Commonly Used Terms

Zone Picking is a term associated with order picking of the assembly line in warehouse management. It refers to an order picking mechanism where a warehouse facility is segregated and broken up into different individual pick zones. The warehouse order picking staff are assigned to specific zones and are to pick the stock from their assigned zone only. Aisles of bins are divided so that individual pickers work in their specified number of aisles; it is sized to accommodate picks for one or two pickers.

Orders are completed by moving them from one zone to another till fulfilled. This system is also known as pick-and-pass.In Zone Picking, it's important to balance the number of picks from zone to zone to maintain a consistent flow. In achieving this high productivity creating fast pick areas close to the conveyor is essential.

This method is most effective in large operations with high total numbers of SKUs, high total numbers of orders, and low to moderate picks per order.