# Warehouse Picking and Packing: Ship Faster With Fewer Errors

URL: https://ecomchannels.com/insights/warehouse-picking-packing-efficiency/
Category: Operations & overhead
Updated: 2026-10-30

> Picking is the costliest warehouse task and walking eats over half of it. Practical ways small online retailers can speed up picking, packing and cut errors.

Order picking is the most labour-intensive step in an online retailer's warehouse, typically accounting for more than half of warehouse operating costs, and walking between locations takes up about 55% of a picker's time. The fastest gains for small and mid-sized sellers come from cutting travel, picking in batches, scanning to confirm each item, and generating labels automatically from order data, not from expensive robotics.

## Why picking and packing deserve attention

Every order picked and packed affects cost, speed and accuracy at once. Oracle NetSuite's guide to order picking describes it as [the most labour-intensive and expensive warehouse activity](https://www.netsuite.com/portal/resource/articles/ecommerce/warehouse-order-picking-tips.shtml), typically more than half of warehouse operating costs. Citing Georgia Tech Supply Chain and Logistics Institute research, the same guide breaks a picker's time down as travel (55%), paperwork and other activities (20%), searching (15%) and extracting the item (10%).

That breakdown tells you where to look. Most of the cost is not in the act of taking an item off a shelf. It is in walking, looking and paperwork, all of which a better layout and better system can reduce.

Speed matters to customers too. Australia Post's [eCommerce Report 2026](https://auspost.com.au/content/dam/auspost_corp/media/documents/ecommerce-reports/annual-ecommerce-reports/ecommerce-report-2026.pdf) found three in four shoppers say a good delivery experience makes them shop online more, and Australia Post [reports that 73% of shoppers](https://auspost.com.au/business/grow-your-business/business-ideas-blog/delivery-experience-repeat-sales) say a great delivery experience makes them more likely to buy again. Dispatch speed is the part of delivery a retailer controls directly.

## Benchmarks worth knowing

Descartes' [2025 Warehouse Performance Benchmark Report](https://www.descartes.com/sites/default/files/media/documents/2025-11/The-2025-Warehouse-Performance-Benchmark-Report-Final.pdf), based on data from users of its warehouse system, gives useful reference points:

- **Labour productivity:** an average of 23.50 orders picked per hour per person, with wide variation by sector.
- **Mean time to ship:** an average of 34.96 hours from pick start to label creation, with the best performer at 1.56 hours.
- **Mis-ships:** the report argues a 0% mis-ship rate is achievable with the right systems and checks.

These are figures from one vendor's customers, not the whole market, but they are a fair starting point for setting your own targets. Marketplaces set the floor: Amazon's [Order Performance policy](https://sellercentral.amazon.com.au/help/hub/reference/external/GGJVNFDXQT8C3RA8) requires seller-fulfilled orders to be confirmed as shipped on time, with a late shipment rate under 4%.

## Reduce travel first

Because travel is the largest share of picking time, layout changes often deliver the quickest results:

- **Slot by velocity.** Put the fastest-moving 20% of SKUs closest to the packing bench. Review slotting at least twice a year and before peak.
- **Group items that sell together.** If two products are often bought together, store them near each other.
- **Use clear location codes.** Aisle, bay, shelf and bin labels let any staff member find stock without "tribal knowledge", a problem the Descartes report singles out.
- **Batch pick.** Pick several orders in one walk, then sort at the bench. Single-item orders are especially suited to batching.
- **Sort pick lists by location**, so pickers walk one efficient path rather than back and forth.

## Remove paperwork and checking by eye

Descartes notes many e-commerce businesses still rely on paper-based processes, which slow workflows and make errors more likely. Replacing paper with scanning has two effects: it removes the "paperwork" share of picking time, and it confirms each item against the order before it is packed.

- **Scan to pick.** A handheld scanner or phone confirms the SKU and quantity.
- **Scan to pack.** A second scan at the bench catches anything the first missed.
- **Print labels from order data.** Addresses and service levels come straight from the order, so nothing is retyped.
- **Flag priority orders automatically**, such as express shipping or orders close to their marketplace dispatch deadline.

## Organise the packing bench

A well-set bench cuts seconds from every order:

- Keep the most-used carton and satchel sizes within arm's reach.
- Standardise packaging per product so packers do not decide each time.
- Print the label and any packing slip at the same station, in the same step.
- Close out the day with an automatic manifest rather than a manual handover.

## Measure what you change

Track three numbers weekly: orders picked per person-hour, time from order received to label printed, and mis-ships per hundred orders. If productivity rises but errors rise too, the Descartes report suggests a workflow or target problem rather than a people problem. For more on error prevention, see [how to reduce order errors and mis-ships](https://ecomchannels.com/insights/reduce-order-errors-wrong-item-mis-ship/); for handling volume spikes, see [scaling peak season without hiring](https://ecomchannels.com/insights/scale-peak-season-without-hiring/).

## Key figures

- Order picking typically accounts for more than half of warehouse operating costs ([Oracle NetSuite, 2020](https://www.netsuite.com/portal/resource/articles/ecommerce/warehouse-order-picking-tips.shtml)).
- Travel takes 55% of a picker's time, followed by paperwork (20%), searching (15%) and extracting (10%) ([Oracle NetSuite citing Georgia Tech, 2020](https://www.netsuite.com/portal/resource/articles/ecommerce/warehouse-order-picking-tips.shtml)).
- Average mean time to ship among Descartes Peoplevox users was 34.96 hours; the best was 1.56 hours ([Descartes, 2025](https://www.descartes.com/sites/default/files/media/documents/2025-11/The-2025-Warehouse-Performance-Benchmark-Report-Final.pdf)).
- 73% of shoppers say a great delivery experience makes them more likely to buy again ([Australia Post, 2026](https://auspost.com.au/business/grow-your-business/business-ideas-blog/delivery-experience-repeat-sales)).

## How eComChannels helps

eComChannels [Order management](https://ecomchannels.com/products/order-management/) puts orders from every channel into one queue, so pick lists can be batched across Amazon, eBay, Kogan, BIG W Market, your Shopify or WooCommerce store and other channels in one walk rather than channel by channel. Orders are flagged by dispatch deadline, so the ones at risk of breaching a marketplace's late shipment threshold are picked first.

At the bench, [AI auto shipping](https://ecomchannels.com/products/ai-shipping/) selects the carrier and service for Australia Post, StarTrack, CouriersPlease or Allied Express, prints the label from the order data, builds the manifest and sends tracking back to each marketplace automatically. That removes the paperwork and retyping that slow packers down and cause errors, and shortens the time from order to dispatch. To see the workflow with your own orders, [book a demo or start a 30-day free trial](https://ecomchannels.com/book-a-demo/).

## FAQ

### Do small retailers need warehouse robotics?

Usually not. Descartes notes automation is not one-size-fits-all and may not suit businesses with many SKUs and lower volumes. Layout, batching, scanning and automated labels deliver most of the gains for small and mid-sized sellers.

### What is batch picking?

Batch picking means collecting items for several orders in one trip, then sorting them into individual orders at the packing bench. It reduces walking, which is the largest share of picking time.

### How do I measure picking productivity?

Divide orders (or lines) picked by person-hours spent picking over the same period. Track it alongside mis-ships, so speed gains do not come at the cost of accuracy.

## Sources
- 55 Expert Warehouse Order Picking Tips and Best Practices, Oracle NetSuite (2020): https://www.netsuite.com/portal/resource/articles/ecommerce/warehouse-order-picking-tips.shtml
- 2025 Descartes Warehouse Performance Benchmark Report, Descartes Systems Group (2025): https://www.descartes.com/sites/default/files/media/documents/2025-11/The-2025-Warehouse-Performance-Benchmark-Report-Final.pdf
- Australia Post eCommerce Report 2026, Australia Post (2026): https://auspost.com.au/content/dam/auspost_corp/media/documents/ecommerce-reports/annual-ecommerce-reports/ecommerce-report-2026.pdf
- How delivery experience drives repeat sales, Australia Post (2026): https://auspost.com.au/business/grow-your-business/business-ideas-blog/delivery-experience-repeat-sales
- Order Performance program policy (Australia), Amazon Seller Central (2026): https://sellercentral.amazon.com.au/help/hub/reference/external/GGJVNFDXQT8C3RA8