Operations & logistics

Reserve and pick the right stock

A confirmed sales order creates fulfillment work. Allocation tries to reserve the whole order from one warehouse when possible; split allocations stay visible when consolidation is needed.

• Review the source bin and staging destination for each product.
• Choose a picking location when stock needs to be consolidated.
• Confirm only the allocations physically collected, including partial quantities.
• Fulfillment consumes the matching reservations; cancellation releases the remaining reserved stock.

Available picking methods

Choose how staff collect an order and which stock is reserved first. These are separate settings. For batch, cluster, case and pallet workflows, we agree the required implementation, setup and rollout before activation.

• Order picking: One employee collects the products for one order from their storage locations. For example, collect two shirts and one bag, then finish collecting and continue to packing if required. Suitable for smaller warehouses and orders with varied products.
• Zonal picking: One employee collects one order zone by zone, following the configured route, for example Clothing → Bags → Accessories. Useful when products are stored in distinct warehouse areas. Each active sellable storage location needs a zone, and every zone must be included in the route. The same order cannot be split between several pickers.
• Batch picking: Batch picking combines several orders into one collection task, then sorts the products by order. For example, collect ten identical shirts for ten orders in one trip. Useful when many orders contain the same products.
• Cluster picking: Cluster picking collects several orders in one trip, placing each order directly into its own labelled tote or cart compartment. Useful for small orders that can travel together without mixing their products.
• Case and pallet picking: Case and pallet picking collects full cases or pallets instead of individual items. Useful for wholesale orders and bulk movements, with suitable handling equipment and defined quantities per case or pallet.

Stock rotation: which batch is reserved first

Use product setting follows each product’s stock rotation setting. FIFO and FEFO can be used with order and zonal picking. New allocations use the selected rotation; existing allocations keep their batches.

• FIFO: FIFO reserves the oldest received stock first. For example, stock received on Monday is used before stock received on Friday. Useful for keeping older stock moving.
• FEFO: FEFO reserves stock with the earliest expiry date first, even if it arrived later. Useful for food, cosmetics and other products with an expiry date. Batches without an expiry date are excluded.

Location revisions and stock counts

Check the stock physically present at a warehouse location against the recorded quantities. Review shortages and surpluses before confirming corrections, and keep a record of each completed location audit.

• Scan the location barcode, select the stock owner, then scan products or enter the quantities counted. Stock belonging to different companies stays separate.
• Compare expected, reserved and counted quantities. For example, if the system shows 10 items but you count 8, review a shortage of 2. Products left uncounted are treated as zero, so check every line before confirming.
• Corrections are applied only after confirmation. Counts below reserved quantities or stock changes during counting require review before the audit can complete. For batch-tracked products, correct the individual batches first.
• Open the location audit history and print a document showing the recorded quantities, counted quantities and differences.
• Investigate differences using suggested locations: recent opposite differences and other locations holding the same product for the same stock owner. Suggestions help staff check misplaced stock; they do not automatically move goods or correct another location.