Order Picking Best Practices with Shipsidekick

What is Order Picking?

Order picking is the process of retrieving products from warehouse storage locations to fulfill customer orders. It's one of the most labor-intensive and critical operations in any fulfillment center, directly impacting order accuracy, speed, and customer satisfaction.

With the Shipsidekick mobile app, picking becomes a guided, scannable process that reduces errors and helps your team work efficiently. The app turns complex pick lists into simple, step-by-step instructions that any team member can follow.

How Shipsidekick Missions Work

Shipsidekick uses a feature called Missions to organize and assign picking work to your warehouse team. Missions are intelligent task assignments created based on rules you define, such as order priority, shipping method, destination zone, or order volume.

Instead of manually creating pick lists or assigning work, Missions automatically group orders and generate pick jobs that optimize your team's workflow. When a picker opens the Shipsidekick mobile app on their Android or iOS device, they see available Missions ready to start.

This automated task creation ensures work is distributed evenly, high-priority orders get picked first, and your team always knows what to work on next without constant supervision or manual coordination.

The Shipsidekick Picking Process

Getting Started

Before beginning a pick Mission, ensure your mobile device is charged and your Bluetooth barcode scanner is connected and working properly. The Shipsidekick app works with any compatible barcode scanner, making it easy to use equipment you already have.

Open the Shipsidekick app and log in with your credentials. You'll see a list of available Missions assigned to you or your team. Select the Mission you want to work on, and the app will guide you through each step.

Grab your totes before starting. Totes are the containers you'll use to collect picked items. Each tote should have a barcode label that you'll scan to associate it with the pick job.

Scanning Your Tote

When you start a Mission, the first step is scanning your tote. This tells the system which container you're using and links all items you pick to that specific tote. Scan the tote's barcode using your connected scanner, and the app will confirm the tote is registered.

If you're picking a large order that requires multiple totes, you'll scan each additional tote as needed. The app tracks which items go into which tote, keeping everything organized for the packing team.

Following Pick Instructions

Once your tote is scanned, Shipsidekick guides you to your first pick location. The app displays the location code clearly, such as "A-12-05-C-01", so you know exactly where to go. This eliminates guesswork and reduces time spent searching for products.

When you arrive at the location, the app shows you which SKU to pick and how many units are needed. This is where the guided workflow really shines because you don't need to reference a paper list or remember multiple items.

Scanning Items

At each location, scan the product barcode before placing it in your tote. This verification step is crucial because it confirms you're picking the correct item. If you accidentally scan the wrong SKU, the app will alert you immediately, preventing picking errors before they become shipping mistakes.

The app tracks your progress as you scan, showing how many units you've picked versus how many are required. Once you've scanned the correct quantity, the app automatically advances to the next pick location.

This scan-verify-advance workflow keeps pickers moving efficiently while maintaining high accuracy. There's no confusion about whether you picked the right item or the right quantity because the system confirms everything in real-time.

Moving Through Multiple Locations

For Missions with multiple items, the app routes you through the warehouse efficiently, typically organizing picks to minimize travel distance. After completing one pick, you'll see the next location displayed on your screen.

The app provides a running count of completed picks versus total picks remaining, so you always know how much work is left in the Mission. This transparency helps pickers pace themselves and gives visibility into progress.

Completing the Mission

Once you've picked all items for the Mission and scanned them into your totes, the app indicates the Mission is complete. At this point, you transport your filled totes to the packing station area.

The packing station is where picked orders transition from picking to packing and shipping. Your job as a picker is done once the totes are delivered to this staging area. Don't leave totes in random locations; always bring them to the designated packing area so packers can find them easily.

Handoff to Packing

At the packing station, packers will scan each tote to begin processing the orders inside. The tote scan pulls up all the items that should be in that container, allowing packers to verify contents and ship each order accurately.

This seamless handoff is why scanning totes during picking is so important. The tote barcode links the physical container to the digital order information, creating a chain of custody from picking through shipping.

Best Practices for Efficient Picking

Prepare Before You Start

Take a moment before beginning a Mission to ensure you have everything you need. Check that your scanner battery is charged and your device is connected. Grab enough empty totes for the Mission if you can estimate how many you'll need. Having to stop mid-Mission to find more totes wastes time.

Review the Mission details if available to understand the scope. Are you picking three orders or thirty? This context helps you pace yourself appropriately.

Keep Your Scanner Ready

Don't pocket your scanner or set it down at each location. Keep it in hand or use a wrist strap so it's always ready to scan. Those few seconds saved at each pick location add up to significant time savings over dozens or hundreds of picks per day.

Ensure your scanner is positioned for quick, accurate scans. If you're consistently having trouble scanning barcodes, check that your scanner settings are optimized and that product labels are in good condition.

Scan Every Item, Every Time

It's tempting to skip scanning when you're confident you grabbed the right item, especially for products you pick frequently. Resist this urge. The moment you stop scanning is the moment errors creep in.

Scanning takes just a second but catching a picking error after it's been shipped takes hours of customer service work, return processing, and potential customer loss. The scan is your quality control checkpoint; use it religiously.

Organize Your Tote as You Pick

Place items carefully in your tote rather than just tossing them in. Keep fragile items on top, separate items that might leak or transfer scent, and try to keep items for the same order together if you're picking multiple orders in one tote.

Good organization during picking makes the packer's job easier and reduces the chance of damage during transport to the packing station. Remember, you're part of a team, and how you hand off work affects the next person in the process.

Follow the App's Sequence

The Shipsidekick app organizes picks in a specific order for a reason, typically to minimize your walking distance and optimize warehouse flow. Don't try to outsmart the system by picking items out of sequence unless you have a compelling reason.

Jumping around might seem efficient if you're near a location that's coming up later, but it can create confusion, increase the chance of missing items, and disrupt the app's tracking. Trust the system and follow the guided path.

Communicate Issues Immediately

If you encounter a problem such as a missing item, damaged product, incorrect quantity on the shelf, or unreadable barcode, report it right away. Don't try to work around issues silently.

Most warehouse management systems, including Shipsidekick, have ways to flag problems during the pick process. Use these tools so supervisors can address issues quickly. If the app doesn't resolve the problem, get help from a supervisor rather than guessing or substituting products.

Keep Your Work Area Clear

At the packing station handoff area, place your completed totes in the designated staging location. Don't block walkways, pack stations, or other operational areas. A cluttered handoff zone slows down packers and creates confusion about which totes are ready for processing.

Some warehouses use specific staging areas or shelving for totes awaiting packing. Follow your facility's conventions so everyone knows where to find work.

Maintain Your Equipment

Treat your mobile device and scanner with care. These tools are essential to your job and expensive to replace. Keep devices clean, avoid dropping them, and report any malfunctions immediately so they can be repaired before they fail completely.

At the end of your shift, return equipment to its charging station so it's ready for the next person. A dead device at the start of the next shift costs valuable productive time.

Common Picking Mistakes to Avoid

Rushing Without Scanning

Speed is important, but accuracy is more important. Rushing through picks without proper scanning leads to errors that create expensive returns, customer complaints, and additional handling work. Develop a steady, sustainable pace that maintains accuracy.

Remember that your pick rate should be measured in correctly picked items, not just total items. Picking 100 items with 95 percent accuracy is worse than picking 80 items with 100 percent accuracy.

Ignoring Low Battery Warnings

Don't ignore device or scanner battery warnings. If your equipment dies mid-Mission, you lose progress and waste time troubleshooting or finding replacement equipment. Swap for a charged device before the battery becomes critical.

Many warehouses keep backup charged devices available for quick swaps. Know where these are located so you can exchange devices in seconds rather than minutes.

Picking From Wrong Locations

Always verify you're at the correct location before picking. Location codes can look similar, like "A-12-05-C-01" versus "A-12-05-C-10". That one-digit difference means completely different products.

Take a moment to confirm the location code on the shelf label matches what's displayed in the app. This simple verification prevents most location-related picking errors.

Not Reporting Empty Locations

If you arrive at a location and find it empty or with insufficient quantity, don't just skip it or grab from another location. Report the discrepancy through the app or to a supervisor.

Empty locations indicate inventory accuracy issues that need investigation. They might mean stock needs replenishment from bulk storage, or there's a systemic problem with inventory counts. Your report helps maintain data accuracy.

Mixing Items Between Totes

If you're using multiple totes for a large Mission, keep careful track of which items go in which tote. Don't spread items from a single order across multiple totes unless the order is too large for one container.

The app tracks tote contents, but physical organization matters too. Packers work faster when orders are kept together logically rather than scattered across numerous containers.

Measuring Your Picking Performance

Understanding your performance metrics helps you improve and shows you where you stand relative to team goals. Key picking metrics include pick rate, which is units picked per hour, and accuracy rate, which is percentage of items picked correctly without errors.

Shipsidekick and your WMS likely track these metrics automatically. Don't be discouraged if your numbers start low when you're new. Picking speed improves significantly with practice as you learn your warehouse layout and develop efficient movement patterns.

Focus first on accuracy, then on speed. As you become confident you're picking correctly every time, your natural pace will increase. Most warehouses see new pickers double their pick rate within the first month as they become comfortable with the process and layout.

Working as Part of a Team

Picking isn't a solo activity even though you're often working independently. Your performance affects everyone downstream. Pickers who work accurately make packers more efficient. Pickers who report inventory issues help maintain system accuracy for everyone.

Communicate with your team about conditions in the warehouse. If you notice a spill, damaged products, or safety hazards, report them. If you find a better route through the warehouse for certain picks, share that knowledge with teammates.

Support new pickers by answering questions and demonstrating best practices. The faster new team members become proficient, the better for everyone's workload.

The Bottom Line

The Shipsidekick mobile app transforms order picking from a paper-based, error-prone process into a guided, verified workflow that anyone can master. By following the app's instructions, scanning every item, and maintaining good picking habits, you'll contribute to fast, accurate order fulfillment that keeps customers happy and the business running smoothly. The combination of smart Mission assignment, mobile guidance, and scan verification makes picking more efficient while dramatically reducing the errors that create costly problems downstream.