Moving to a new warehouse created at Rufruf space not only for higher capacity but also for changing the way of working. The company implemented multipicking to support the entire shipping process. Orders are grouped into joint tasks according to set rules, the warehouse worker sorts them into separate boxes during a single route, and the packing station receives them ready for further processing. The result is faster picking, less additional sorting, and a lower risk of errors when handing over shipments to carriers.
Multipicking is a method of picking where a warehouse worker collects goods for several orders simultaneously during a single trip. This limits repeated trips through the same parts of the warehouse and reduces the time required for picking. At Rufruf, however, its implementation also influenced the steps following the completion of picking.
The way orders are grouped is reflected in their distribution on the cart, the organization of work at the packing station, and the subsequent handover of shipments to carriers.
A new warehouse meant more than just more space
Moving to a new warehouse at Rufruf was not just a matter of higher storage capacity. Maintaining the original way of working would have meant transferring existing problems into a larger space. Longer routes for pickers would have led to a higher number of repeated trips to the same locations, while simultaneously increasing the load on the packing station.
The biggest complications arose at the end of the process. Orders arrived at packing that had to be re-sorted, separated, and assigned to individual carriers. During seasonal peaks, the packing station thus became a bottleneck in shipping.
Rufruf therefore changed the very principle of picking and implemented multipicking through the LOKiA WMS system. The goal was to speed up picking while simultaneously reducing activities that unnecessarily burdened subsequent parts of the process.
Orders are now grouped according to pre-set rules, such as size, order type, and carrier. Smaller B2C shipments can be picked together, while larger or specific orders remain in standard mode. The settings thus take into account not only the picking process but also the requirements of subsequent packing and shipping.
Orders are sorted during picking
A fundamental change was brought about by carts divided into separate boxes. Each one corresponds to a single order, but the warehouse operator fulfills them in parallel during a single route.
Previously, goods were collected into shared crates and only sorted at the packing station. This added an extra manual step to the process, requiring individual items to be assigned to specific orders.
The new model has moved this task directly into the picking phase. LOKiA WMS tells the warehouse operator which box to place an item in, so the contents of individual orders remain separated from the moment the goods are picked from their storage location.
Not all orders are included in multi-picking tasks. The system works with predefined conditions, such as a weight limit of up to 14 kilograms and a restriction to B2C orders. B2B orders and heavier shipments remain in the standard picking mode.
When grouping orders, the carrier is also taken into account so that the created tasks correspond to the subsequent shipping method. Each order thus arrives at the packing station separately and ready for inspection and packaging.
There is no need for additional sorting or searching for items. Packers can focus on checking the contents, selecting packaging, and preparing the shipment for dispatch. At the same time, the risk of assigning the wrong carrier is reduced, as this information is integrated into the process as early as the multi-picking task creation stage.
Do you want to optimize picking and shipping in your warehouse?
As one of the modules of LOKiA WMS, multi-picking allows you to manage the continuity of picking, packing, and shipping, and reduce manual intervention between individual parts of the process.
If you are looking to speed up shipping, reduce error rates, and eliminate the need for additional order sorting in your warehouse, contact us to discuss the possibilities of implementing multi-picking in your operation.
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