Picking Linnworks orders in Pickscan

Choosing a picking method

Pickscan offers three ways to pick Linnworks orders: Order Collection Picking (one order at a time), Batch Picking and Pick Note Scanning. You can use them side by side and switch between them as your operation requires.

Order Collection Picking

Order Collection Picking is the default picking mode in Pickscan. Pickers work on one order at a time from start to finish.

Pickers choose an order from the open orders list on the mobile app. While a picker has an order open, it shows as locked on other devices, with the picker's name, so two people do not pick the same order. The picker scans every item on the order and Pickscan confirms each one against the order lines.

When the order is complete, Pickscan records it as picked. The order is marked as processed in Linnworks when its label is printed, if Mark as Processed on Print is turned on in Pickscan settings; otherwise you process it in Linnworks as usual.

This picking style is suited to:

• Smaller warehouses
• Operations prioritising simplicity and ease of training
• Scenarios where items need to be sorted by order with no additional packing stage

Because each order is completed before starting the next, there is no need to sort items later. Everything is already organised by order.

Batch Picking

Batch Picking groups multiple orders together into pick batches, so pickers can collect the items for several orders in a single pass through the warehouse.

Batches come from one of two sources, chosen in Pickscan settings: Pickscan can generate them from your open orders, grouped by postage service or by courier (see Pickscan batch pick algorithms), or Pickscan can mirror the pick waves you create in Linnworks. Pickscan batches are generated on a schedule or when you click Regenerate on the Picking page.

When a picker starts a batch, the batch is locked so no other picker can take it. The picker scans a tote to carry the batch in (Linnworks pick waves bring their own totes), then works through the warehouse scanning every item for every order in the batch.

Items are not sorted by order at this stage. Sorting happens at the packing station, where each order is packed separately using the pack location assigned to it. Once every item in a batch has been scanned, the batch is marked as complete and is ready to pack.

This picking style is suited to:

• Warehouses with large order volumes
• Operations with dedicated packing stations
• Scenarios where you need to minimise walking time

The trade-off is that Batch Picking needs a packing stage to sort items by order, but the reduction in walking time makes it efficient for high-volume operations. See Batch picking in Pickscan.

Pick Note Scanning

Pick Note Scanning suits operations that print pick notes as part of their existing workflow but want digital scanning and validation.

Pickers receive printed pick notes as usual. Instead of ticking items off on paper, they scan the order number barcode on the pick note with the Pickscan mobile app. The order opens on the device and the picker scans each item, with the same checks and feedback as Order Collection Picking. No extra setup is needed: any barcode that contains a Linnworks order number opens that order.

This picking style is suited to:

• Warehouses with an established routine of printing pick notes
• Operations transitioning from paper-based to digital picking
• Teams that want to keep printed pick notes as a backup reference