As anyone who's been responsible for costs in a warehouse knows, order picking is often the most expensive warehouse operation.

Loading and unloading naturally has associated costs, and stacking can be expensive - but neither come close to the cost of order picking.

That's why any step you take to make the picking work more efficient will have a considerable effect on costs in general. Basically, the objective in order picking is to create as productive a system as possible.

We can think of productivity as the result of 'value-adding activities' - collecting the right items, minimising mistakes, being on time - versus the resources required for the system to work, such as labour, equipment, operation and administration.

In a highly productive and efficient order picking operation, the amount of resources used are reduced and the value of the picking is maintained or developed.

But how can you improve productivity according to this definition? Picking correctly and quickly while using up as few resources as you can is the simple answer - but that's easier said than done.

One factor which is easier to change is the number of goods you pick per cycle - we've created a breakdown of a few different possibilities, and how they can affect your bottom line.

If you're looking for inspiration for ways to boost productivity click the button below to access our fact sheet.