Order Picking is the process of receiving goods in a given unit size, retrieving them from storage and shipping them in a different unit size. Of critical importance in Order Picking is selecting the correct item in the correct quantities to the satisfaction of customer requirements. Order Picking is a labor-intensive activity. It cannot be done in a hurried manner because mistakes are difficult to catch, costly to correct, and have a devastating effect on quality
In general, Order Picking can occur on one of five levels depending on the size of the unit that is being picked.
- Pallet Picking – Retrieval of full pallets
- Layer Picking – Retrieval of layers of cases
- Case Picking – Retrieval of inner packs from cases
- Split Case Picking – Retrieval of inner packs from cases
- Broken Case Picking – Retrieval of individual, discrete items