From Paper Pick Lists to Digital Picking: A Practical Guide

Is your warehouse still working with paper pick lists?

In many warehouses, the paper pick list is still the standard. Orders are printed, employees walk through the warehouse with a stack of paper, and check off products with a pen. It is a proven method, but as order volume grows, its limitations become noticeable.

The limitations of paper

Paper pick lists have a number of inherent drawbacks:

• No verification while picking: Paper cannot verify whether the employee picked the right product. Errors are only discovered by the customer — or not at all.
• Delayed information: An order's status is only known once the employee returns the list. Until then, you are in the dark.
• No data for improvement: Paper lists generate no data. You don't know how long an order takes, where delays occur, or which products cause the most errors.
• Prone to errors: Handwritten notes, crossed-out lines, and hard-to-read printouts increase the risk of mistakes.
• Costs: Paper, ink, printers, and managing printed lists cost time and money.

What changes with digital picking?

With digital picking, a phone or tablet replaces the paper list. The employee sees on screen which products need to be picked, including location information. In systems with scanning functionality, each product is verified by scanning its barcode.

The most important changes:

• Immediate verification: The system checks with every scan whether the correct product was picked.
• Real-time order status: The dashboard shows at a glance which orders are in progress and how far along they are.
• Automatic tracking: Turnaround times, error rates, and employee performance are recorded automatically.
• Digital queue: Employees no longer need to walk to the office for a new list. The next order is ready on their phone.

Making the switch: how do you approach it?

The transition from paper to digital doesn't have to be disruptive. A step-by-step approach works best:

Step 1: Start with a pilot

Begin with a small team or a portion of your orders. This lets you test the system without changing your entire operation.

Step 2: Use existing resources

You don't need to purchase expensive hardware. Browser-based order picking software works on any phone with a camera. Employees can use their own phone, or you can buy a few inexpensive Android phones.

Step 3: Enter your products and locations

Most systems offer the option to import product data via CSV. If you already have an inventory system or online store, you can often reuse this data directly.

Step 4: Evaluate and scale up

After the pilot, you can expand the system to more employees and your full order volume. Use the collected data to further optimize your processes.

Frequently asked questions about switching

Will my employees be able to handle it?
Digital picking on a phone is intuitive for most people. The interface is similar to the apps they use every day.

What if I don't want to scan every product?
That's possible. Many systems support both scanning and manual check-off. You can tailor the workflow to your situation.

How long does implementation take?
With simple systems, you can be operational within a day. Entering product data takes the most time, but CSV import speeds up this process considerably.

Further reading

• Paperless picking with OrderPiQR
• Warehouse digitization — Start with the picking process
• Digitizing your warehouse: where do you start?