With 150 orders per day, that’s at least 150 sheets of paper. By the end of the day, they all end up in the recycling bin. That’s wasteful, and it’s not necessary. With warehouse software, you can pick orders entirely without paper. Less paper and ink saves unnecessary costs, and it's better for the environment too.

We see more and more warehouses making the switch to paperless picking—and we’re big supporters of that change. Here’s why.

Why go paperless when picking orders

• Digital workflows are much more flexible. While picking, you can view product information, make changes, and add comments. Your teammates can see updates right away. With paper, that’s not so easy. For example, if picklists are printed in the morning, it becomes difficult for customer service to make changes or leave a note later.
• When walking through your warehouse with a stack of picklists, you have to be careful not to mix them up or lose a sheet. With paperless picking, you don’t have to worry about that. Just make sure your battery is charged ;-)
• Tasks are presented step by step on your screen. You follow the instructions, without searching through paper. This makes it easy for anyone to get started—even if they’re new or not very tech-savvy. That said, we believe the software should be simple and guide users step by step.

What do you need?

The most important thing is a mobile device. It doesn’t have to be expensive or complicated. A phone or tablet that can open a picklist is often enough. If you want to verify products while in the warehouse, use a mobile scanner. In smaller warehouses where everything is within reach of the packing table, you could use a wireless barcode scanner connected to a computer. Just make sure your products have barcodes to scan.

A digital list of items to pick can be as simple as opening a webshop order on your phone. But if you’re using warehouse management software (like Picqer) or an ERP system, you unlock many more possibilities. You can not only generate digital picklists, but also guide your warehouse team from task to task.

Making the transition

It might not be realistic for every warehouse to quit using paper overnight. Reducing paper step by step works too. For example, group several orders into a single batch. That way, you print fewer picklists—and it also reduces walking distance. At the very least, make sure anything you do on paper is also recorded digitally. That way, your team stays in sync.

Picking paperless with Picqer

Paperless picking is easy with Picqer. You open the picklist in the Picqer app and collect the items in your warehouse. Back at the packing table, you check off the picked products on your computer, or scan each barcode to let Picqer verify the items. You can also use a mobile scanner to check products right at the shelf.

Want to try paperless picking with Picqer? Create a trial account and use Picqer free for 14 days.

Try Picqer for free

In recent weeks, we’ve introduced several improvements for date and time-based rules. Read more about these and other updates in this changelog.

Conditions based on order date and time

You can now set specific order dates or times as rule conditions. For both, you can choose from two options:

• The order was placed before the date or time
• The order was placed on or after the date or time

You can combine multiple conditions to trigger actions during a specific time frame. For example, you could offer a free gift for orders placed during a promotional period, or apply a different shipping method depending on the time an order was placed.

Snooze picklists for a set number of hours or until a specific date

When snoozing a picklist using a rule, you can now specify how many hours it should be snoozed. You can also set a specific date to resume the picklist. This is especially useful for pre-orders that should only ship on or after the product release date.

More control over printing packing slips

Previously, packing slips were always printed automatically if a packing slip printer was set up at the packing station. You can now decide whether to print packing slips at all. Using rules, you can override that default setting. This gives you full control and can save a lot of unnecessary paper.

Read more in the help article on printers and packing stations.

Other improvements

• Processing orders with many backorders and/or product compositions is now much faster.
• In the popup for creating a shipment, you now clearly see which shipping profile was preselected via a rule.
• We’ve added a new integration with Sendy.
• You can now quickly recognize which orders were placed via the fulfillment portal with a dedicated icon in the order overview.
• The shipping method “Small Parcel” from PostNL has been added to the MyParcel integration.
• When you turn a product into a virtual composition or mark it as having infinite stock, the ABC classification is removed.
• The graph on the customer page showing order history now always displays accurate data.
• A warning is shown if you try to leave a rule setup page without saving your changes.
• We now import QLS service points for orders from Shopify and Lightspeed, so the information is automatically passed to the carrier.
• When creating a purchase order via the API, you can now include a delivery_date.
• The track & trace URL for shipments to Belgian pickup points now works correctly again.
• The customer and supplier pages have been redesigned for improved organization and consistency with the rest of Picqer.
• The normal and singles batch pages have been updated for users who have enabled the experimental feature “Updated picklist and batch pages.”

You can now connect Sendy to Picqer. Sendy is shipping software that helps you send orders quickly and easily. Orders are automatically converted into shipments, and the matching shipping labels are printed directly from Picqer.

What is Sendy?

Sendy’s shipping software makes your shipping process fast and simple. Orders are automatically converted into shipments with the carrier of your choice. The correct shipping labels are printed, and Track & Trace information is retrieved. Packed parcels can be picked up or dropped off at a nearby pickup point. Any customer questions about the shipment can easily be answered using the software.

What can you do with the integration?

• View all orders and their shipping status in one system.
• Use rules in Picqer to apply the correct shipping profiles.
• Orders are automatically converted into shipments with the matching label, which is printed directly from Picqer.
• Track & Trace information is automatically synced back.
• Answer customer questions about delivery directly in the software using Mijn vraag.

How to connect Sendy and Picqer

You don’t need any technical knowledge to set up the connection. Start by creating a free Sendy account, then connect Picqer from within your Sendy account. The step-by-step instructions are in our help article. Want to know which carriers and rates are available through Sendy? You can find that here.

We’ve welcomed two new colleagues to our team! In February, Ruud (development) and Leonie (support) joined Picqer. They’re excited to introduce themselves:

Ruud Schuurmans

Hi! My name is Ruud, and on February 1st I started at Picqer as Head of Engineering. In this role, I get to coach the engineering team and help ensure we continue building the very best warehouse software out there. I also help keep an overview and translate company goals into (technical) objectives for the engineering team.

From my previous roles, I bring a background in software architecture, which is all about logically structuring and organizing the code behind software. I’m excited to bring that experience into Picqer and help the team work with clear and understandable code. The ultimate goal is a well-aligned team that can develop new Picqer features with ease, speed, and pride.

I’m originally from the Achterhoek, but for quite a few years now I’ve lived in Arnhem, close to the city center. In my free time, I enjoy grabbing a coffee in town, taking a walk through Sonsbeek Park, or heading out for dinner.

I’m really looking forward to helping the Picqer engineering team build even better software for our users!

Leonie Smit

Hi, I’m Leonie, and since February 1st I’ve been working at Picqer as a Support Specialist. Before this, I worked in customer service for a furniture webshop. There, I was also involved in optimizing the processes behind the scenes. I’ll now be helping my new colleagues deliver the best support, so we can make Picqer even better!

In that previous role, I came across Picqer for the first time. As a customer, I reached out to Picqer’s support team—and had such a positive experience that it led me here. The great software, friendly team, and calm atmosphere made Picqer the perfect place for me.

I live with my elderly cat Bibi in the oldest city in the Netherlands: Nijmegen. Outside of work, I love reading (mostly fiction), gardening, and going on walks. With spring around the corner, I’m looking forward to getting the garden back in shape! And now that the new Formula 1 season has started, you’ll often find me spending my weekends (shouting) at the TV.

I’m excited to dive deeper into Picqer and contribute to providing the very best support!

The moment a customer receives their order can make or break their experience. Sending the wrong quantity, the incorrect size, or delivering later than promised increases pressure on your customer service team and might even prevent that customer from returning.

That’s why it’s essential to make as few mistakes as possible in your warehouse. Not only to meet your promises consistently, but also because fixing a mistake costs time and money.

But how do you improve when every day is already packed? Investigating the root cause of mistakes takes time. Still, if you take the time this week to fix one issue, you’ll likely benefit from it as soon as next week. And that improvement compounds over time.

Below are two real-world warehouse examples to inspire you. What problems did they encounter, how did they solve them, and what results did they see?

These examples show how small changes can lead to big improvements. Feeling inspired? Here are some tips to get into improvement mode:

• Schedule regular improvement sessions with your team. Discuss where most mistakes occur and investigate the root causes. Create a list of issues and pick two pain points to improve, so you’re already doing better next week.
• Look for ways to eliminate exceptions from your process. Don’t only consider the downsides—such as “we’ll lose 5 orders per week if customers can’t pick up”—but also the upsides: “fewer mistakes are made when we stick to a consistent process.”
• Don’t rely solely on external benchmarks. Use your own data to track weekly progress and see where you’re improving. Try things out. Which tweaks positively impact your performance?
• We regularly share tips and inspiration on our blog and in our Help Center. Take advantage of it!