Using the Pick, Pack and Production Manager in SAP Business One, you can create pick lists for shipping orders, production orders and inventory transfer requests. You also have the ability to specify criteria for the pick lists such as sales order number or warehouse. When you release multiple orders for picking, the orders will appear on the same pick list. In other words, the orders will be picked as a single batch. Batch picking improves the efficiency of picking because it requires less distance to travel by the picker than picking the orders on separate trips. However, this is not necessarily optimal. It depends on which orders are being batched together. For example, suppose you have 4 orders with the following items:
For a batch size of 2 orders, it would make sense to group order 1 and 2 together, and 3 and 4 together in a batch. It is not optimal to group order 1 and 3 together, and 2 and 4 together because that would require longer foot distance to pick the items. Our advanced Batch Pick tool automates batching for you so that it minimizes the total foot distance. When batches are optimized, the picking time is significantly reduced compared to unoptimized batches. Furthermore, our tool provides navigational map to direct the picker on where to go next and the shortest path to follow. By being able to plan and estimate the time required for pick tasks in advance, you can allocate labor resources more efficiently.
The online Batch Pick tool works with SAP B1 directly so no additional software installation is required. You are welcome to create a free 30 day trial account to try it out and see what it can do to accelerate your warehouse operation.