Order picking is the warehouse process of retrieving specific items and quantities from storage locations to fulfil customer orders, where accuracy, speed and careful handling are critical for maintaining food product integrity.
In trade practice
In ambient and cold stores handling food commodities, picks are directed by a warehouse management system that sequences routes to minimise travel time and reduce the risk of temperature excursions in frozen zones. Pickers confirm batch numbers and quantities at each location, and completed picks are checked against the order before packing. Common errors include picking the wrong batch, which breaks traceability, and leaving frozen product on a dock for too long before loading. Some operations use voice-directed or scan-based picking to reduce error rates.
In a specification
A service-level agreement with a logistics provider may specify a minimum order-picking accuracy rate, measured as correctly picked lines as a proportion of total lines, with reporting intervals defined in the contract.