Fewer mistakes in your warehouse
Too often the wrong products or quantities leave the door.
Scan every product, give each one its own product code and stop re-entering anything by hand. That's how you ship the right product first time, every time.
What helps
- Work on First Time Right first, and treat every mistake as something your process should fix.
- Give each product its own product code and scan every outgoing product instead of checking by eye.
- Re-enter nothing, and let your systems pass addresses, orders and shipping labels along automatically.
- Don't store look-alike products next to each other, and seal a box right after the final check.
Mistakes cost more than they seem to. On average it takes 30 minutes to resolve a shipping error: customer service, processing the return, and paying shipping twice. In warehouses where outgoing products aren't scanned, the error margin runs up to 1 to 4% of all orders. Scanning takes less than 18 seconds per order. The choice makes itself.
First right, then fast
Speed only helps once you work accurately. Treat every mistake as a task: what went wrong, why could it happen, and how do you stop it from coming back? Do that consistently and you can easily reduce mistakes by a factor of 10. Only once you work almost error-free does it make sense to optimize for pace.
Give each product its own product code
A product code points to exactly one variant: not just a shirt, but that shirt in that color and that size. When everyone works internally from product codes, communication gets easier and mistakes are spotted sooner. This is what people usually call an SKU.
Scan every outgoing product
This is the cheapest way to reduce mistakes. Scan the product you're picking or packing, so software like Picqer checks right away that you have the correct item in the correct quantity. That's more reliable than comparing by eye, and usually faster too.
Never re-enter anything
Your customer already entered their address. That means you shouldn't have to re-type anything to ship an order. Connect your online store, shipping software and warehouse software so data moves along automatically. Every manual step adds a chance of error and a bit of lost time.
Keep look-alike products apart
Products that closely resemble each other don't belong next to each other. Move them deliberately to separate locations. If you pick by location number, they're still quick to find without causing confusion during picking.
Seal the box right after the check
Check, scan and seal. The longer products sit open after the check, the bigger the chance something ends up in the wrong box.
Common mistakes
Relying on a visual check. During peaks people get less sharp. Products start to look more alike and a wrong quantity slips through more easily. Scanning keeps checking consistently.
Using one experienced colleague as a safety net. A know-it-all catches a lot, but makes your process fragile. Make sure everyone knows the same way of working and that your system, layout and agreements keep the work reliable.
Thinking scanning is slower. Resolving a mistake takes 30 minutes on average. A scan takes less than 18 seconds.
