitting on one pallet.
Observation | Reading |
|---|---|
Picker scans the location and a blue panel appears naming the license plate and 48 units | The pallet qualifies. One SKU, one account, no nesting, and the quantity exactly covers the demand |
Picker scans a single unit instead, and the panel disappears | Correct behaviour. The option is opt-in, and counting a piece commits the step to unit picking |
Step is restarted, and one scan of the license plate completes all 48 | The pallet became the pick. No counting, no unit scans, and no inventory movement recorded |
Mission ends on a relocation screen rather than completing outright | Expected. The forklift move is the part that physically happens, so it is what gets recorded |
After the drop, the same license plate reads 48 units at the new location | The stock never left the pallet. Lots and quantities carried across untouched |
Total scans for that step: two. The equivalent unit pick is 48.