Pick Lists & Fulfillment
Create pick lists, choose picking strategies, pack shipments, and streamline order fulfillment.
Batch and Wave Picking
Advanced Picking Methods For high-volume operations, batch and wave picking improve efficiency. Batch Picking Combine items from multiple orders into a single pick run: One picker collects all items for several orders simultaneously After picking, items are sorted by order at a packing station Reduces travel time in the warehouse When to use: Multiple orders containing the same products. Wave Picking Release groups of orders for picking in scheduled "waves": Orders are grouped by criteria (carrier, priority, zone) Each wave is released at a specific time Coordinates picking, packing, and shipping in synchronized batches When to use: Large warehouses with scheduled shipping windows. Zone Picking Assign pickers to specific warehouse zones: Each picker only works in their assigned zone Items pass from zone to zone until the order is complete Reduces training (pickers only need to know their zone) When to use: Very large warehouses with specialized storage areas. Setting Pick Type When creating a pick list, select the pick type: Standard (default) Batch Wave Zone Note: Batch and wave picking are most effective with 10+ orders per day. For lower volumes, standard single-order picking is usually more efficient.
Handling Insufficient Inventory
When Generate Pick List Refuses You clicked Generate Pick List on a shipment and got a yellow alert instead of a pick list: Can't generate pick list — Insufficient inventory for PU Pastel Purple in Main Warehouse. Short by 1 units. Either restock PU Pastel Purple, remove it from the shipment, or split it into a separate shipment to fulfill later. This is by design — WareSquared won't create a pick list it can't fulfil, because the warehouse staff would just hit a dead end on the floor. Your Three Options 1. Restock the short product. From the order page, click the short product to open its detail page Hit Restock → opens a draft Purchase Order pre-populated with the supplier and reorder quantity Receive the PO when it arrives → the Short Stock chip clears automatically 2. Remove the short item from this shipment. Open the shipment, set the short item's qty to 0, save Now Generate Pick List can run on the in-stock items The dropped item stays on the order and can be added to a future shipment. See Moving Items Between Shipments. 3. Issue a partial refund. Edit the order, remove the line entirely Create an invoice for the remaining lines only The customer is only billed for what shipped Why Not Just Force It? The pick list is what your floor team works from. If it lists an item the warehouse can't actually find, the picker hits a dead end mid-shift — which means delayed shipments, customer service tickets, and trust erosion with the floor. The upfront "you can't pick what isn't there" is the lesser evil. Tip: The Fulfillment panel on the order page shows the exact shortfall per line before you try to generate a pick list, so you can spot the problem early. See also: What Does Short Stock Mean?, Picking Strategies (FIFO / FEFO / Nearest)
How Do I Create a Pick List?
How Do I Create a Pick List from an Order? Pick lists guide warehouse workers to collect items for an order. From a Single Order Open a Confirmed order Click Create Pick List The system generates a pick list with: Product details (name, SKU, barcode) Quantities needed Location where each item is stored Pick sequence optimized for efficiency Pick List Details Field Description Pick Number Auto-generated identifier Status Pending → Assigned → Picking → Picked → Packed → Shipped Priority Low, Normal, High, Urgent Pick Type Standard, Batch, Wave, Zone Assigned To Warehouse worker responsible Assigning to a Picker After creating a pick list: Click Assign Select a team member The assigned user receives a notification They can view and execute the pick list from the mobile app Batch Picking For multiple orders going to the same area, use Batch Pick to combine items into a single pick run, then sort by order after picking. Tip: Assign pick lists from the mobile app for the fastest workflow. Pickers can see their assigned lists, scan items, and mark completion in real time. See also: Picking Strategies, Batch and Wave Picking, Mobile Pick List Execution
Mobile Picking
Picking with the Mobile App The WareSquared mobile app provides a guided picking experience with barcode scanning. Starting a Pick Open the mobile app Go to WMS Hub → Pick Lists View your assigned pick lists Tap a pick list to begin Picking Workflow For each item on the pick list: Navigate — The app shows the location code and name Scan Location — Scan the location barcode to confirm you're in the right spot Pick Item — Take the specified quantity from the shelf Scan Product — Scan the product barcode to verify the correct item Confirm Quantity — Enter the actual quantity picked Next Item — Move to the next line Short Picks If a location doesn't have enough stock: Enter the actual quantity available The system records the short pick Remaining quantity may be sourced from another location or back-ordered Completing the Pick After all items are picked: Review the summary Note any short picks or substitutions Tap Complete Pick The pick list status updates to Picked Tip: Keep your phone's camera clean for reliable barcode scanning. If a barcode is damaged, you can manually search for the product by SKU.
Packing and Shipping
From Picked to Shipped After items are picked, the packing and shipping process gets orders out the door. Packing Verify picked items against the order Select appropriate packaging Include packing slips or invoices Mark the order as Packed Shipping Labels WareSquared integrates with shipping carriers to generate labels: From the order detail, click Create Shipment Select the carrier (UPS, FedEx, USPS) Choose the service level (Ground, Express, etc.) Enter package dimensions and weight Get Rates to compare carrier pricing Select a rate and Purchase Label Tracking After shipping: The tracking number is automatically saved to the order Order status changes to Shipped Tracking info is available on the order detail page Multi-Package Shipments For orders requiring multiple packages: Create multiple shipments for the same order Each shipment gets its own tracking number All tracking numbers are linked to the order
Pack Templates: How Things Ship
What a Pack Template Is A pack template tells WareSquared "when we sell N units of this product, this is how they physically ship." Think of it as the recipe between "the catalog SKU" and "the box that gets a label." Common cases: Vinyl roll: one product = one tube box at 22″ × 4″ × 4″, 8 oz empty weight T-shirts: 1–3 per poly mailer; 4–12 per dim-weight-bound poly mailer; 13+ in a small box Pills / supplements: 6 bottles per case pack Cable: one spool per kraft box; bundle of 4 spools per shipping carton Why It Matters Without pack templates, your shipping cost estimator falls back to the bounding box of all the items in the order, padded by 20%. That works but it's wrong often enough to matter on tight margins. With pack templates, the calculator picks the right box per product and gives carriers accurate dimensions. Also useful for: pick-list accuracy ("pick 12 = 2 cases of 6, not 12 loose items"), low-stock alerts at the right cadence ("low when fewer than 6 cases left, not 36 units"). Setting One Up Settings → Pack Templates → + New Pack Template Each template needs: Name — internal label ("Vinyl tube 20″", "Poly mailer M", "Spool case x4") Variant Dimension Template — links the pack to a variant family (e.g. only vinyl-roll products can use the vinyl-tube template). Defined in Settings → Variant Dimensions first. Distribution — JSON map describing how units split across variant axes. For a simple "X units per pack", set total_units directly. Using Templates Once a pack template is defined for a variant family, products in that family automatically use it for: Shipping cost estimates — the ShippingParcelCalculator reads the template's outer dimensions + empty weight, adds the product's per-unit weight, and asks Shippo for rates Pick list rendering — quantities show as cases + loose instead of raw counts Receiving — POs can be received in case-pack units, auto-converted to base units on inventory Common Mistakes Defining a pack template before the variant dimension template exists. Pack templates depend on dimension templates — create the dimensions first. One pack template for all variants. If your 20″ rolls ship in a different tube than your 60″ rolls, create one template per size. The auto-assign picks the right one based on the variant dimensions. Forgetting empty weight. A "Tube box, 22×4×4, weight 0" looks fine on screen but understates carrier weight by the tube itself. Carriers charge on actual weight + dim weight, so missing the tube weight costs real dollars. Tip: If you're new to pack templates, configure them for your top 10 SKUs first — those drive 80%+ of your shipping spend. The long tail can use bounding-box fallback until you get around to them. See also: Variants: Family, Finish, Color, and Size, Pick, Pack, Ship Process
Picking Strategies
Choosing a Picking Strategy WareSquared supports multiple picking strategies to match your warehouse workflow. Available Strategies Strategy How It Works Best For FIFO First In, First Out — picks oldest stock first General merchandise, perishables FEFO First Expired, First Out — picks soonest-expiring first Medical supplies, food, cosmetics Nearest Location Picks from locations closest to the shipping area High-volume, speed-focused Manual Picker chooses which location to pick from Flexible, experienced teams Configuring Strategy Picking strategy is set per warehouse: Go to Warehouse → Warehouses Edit the warehouse Select the Picking Algorithm Save FIFO vs FEFO FIFO uses the date stock was received to determine pick order. Oldest received stock is picked first. FEFO uses the lot expiration date. Stock expiring soonest is picked first, regardless of when it was received. This requires lot tracking to be enabled. Tip: Use FEFO for products with expiration dates (cosmetics, medical supplies, food). Use FIFO for products without expiration concerns. Use Nearest Location when speed is the top priority.