Orders are increasing, warehouse workers are busy, and warehouse management feels like the team is working at full capacity. Yet, shipping is delayed, packaging is waiting for orders to be completed, and every day there is a decision to be made about what needs to go out first.
At first glance, this may seem like a lack of capacity. But the way the warehouse manages picking often fails. A process that was sufficient for lower order volumes begins to hamper the entire shipping process as orders grow.
How to tell if picking is not keeping up
Picking is not just about removing items from the shelf. Warehouse performance is determined by the order of work, the warehouse worker's route, the availability of goods at the picking positions, traceability to packaging, and error control.
When this logic is missing, capacity is lost in returning to the same zones, waiting for positions to be replenished, searching for goods, and manually changing priorities. The company then pays not only for slower picking. It pays for irregular flow of work into packaging, errors in picking, overtime, and interventions by the warehouse manager who holds the process together manually.
Typical signals tend to be seen quickly:
- orders are waiting for picking longer than before,
- warehouse workers return to the same parts of the warehouse,
- packaging does not have a stable supply of work,
- priorities change outside the system,
- Picking errors only become apparent during packaging or at the customer's premises.
Why another warehouse worker won't solve the problem
An extra person on the shift will only help if the warehouse has a clear way of working. Without it, the same problem will just be divided among more people.
The higher number of orders then increases the pressure on coordination. The warehouse manager allocates work manually, the warehouse workers prioritize according to the current situation, and the packaging waits for completed orders. The warehouse is working at full capacity, but the output does not increase according to the number of people on the shift.
How WMS helps manage order picking
A well-configured WMS doesn't just help record movements. It controls what should be done, in what order, where the goods should be sourced from, and how the order should be checked before shipping.
LOKiA WMS connects picking with task priorities, routes, warehouse zones, packaging control and traceability to carriers. The warehouse is not only based on the experience of people on the shift, but on rules that maintain the continuity between picking, packaging and shipping.
Practical result: Ovečkárna handles up to 6,000 orders per shift
In Ovečkárna, before the implementation of LOKiA WMS, the warehouse managed to process approximately 1,500 orders per eight-hour shift with 35 people. After the system was implemented, it can handle up to 6,000 orders with the same number of people.
This difference is not made by people working four times faster. It is made by better organization of work, management of tasks, routes, priorities and continuity between picking, packing and shipping. You can find the full case study here .
If you currently handle picking primarily through manual coordination, extra shifts, and the experience of a few people, the problem may not be team capacity. You may have reached a point where the volume of orders has outgrown the way you manage picking.
Want to find out where your warehouse has the greatest reserves in order picking? Arrange a non-binding consultation with our specialists and see how LOKiA WMS can speed up picking, reduce errors, and support the growth of shipping without the need to increase the number of warehouse workers.
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