How should you design your picking process? There's no universally right answer here – the best method depends on your warehouse size, order volume, product type and level of technical equipment.
Tip: You can also combine different modes in parallel using a pick profile – e.g. wave picking for B2C, single-order picking for B2B and single-item order mode for bestsellers.
Single-order picking
Single-order picking
One employee processes an order completely before moving on to the next. The simplest and least error-prone method – with no sorting step at the packing table.
Advantages
High accuracy, no sorting needed at the packing table
Flexible to use, short onboarding time
Also suitable for very large and bulky products
Disadvantages
Long walking distances, time-consuming with high order volume
Inefficient during order peaks
🎯 Ideal for:
Small warehouse (< 500 m²)
Few orders (< 30/day)
Large or bulky products
B2B pallet shipping
Recommendation in Pickware:
With WMS App + scanner (recommended): Scan the products directly in the app – stock booking and optional label printing happen automatically after completion. → How does single-order picking work in the WMS App?
Without a scanner, using a pick list: Create a pick list per order in the Pickware Admin and pick manually. Suitable as a starting point without hardware. → How do I pick orders using the Pickware Admin?
Single-item order picking
Single-item order picking
Special mode for orders with only one line item. These are picked collectively in a daily batch – without assigning a box per order. In Pickware, this is managed as its own pick mode and can be tracked separately in the Picking Dashboard.
Advantages
Extremely fast with a high share of single-item orders
Minimal walking distances, no box assignment effort
Combines well with other modes via a pick profile
Disadvantages
Only useful with a genuinely high share of single-item orders
🎯 Ideal for:
High share of single-item orders
E-commerce / B2C with bestsellers
Daily batch processing
Recommendation in Pickware:
With WMS App + scanner (recommended): Start single-item order mode within multi-step picking. All products from the retrieved single-item orders are picked in bulk and then individually scanned and assigned to their orders at the packing table. → How can I pick single-item orders with the WMS App?
Without a scanner, using the Admin: Filter specifically for single-item orders in the Admin and pick them manually in bulk. → How do I efficiently pick identical single-item orders using the Pickware Admin?
Wave picking
Wave picking
A pick cart with numbered containers (one box = one order) is pushed through the warehouse – typically handling 6 to 9 orders at once. Picking and sorting happen in a single step – the most commonly used mode in practice. This method is also known as box picking.
Advantages
Significantly fewer walking distances than single-order picking
No sorting step needed at the packing table
No WMS strictly required
Disadvantages
Only for manageable, small to medium-sized products
Requires wide, level aisles
🎯 Ideal for:
Medium-sized warehouse
20–100 orders/day
Compact, manageable products
Orders fit into one box
Recommendation in Pickware:
With WMS App + scanner (recommended): Start wave picking directly in the WMS App. The app guides you product by product through the warehouse, with each box assigned to an order. → How does wave picking work in the WMS App?
Without a scanner, using a pick list: Create a consolidated pick list in the Admin and manually assign items to boxes. Less error-proof, but usable without hardware requirements. → How do I pick orders using the Pickware Admin?
Batch picking
Batch picking
Multiple orders (up to ~20) are collected at the same time. Unlike wave picking, all products are picked into a shared container. At the packing table, a second employee then sorts them into the individual orders.
Advantages
Major reduction in walking distances
High throughput, efficient with overlapping items
Disadvantages
Requires a sorting step at the packing table
A second employee (packer) is recommended
🎯 Ideal for:
Many identical items across different orders
100+ orders/day
Small, manageable products
E-commerce / B2C
Practical tip for drops: For short-term order peaks (1,000+ orders), we recommend batch picking without box assignment, prioritizing single-item orders.
Recommendation in Pickware:
With WMS App + scanner (recommended): All items for multiple orders are picked in bulk. In a second step at the packing table, you scan the items and assign them to the orders. → How does batch picking work in the WMS App?
Without a scanner, using a pick list: Create a consolidated pick list via the Admin and sort the items manually at the packing table. Higher error risk without scanner support. → How do I pick orders using the Pickware Admin?
Overview
Process | Orders/day | Warehouse size | Products | Packing table sorting |
Single-order picking | < 30 | Small | All sizes | No |
Single-item order | Variable (high share of single-item orders) | Any | Any | No |
Wave picking | 20–100 | Medium | Small to medium | No |
Batch picking | 100+ | Medium to large | Small, manageable | Yes |
If you're unsure which process fits your warehouse, or want to combine multiple modes using a pick profile, our support team will be happy to help you set it up.