Retailers worldwide were projected to lose nearly $850 billion on returns in 2025. This only includes the cost of the items themselves, not the additional costs of resolving customer service issues, losing customer loyalty, and replacing incorrect items. High-volume warehouses rely on warehouse order selectors to prevent mis-picks from becoming costly returns, keeping productivity high and order cycle time low.
| Covered in This Blog: Learn how to adopt better order selection processes, including technology solutions, to streamline the picking process, reduce inventory errors, and meet rising labor demands. |
What are the Causes of Mis-Picks in Modern Fulfillment?
Mis-picks can occur at multiple points along the fulfillment process. Order selectors are responsible for inventory zones, SKUs, quantity and color information, item condition, and more. Long orders in high-volume warehouses can be mis-picked through normal operations, but these factors can cause selectors to make mistakes more frequently:
Inefficient Warehouse Organization
High-volume warehouses rely on seamless fulfillment cycles, which require clear routes for order selectors between inventory and staging areas, clearly labeled locations, and efficient product organization. A breakdown in any of these areas can increase the chance of mis-picks.
Example #1: A long or unclear travel route between staging and inventory areas can make it harder for order selectors to maintain low order cycle times. Long routes also increase the chance of items becoming damaged in-transit, leading to more returns.
Example #2: Similar SKUs that are stored together can raise the chance of mis-picks. Clear labeling and logical organization make an order selector’s job easier.
Inconsistent Fulfillment Process
Consistent fulfillment processes rely on clarity and contingencies. In order fulfillment, “clarity” can refer to clearly marking units of measurement to prevent mis-picked quantities, consistently labeling item locations to shorten order cycle time, and more. Consistent fulfillment also relies on creating versatile contingencies, which can fix mistakes quickly. Especially in high-volume warehouses, mistakes are inevitable, so productivity often relies on the strength of an order selector’s contingencies as much as their accuracy.
Example: Mis-picked or half-picked orders may need to be replaced or substituted to prevent further customer service damage. The process of doing so should be easy to follow for order selectors and customer service representatives, reducing overall cycle time and improving satisfaction. Unclear fulfillment contingencies lead to longer resolutions and less satisfied customers.
Employee Fatigue
Like any employee, warehouse order selectors are subject to fatigue and potential burnout. However, unlike most employees, an order selector’s fatigue can come at the cost of the entire fulfillment process since the role relies so heavily on memory, organization, and attention to detail to fulfill orders accurately.
Next Steps: Set clear standards for the order selection process and provide robust on-site training to prepare selectors for their daily tasks. Create HR safety nets for order selectors to use when they feel fatigued so their condition doesn’t spiral into high-cost mistakes.
Data Comparison Issues
Warehouse order selectors rely on accurate product data to complete their job efficiently. This data includes product images, descriptions, and location information. If any of these factors is low-quality, missing, or inaccurate, order selectors can get confused, pick the wrong items, or take longer routes to complete their orders.
Technology Workflow Errors
Modern warehouses incorporate data, including real-time inventory updates, mobile data collection, and other management tools to facilitate accurate order selection. Any gap in technology deployment can disrupt order accuracy, but it’s up to each operator to learn whether the technology needs to be updated or the order selectors simply require more training in how to use it correctly.
For example, most warehouses now use hand scanners to verify item selection and direct the picking process. Using scanners and inventory management systems accurately can prevent mis-picks while keeping inventory readouts and restock timing accurate. When used correctly, mobile data collected from scanners replaces paper lists and provides real-time verification updates at each point along the order selection process.
Note: Regardless of the selection style the warehouse uses (zone, batch, and discrete picking being the most common), proper use of mobile inventory data streamlines order selection and reduces the chance of errors, protecting profit margins from inventory distortion and customer dissatisfaction.
Rapid-Response Order Selectors Support Productive Warehouses
Every warehouse operator, supervisor, and owner envisions a fulfillment process with near-perfect accuracy, fast throughput, and a minimum number of customer service issues. However, demand for skilled warehouse order selectors continues to rise. In shallow talent pools, many warehouse leaders settle for slower fulfillment processes, higher error rates, and lower customer satisfaction. At NVT Staffing Warehouse Division, our rapid-response team of order selectors supports efficient warehouse operations when local labor cannot keep pace with the business’s needs. We provide certified workers skilled in using modern warehouse technologies and fulfilling orders even in high-volume operations.
Contact our team today to learn how our rapid-response personnel can improve the accuracy and throughput of your warehouse. Our order selectors can be ready within 72 hours of contact and require no long-term contracts, which means you can support your operations in periods of high demand without paying for idle labor costs during your off-season, reducing mis-picks and improving productivity year-round.