Wave Picking
Category: Warehousing
Also searched as: Wave Picking
Definition (plain English)
A warehouse picking method that groups orders into planned waves by route, carrier, cutoff, product type, zone, or labor window.
Why it matters commercially
Wave picking affects labor efficiency, cutoff performance, order accuracy, cold-chain exposure, and whether urgent orders ship on time.
Example
A 3PL created an afternoon wave for chilled orders so goods spent less time outside temperature-controlled storage.
Common mistake
Using wave picking without matching waves to carrier cutoffs, batch rules, stock availability, and exception handling.
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