Products are moving across the world faster than ever. Behind the scenes, warehouses are doing the heavy lifting—storing goods and making sure the right items are delivered to the right customers, on time.
While automation and technology get a lot of the spotlight, there’s one decision that quietly determines a big part of your warehouse success: how you pick orders.
The two most common approaches are batch picking and zone picking. This article breaks down how they work, the pros and cons of each, and what to consider when deciding which one’s right for your operation.
Order picking—getting products off the shelves and into orders—is the most labor-intensive and costly part of warehouse operations. It can account for up to 50% of your total warehouse operating costs.
Picking the right strategy helps you:
Most modern warehouses choose between batch picking and zone picking for medium to high order volumes. Here’s a quick overview:
Batch picking tends to be simpler to manage and easier to balance across workers. It’s especially flexible for varying order sizes.
However, because pickers move through the entire warehouse, it increases walking time and the chances of pickers blocking each other. That slows things down.
Zone picking allows pickers to work in smaller areas, which speeds up picking and reduces walking. It also avoids the problem of picker congestion. But there's a catch: some zones may be busier than others, depending on how items are stored or ordered.
That leads to workload imbalance—some pickers are slammed, others are idle. If orders don’t get finished in time, overtime costs go up. Simultaneous zone picking also requires a sorting system, which can be expensive to set up and maintain.
A significant advancement in order picking comes from the use of smart algorithms that improve the efficiency of the process.
These algorithms use sequencing and order grouping techniques to optimize the way orders are organized and how pickers travel through the warehouse. By reducing walking distances by up to 50%, these systems can double pick rates—without the need for robotics. The technology works by sitting next to supporting systems (WMS, OMS, ERP systems) optimizing travel paths in real-time, achieving performance levels similar to robotic systems but at a much lower cost, requiring to capital expenditure.
Each factor affects not just productivity but also cost.
It’s worth noting that as order size increases or items become more unevenly distributed across the warehouse, workload imbalance becomes a bigger issue—especially for zone systems. This can lead to delays and extra labor costs.
Logistic providers are under pressure to do more with less. Picking strategy may seem like a technical choice, but it has real business consequences. Whether you’re rethinking your layout, investing in new tech, or just trying to grow smarter, the batch vs. zone decision is an important call you’ll make.
If you're serious about improving efficiency and controlling costs, don’t pick blindly. Visualize and analyze warehouse operations, and simulate different warehouse scenarios. See what works and what does not. Compare. Test your assumptions, and make a decision backed by real insight.