If your fulfillment strategy relies on traditional “𝗣𝗶𝗰𝗸-𝘁𝗼-𝗢𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿” processing—where a worker takes one order slip, walks the aisles to find the items, packs it, and repeats the loop for the next order—you aren’t just running a warehouse. You are accidentally paying your staff to train for a marathon.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺: The Inefficiency of the Single Trip
Imagine an electronics fulfillment center on a busy Monday morning. Ten different customers place orders for smartphone accessories:
Orders 1–5: Each wants 1 Matte Black Phone Case.
Orders 6–8: Each wants 1 Braided USB-C Cable.
Orders 9–10: Each wants both the Case and the Cable.
Under a standard picking system, a worker makes 7 separate trips to the phone case aisle and 5 separate trips to the cable aisle. In a high-volume e-commerce or distribution hub, travel time is the single largest waste of warehouse labour.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗢𝗱𝗼𝗼 𝗦𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: 𝗕𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝗣𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴
Instead of focusing on the order, Odoo focuses on the location. The system aggregates those 10 independent orders into a single, optimized digital picking route.
Here is how that exact same Monday morning looks with Batch Picking:
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: The picker’s handheld scanner says: “Go to Aisle 2, Shelf B, and pick 7 Matte Black Phone Cases.”
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝗶𝗽: The picker walks to Aisle 2 exactly once. They pull all 7 cases and sort them directly into 10 separate, color-coded bins on their picking cart.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗽:The scanner directs them to the cable aisle to grab all 5 USB-C cables in one go.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁: The picker returns to the packing station having fulfilled all 10 orders in a single lap of the warehouse.
𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗢𝗱𝗼𝗼 𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀
Odoo doesn’t just clump random orders together; it uses logic to maximize the efficiency of the batch by:
𝗪𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗣𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗟𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰: Grouping batches not just by product, but by specific warehouse zones so pickers never cross into areas they don’t need to visit.
𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗼𝗱𝗲 𝗦𝗮𝗳𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀: Forcing the worker to scan the item, and then scan the specific cart basket barcode. This completely eliminates the human error of putting Order A’s item into Order B’s bin.
𝗩𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘀: Ensuring the system never creates a batch that physically exceeds the size or weight capacity of the picker’s trolley.
By reducing warehouse travel time by up to 60% to 70%, batch picking allows businesses to smash fulfillment bottlenecks and keep customers happy with lightning-fast shipping.
Let’s build smarter systems.
At Digital Order Technology Private Limited we help organizations scale with similar business solutions.