With order-oriented, serial picking, order items are successively processed according to orders. Either an order picker passes through all warehouse zones or an order is transferred from an order picker of a certain zone to the next order picker and his zone until the order has been completed. By processing an order with a single order picker, sources of error can easily be found. Only when the order picker has completed one order does he take the next one. If an order picker works on an order per warehouse zone, this represents order-oriented, serial order picking with transfer points. If, for example, there are three different storage zones for an order, the processing of an order is carried out by three order pickers. The picked parts are transferred from one zone to the next. Order-oriented, serial picking is a form of one-step picking.

Advantages and disadvantages of order-oriented, serial order picking

The advantage of order-oriented, serial picking is that order pickers move in smaller picking zones, which shortens distances and order processing times. Transfer points are relatively easy to organize and since the order is not split but passed on, no consolidation is required. The disadvantage is that in the course of order picking, the orders have to be temporarily stored in different storage zones at the transfer points. There is also the danger that the pickers in the different storage zones will be supplied with work unevenly.

For more information about single-stage order picking go see the article Single-stage order picking – order-oriented, parallel picking.

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