Ecommerce fulfillment: What is the best/your method for picking, packing and printing off shipping labels in bulk? (E-commerce)

[Proletariat22]

Running a Shopify store and using OBA Click and drop for about 30 orders a day.

Currently packing orders of the same weight together, bulk printing off labels on Royal Mail click & drop and then matching the order number on the label to the orders. Was wondering if there are better ways? And how to match the labels if packing orders in bulk. Ideally would like to pack all orders and then apply shipping labels afterwards rather than one by one however with new/multiple items they need to be seperately weight as they aren;t in the Click and Drop system yet.

Just wanted to see other processes for fulfilling orders as we grow.

 

[LPB 123]

We use an order management system.

All orders are pulled through in to the system and is then auto sorted into filters. The filters are based on the service, item type and location etc so everything is picked and packed in the most efficient way possible.

E.g 1st filter could be all Royal Mail Tracked 24 parcel orders in location A1.

1st filter print the pick list and all the invoices and postage labels. Someone picks everything on the pick list and brings to the packaging table where everything is packaged, an invoice is attached to the outside in a documents enclosed wallet and then label is matched by name to that.

Whilst it's being packaged etc someone has moved on to the next filter and follow the same process picking everything on pick list of 2nd filter.

We have tried barcode scanning to print from the invoice as its packaged and other methods but found it slowed things down a bit.

Obviously the above probably won't be applicable based on your order volume but maybe it can give you some ideas. I would recommend you start using an order management system now.

Something like Shipstation that you can put rules in place to auto sort orders. As you grow you will find more efficiencies that work for you.

 

[AlanJ1]

We use an order management system.

All orders are pulled through in to the system and is then auto sorted into filters. The filters are based on the service, item type and location etc so everything is picked and packed in the most efficient way possible.

E.g 1st filter could be all Royal Mail Tracked 24 parcel orders in location A1.

1st filter print the pick list and all the invoices and postage labels. Someone picks everything on the pick list and brings to the packaging table where everything is packaged, an invoice is attached to the outside in a documents enclosed wallet and then label is matched by name to that.

Whilst it's being packaged etc someone has moved on to the next filter and follow the same process picking everything on pick list of 2nd filter.

We have tried barcode scanning to print from the invoice as its packaged and other methods but found it slowed things down a bit.

Obviously the above probably won't be applicable based on your order volume but maybe it can give you some ideas. I would recommend you start using an order management system now.

Something like Shipstation that you can put rules in place to auto sort orders. As you grow you will find more efficiencies that work for you.

I woud echo something like Ship Station for you.

For us, we are on the other ballpark in terms of orders.

Orders sent to pickers guns, scan location, scan item and over to packing team who scan the item and trolley # and label is printed. All very efficient.

 

[Paul Norman]

Like the other two respondents above, our back office has a fulfillment bit that allows us to just print the labels for the orders.

That makes it reasonable smooth.

A minor problem is that if the customer makes a total mess of putting in their own address you can get a fairly pointless label!