Pick list

What a pick list contains

Each line of a pick list should give the picker everything needed to take the right unit without searching.

• Location code, such as A-01-02.
• SKU and a short description, such as OIL-008, extra virgin olive oil, 1 L.
• Quantity in the unit being picked: each, case or pallet.
• Lot, expiry or license plate when allocation chose a specific one.
• Order or tote reference, so items end up in the right order.

A worked example

An order for 2 bottles of OIL-008, 1 bag of rice and 3 jars of honey is entered in that order. The pick list re-sorts it by the route: honey in A-02-01, rice in B-01-03, oil in C-04-02. The oil line also shows lot LOT-0826, because order allocation chose that lot by expiry.

On paper, the picker ticks each line. On a scanner, they scan the location and then the item, and the device won't accept the wrong SKU or lot.

Paper vs scanned pick lists and common mistakes

Paper lists are cheap and need no devices, but they can't check the picker's work. The error is only caught at packing, or by the customer. Scanned lists confirm each pick as it happens and update stock in real time.

Common mistakes: lists sorted by SKU or order line instead of walk sequence; lists that don't show the lot, so pickers take whatever is in front; and printing lists long before picking, so the stock has moved by the time someone arrives. The warehouse picking methods guide covers how lists change by method.

How NextStock handles pick lists

NextStock builds pick lists from allocation, sorted by each location's walk sequence, for both discrete picking and batch pick-then-sort. Pickers work from the floor app on a phone or scanner, scanning the bin and the item as they go, and the lot or serial where it matters. See order picking and barcode scanning.