Those little “don’t forget” stickies may seem harmless, but managing exceptions in your workflow is not always easy. You need to communicate clearly with your team, and they need to remember to handle each exception correctly.

That’s why it’s best to allow as few exceptions as possible. The fewer ways there are to do something, the less risk there is of costly mistakes. But in reality, exceptions are often unavoidable, especially if you run a fulfillment business where each client may have different needs.

Picqer makes managing exceptions much easier. By setting up rules, you can automate actions in the software based on the conditions you define. When an order is processed or a picklist is created, Picqer automatically triggers the correct workflow. This allows your team to stay focused and keep their momentum.

Using rules in Picqer

Rules have been part of Picqer for a while. Based on user feedback, we’ve recently expanded what you can do with them. In this post, we’ll walk you through the improvements. Rules work the same for every Picqer user, but since fulfillment companies have a few extra options, the images show a fulfillment dashboard.

Selecting and editing multiple conditions

Below is an example of how to create a rule for shipping orders to Belgium with a different carrier. If you later expand to Germany and Denmark, you can easily adjust the rule with two clicks. For fulfillment companies, it's helpful that you can apply one rule to multiple clients. That means you don’t have to set up the same rule separately for each client, saving you a lot of configuration.

Filter the overview by fulfillment client

The example above also shows how to filter the rule overview by fulfillment client. This makes it much easier to see which rules are active for which client. Where the number of rules used to grow quickly, the overview is now more manageable with fewer rules.

Trigger actions at specific times

Rules let you control exactly when an action should happen. For example, you won’t forget to include a free goodie in every December order if you set up a rule for it. Starting June 1, Picqer can automatically add the free product to each picklist. Or if customers are pre-ordering products from a new collection that can only ship in May, a rule can snooze all picklists with the reference "pre-order" until May 1.

Automatically print or skip packing slips and picklists

When setting up Picqer for the first time, you choose whether to print packing slips and picklists automatically. But you can override that default with a rule. For example, you can choose to only print packing slips for certain fulfillment clients, depending on their preferences. This helps reduce unnecessary printing.

Over the past few weeks, we’ve made a number of improvements to give you more control over comments and rules. Read all about these and other updates in this changelog.

Improvements to comments

Comments help improve collaboration across your warehouse team. They’re useful for leaving notes so your future self and your coworkers know what was agreed upon or what happened and why. With an @mention, you can bring a message or question to the direct attention of a colleague or fulfillment client.

To make commenting even easier, we’ve introduced several improvements:

Better visibility for unread mentions

Previously, all mentions were marked as “read” as soon as you opened the mentions tab. We’ve changed that to help prevent unread mentions from being overlooked.

Now, mentions are only marked as “read” after you visit the page where the comment was posted. You can also manually mark mentions as read via the mentions tab by clicking “Mark as read” or “Mark all as read.” Unread mentions are highlighted in blue.

Easily mention colleagues in the app

Are you picking in the app and need to leave a comment or ask a question? You can now mention someone in the app by typing @ and selecting from the list. There’s no need to type their full name.

Better visibility of comments for fulfillment clients

In product, order, purchase and return overviews in the fulfillment portal, clients now see an icon when comments are present. This includes customer comments on an order.

Since most fulfillment clients don’t use the portal all day, it may take a while for them to see and respond to a comment. That’s why clients can now receive email notifications for mentions.

Add an email address in the fulfillment client’s profile to enable this. Clients can also manage their notification preferences on the new settings page in the portal. Email notifications are enabled by default and can only be turned off by the client.

These updates help fulfillment clients stay informed and respond faster when needed.

Read more about commenting in the fulfillment portal in this help article.

Commenting on a fulfillment client page

You can now add internal notes to a fulfillment client's page. These comments are only visible to your team, not the client, and can help document agreements or special arrangements.

View comments on canceled picklists

If you’ve enabled the experimental feature “Updated picklist and batch pages,” you can now view comments on canceled picklists. This lets you review why a picklist was canceled, if it was explained in a comment.

Improvements to rules

Rules let you automate parts of your workflow, helping you handle exceptions more efficiently. We’ve added a few features to give you even more control.

Use multiple warehouses and weekdays in rule conditions

For rules that apply to multiple warehouses or days of the week, you can now use the “is one of” or “is not one of” options. This allows you to select one or more warehouses or days, saving you from having to create separate rules for each.

View rule details from an order log

You could already see which rules had been triggered in the log of an order. Now, you can also click through to view the rule itself, inspect the details, and adjust the configuration or execution order if needed.

Longer condition fields

The maximum number of characters for a rule condition has been increased to 2048. This allows you to enter longer lists, such as product codes.

Set a default time for snoozed picklists

Previously, picklists snoozed manually or through certain rule actions were automatically set to resume at 7:00 a.m. You can now define your own default snooze time under General Settings, giving you more flexibility.

Other improvements

• When linking a picking container, you’ll now see the fulfillment client associated with the picklist. This helps you choose the correct container size.
• Customer comments from Shopware 6 are now imported with the order.
• If a picklist is canceled, any associated shipments will now be automatically canceled as well.
• If you’ve disabled automatic shipment creation in the app, it will no longer prompt you to create one.
• You can now see in the product log when and by whom a product was made active or inactive.
• Use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Enter (or Cmd + Enter on Mac) to submit a comment. It’s just a little quicker than clicking the “Post comment” button.

We regularly visit our customers to see how Picqer works in their warehouse. Recently, we were welcomed by SoundImports in Groningen. Their warehouse is filled with audio components for building your own sound systems. They started using Picqer in 2021, have grown significantly, and moved into a larger building.

We love these customer visits because they’re not just valuable for us—they’re probably valuable for you too. That’s why in this article, you can take a look behind the scenes at how another business runs their warehouse.

Planning the move

Before relocating, SoundImports took time to thoughtfully plan the layout of their new warehouse. That’s something we get excited about. A smart warehouse layout is the foundation for a strong process, and a strong process is essential for managing your warehouse with software. Software can’t fix process issues. SoundImports shared that they used tips from our book A warehouse to be proud of, which we were thrilled to hear. Our goal is not only to help with software, but also to share useful knowledge.

Warehouse layout

• SoundImports’ range includes everything from tiny cables and connectors to large amplifiers and speakers. Smaller items are stored in the front racks. Some are kept loose in small cardboard boxes for easy picking. Larger products are stored further back where there's more space, including pallet racks for bulky boxes.
• Fast-moving products are placed in a separate rack close to the packing stations, so staff don’t waste time walking back and forth.
• The racks are numbered like house numbers: even numbers on the left, odd numbers on the right. These location numbers are entered in Picqer, so the software knows exactly where each product is. This allows picklists to be automatically sorted in the right order for the most efficient route through the warehouse. If you’re not using software, you can sort locations in Excel to plan a good walking route.
• Locations are clearly marked with signs, making it easy to spot where you need to be.
• Separate packing stations and picking containers are used for B2C and B2B orders. Even the boxes and tape differ between the two, helping keep the workflows visibly separated.

How picking is done

• Every product has a barcode, so warehouse staff can scan items using mobile devices. No need to print paper picklists, which saves on paper and costs.
• Most picklists are processed in batches. This means many items can be picked during one round through the warehouse. Before picking starts, a batch is created in Picqer. The batch shows where each product is and how many to pick to complete all orders.
• The picking carts are adapted to product size. Large items are placed directly on the cart. Smaller items are picked using carts with bins. This makes batch picking easier, as each bin can hold the items for one order. At the packing table, the bins are processed one by one.

Making time to improve

Your warehouse deserves just as much attention as your webshop, marketing and customer service. At SoundImports, you can really see that philosophy in action. From the offices and meeting rooms, everyone can see the warehouse operations. That connection is important to them, because ideas from the office have to be executed in the warehouse.

To make sure promises to customers are realistic and achievable, they hold “Maga-Friday” every Friday. It’s a dedicated time when warehouse staff share feedback and ideas. This way, they consistently work on improvements, and everyone contributes to the business together.

Working with Picqer

Software can quickly become complex. That’s not what we want with Picqer. We focus on making it simple to use and easy to manage yourself. SoundImports is a great example of this. During the holiday season, the founder’s young daughter helped out in the warehouse. She understood Picqer so quickly that she was picking orders on her own within five minutes!

SoundImports has also built their own solutions for specific needs, such as a Chrome extension that provides automatic Picqer notifications. You can use our public API for this kind of customization. It gives you the freedom to create exactly what you need—with endless possibilities.

On Thursday, April 25, we’re hosting a special Picqer Session dedicated to fulfillment. This session will focus on invoicing for fulfillment companies.

Invoicing is one of the most crucial processes for a fulfillment business. You earn revenue from the services and extras you provide in the warehouse, and you want to invoice that accurately and efficiently.

But how do you determine the pricing for your services? What costs can you charge your fulfillment clients? How do you apply pricing tiers? And how do you invoice for storage usage?

During this Picqer Session, Bob from Centralized will share his insights and real-world experience around invoicing in fulfillment. After the talk, there will be time for questions.

Do you find it tricky to invoice your fulfillment services properly? Or are you looking for ways to spend less time on billing? Then this session is for you.

Where and when

This Picqer Session takes place on Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Utrecht at Restaurant Dengh.

We regularly visit our customers to learn how they work, how their warehouses are set up, how they use Picqer, and what challenges they face. These visits are valuable for collecting feedback and sharing knowledge and ideas. In this article, we’ve gathered highlights from four different conversations and explain briefly how Picqer fits into each situation.

Processing orders more efficiently with software

With Picqer, this process is automated. Once your webshop is connected to Picqer, orders appear directly in the warehouse software. You pick items using picklists—either one at a time or in batches. Back at the packing table, after the picked products are checked, the correct shipping label is automatically printed. This ensures the right product is sent to the right customer.

Read the full story with Go-in-style.nl here.

Organizing your warehouse by category

Most webshops earn 80% of their revenue from 20% of their products. Those products should be stored in easy-to-reach locations that minimize walking time. With the ABC analysis in Picqer, you can smartly divide your products across your warehouse. Based on sales volume, items are sorted into three categories: the top 5% bestsellers are category A, the next 15% are category B, and the remaining 80% are category C. Place A products close to the packing table, B a bit farther, and C in the back. It’s a simple way to save time and effort.

Read the full story with Scala XL here.

Why we don’t offer custom features

Our goal is to help every webshop run a professional warehouse, whether you handle 50 or 2,000 orders per day. That’s why we focus on stable, ongoing development that benefits all users. We also share detailed documentation in our Help Center and publish insights on our blog.

Every warehouse has unique processes, preferences and tools. Maybe you use a packing machine, conveyor belt or forecasting system. To work efficiently, you can connect other tools to Picqer using our API. We’ve made it as comprehensive and user-friendly as possible. Plus, we offer many ready-to-use integrations.

Read the full story with Nutcrackers here.

Making smart use of data from Picqer

In Picqer’s reporting, you can view and export a wide range of data. How old is your inventory? What’s your monthly revenue? What are your costs? Which products perform well, and which don’t? This information helps you make better strategic decisions.

Read the full story with IVOL here.