Whether you’re a small start-up and need some advice on getting started or a well-established corporation keen to improve your current pick and pack process, you’ve come to the right place.
In this guide, the John K. Philips team discuss everything you need to know, including the advantages of choosing pick and pack services like ours.
What are pick and pack services?
Picking and packing are among the most popular warehouse processes.
When a customer places an order, warehouse staff will use a picking list to locate and retrieve the requested items, ensuring they obtain the correct quantities of each.
Once all of the products have been picked, they’ll be put into a package, along with the necessary packing materials and documentation, including a packing slip, invoice, flyer, and advertising.
As part of the pick and pack service, the package will be labelled and sent from the warehouse to the customer using a dependable courier.
10 factors to consider when choosing pick and pack services
1. Warehouse capacity
Before committing to a pick and pack service, ensure adequate warehouse space to store your inventory securely. This will minimise the risk of damage and make it easier for warehouse staff to pick and pack products safely and efficiently.
2. Inventory management system
A warehouse that utilises robust warehouse management systems can monitor stock levels and optimise picking routes. These systems collate and manage inventory data and packing information, helping to streamline the pick and pack process.
3. Picking and packing methods
There are several strategies warehouses use for their pick and pack services, including:
- Piece picking – typically suited to smaller businesses that generate fewer orders, the picker selects one order at a time.
- Batch picking – better for larger businesses, warehouse workers batch orders that contain the same item together to speed up the whole process.
- Zone picking – larger warehouses usually allocate workers to a zone from which they pick the products for various orders. Items that need to be combined will be moved into the same zone or the sorting and packing area.
- Wave picking – combining aspects of batch and zone picking, workers have their specific zones where they’ll group orders into batches or “waves” based on product type, shipping priority, order size, or product availability.
Check their pick and pack methods align with your products and order volumes.
4. Order accuracy
Inaccurate orders can negatively impact customer experience and, in turn, tarnish your brand’s reputation. Therefore, it’s worth looking for a pick and pack warehouse that uses digital systems and barcode scanners to minimise the risk of errors.
5. Packaging options
Finding a warehouse that offers suitable packaging materials for your goods will help cut costs, save time, and ensure optimal protection for your consignments. For example, strong, sturdy boxes offer greater protection and enable smaller sizes to be used – resulting in lower shipping costs.
6. Shipping services
After your products are packed and ready to go, you want to trust that they’ll reach their destination on time and unscathed. Evaluate the shipping network of your pick and pack provider and their ability to deliver orders safely and efficiently. If it helps, read customer reviews or testimonials and ask friends and family for honest recommendations.
7. Scalability
If your business is thriving or you’re planning on expanding, you need to be confident that your pick and service provider can handle your fulfilment needs. It helps to choose a warehouse that offers integrated logistics solutions, including storage, packaging, distribution management, and transportation so you can keep everything under one roof.
8. Location
Choosing pick and pack services close to your business headquarters can be favourable, but it’s not strictly necessary. Instead, look at the areas your business performs best in and find a warehouse within easy reach of major cities, motorways, and ports. This will speed up delivery times and ensure customer satisfaction.
9. Cost
The cost of pick and pack services can vary depending on numerous factors, such as:
- Order size – larger orders typically require more time and materials to pick, pack, and distribute than smaller orders.
- Distance of deliveries – shipping costs can vary based on the distance orders need to travel.
- Multiple items – rates for multiple item orders are often lower than single item orders.
Therefore, it’s a sensible idea to compare quotes from different companies and decide who can best accommodate your fulfilment needs and budget.
10. Reputation
Think you’ve found the perfect fulfilment partner for your business? Don’t forget to assess their communication channels and how well they respond to enquiries. If you have a question, you want to know they’ll get back to you as soon as possible and not ignore you or give you false information.
Make John K. Philips your first choice for pick and pack services
If you’ve been searching for pick and pack services throughout the UK, you won’t be short of options, that’s for sure.
However, John K. Philips provides a full pick, pack, and dispatch service for small and medium-sized consignments – plus large palletised goods and multiple orders.
We have a modern warehouse management system that automates various processes to eliminate the risk of orders being inaccurately picked and packed.
As soon as we receive an order, we’ll process it, pick and pack your goods, and arrange delivery via our extensive network.
This technology also helps workers to pick orders faster – meaning customers won’t have to wait too long for their items to arrive. And real-time inventory tracking and monitoring ensures stock accuracy – keeping you informed when items are running low and need reordering or replenishing.
Something that sets us apart from other pick and pack services is that we use recyclable packaging and optimise shipping routes. This ultimately reduces the amount of waste sent to the landfill and helps us keep our transportation costs low.
To learn more about our order fulfilment process and how you can benefit from our pick and pack services, talk to our experts on 01744 751 000.