What is pick and pack?

Pick and pack is the outbound warehouse process of collecting the items for each order from their storage bins (picking) and packing them into a shipping carton with the right invoice and label (packing), ready to hand to the courier. The term is also used for the per-order fee a 3PL charges for doing this work.

How pick and pack works in an Indian D2C or omnichannel warehouse

Pick and pack turns an order on a screen into a sealed, labelled parcel. In six steps:

  1. Release. Orders from the website and marketplaces are released to the warehouse, one by one or in batches.
  2. Pick list. The system groups the order lines into pick lists by zone or route.
  3. Pick. The picker goes to each bin, scans the bin and then the item, and collects the quantity. See order picking for methods.
  4. Verify. At the pack bench, each item is scanned against the order, so a wrong item or size is caught before the carton is closed.
  5. Pack, invoice, label. The item is packed in the right carton with protective fill, and the invoice and shipping label (with its AWB) are attached. See packing for station set-up.
  6. Hand over. Parcels are sorted by courier, listed on a manifest and scanned out to the courier’s pickup agent.

“Pick, pack and ship” is the same flow with the last step named: it includes booking the courier and handing over the parcel.

Example: in-house pick and pack vs a 3PL, cost per order. A brand ships 10,000 single-item orders a month. All inputs are illustrative; replace them with your own wage, rent and quotes.

In-house cost line Calculation Per order
Labour 6 minutes per order × ₹1.60 a minute ₹9.60
Packaging Carton, fill, tape ₹18.00
Space and overheads ₹60,000 a month ÷ 10,000 orders ₹6.00
In-house total ₹33.60
3PL cost line (illustrative quote) Calculation Per order
Pick and pack fee Per order, first item ₹22.00
Packaging Billed at cost ₹18.00
Storage ₹40,000 a month ÷ 10,000 orders ₹4.00
3PL total ₹44.00

On these inputs, in-house is ₹10.40 cheaper per order, about ₹1 lakh a month. But the in-house figure assumes steady volume. If orders double for a sale month, a 3PL absorbs the peak, while an in-house team needs extra staff and space. Compare your own numbers at both your average and your peak month.

Common pick and pack errors, and checks that catch them

Error Check
Wrong item or size picked Scan the bin, then the item, at the pick
Wrong quantity Scan every unit at the pack bench, not just the first
Item missing from a multi-item order The pack screen won’t close the order until every line is scanned
Wrong invoice or label on the parcel Print the label after the pack scan, at that bench
Damaged in transit Carton size and fill rules by product type
  • Order accuracy = orders shipped with no error ÷ orders shipped. Example: 9,950 ÷ 10,000 = 99.5%.
  • Cost per order = (labour + packaging + space and overheads) ÷ orders, as in the example.
  • Orders packed per hour = orders packed ÷ hours at pack stations.
  • Order cycle time = handover scan time − order release time.

Pick and pack in the Indian context

  • Marketplace fulfilment options. On Amazon.in, a seller chooses for each product: Fulfillment by Amazon (Amazon stores, packs and delivers), Easy Ship (the seller stores and packs, and Amazon picks up and delivers) or Self-Ship (the seller stores, packs and delivers through its own courier or delivery associates).
  • Several channels at one bench. Brands often pack website orders, marketplace orders and quick-commerce replenishment at the same benches. Labels, invoices and packaging rules differ by channel, so show the channel on the pack screen and print documents at the pack step.
  • Sale peaks. Festive and marketplace sale events push volume far above an average month. Plan staff, packaging stock and pack stations for the peak.
  • Choosing a 3PL. Indian 3PL quotes usually combine a per-order pick and pack fee, a charge per extra item, packaging, storage and inbound handling. Compare quotes on your real order profile, not the headline fee.

How Fretron CommerceOS handles pick and pack

Fretron CommerceOS covers pick and pack. The warehouse team works the floor on a phone, without handheld hardware, and picking is scan-guided: bin, then item. There is no offline mode. The CommerceOS page lists the pack, label and invoice steps as “In launch verification”.

Questions and answers

What is pick and pack?
Pick and pack is the warehouse process that turns an order into a parcel: staff collect the ordered items from their bins (picking), then check them, pack them in a carton and attach the invoice and shipping label (packing). It is also the name of the per-order fee a 3PL charges to do this work for a brand.
What are the steps in the pick and pack process?
There are six: release the order to the warehouse; generate a pick list; pick each item by scanning the bin and then the item; verify the items against the order at the pack bench; pack the carton and attach the invoice and label; and hand the parcel to the courier against a scanned manifest. Errors are cheapest to catch at verification.
How is pick and pack different from pick, pack and ship?
They describe the same flow. "Pick and pack" stops when the parcel is packed and labelled. "Pick, pack and ship" adds the last step: booking the courier, generating the AWB, listing the parcel on a manifest and handing it over. 3PL quotes sometimes use the longer phrase to show that courier booking is included.
Should a D2C brand do pick and pack in-house or use a 3PL?
Compare the cost per order both ways, at your average month and your peak. In-house is often cheaper at steady volume and gives you direct control of quality and packaging. A 3PL turns fixed costs into per-order fees and absorbs sale peaks. In our illustrative example, in-house costs ₹33.60 per order against ₹44.00 at a 3PL.
How are pick and pack charges usually structured in India?
Many 3PL quotes combine a per-order pick and pack fee for the first item, a smaller charge for each extra item, packaging at cost or a fixed rate, storage per pallet, shelf or cubic foot per month, and inbound handling per unit or carton. Some add minimum monthly billing. Ask for a quote on your real order profile to compare fairly.
How do you reduce pick and pack errors?
Scan at every step: the bin and the item at the pick, every unit at the pack bench, and the parcel at hand-over. Don't let the pack screen close an order until every line is scanned, and print the label only after the pack scan. Then review errors weekly by SKU and bin, and fix the cause, such as a mislabelled bin.
How does pick and pack work for Amazon or Flipkart fulfilment?
It depends on the fulfilment model. On Amazon.in, with Fulfillment by Amazon the brand sends stock to Amazon's fulfilment centre and Amazon packs and delivers each order. With Easy Ship, the brand picks and packs in its own warehouse and Amazon picks up and delivers. With Self-Ship, the brand also handles delivery through its own courier.
Which picking method (discrete, batch, zone, wave) suits a D2C warehouse?
It depends on order shape. Discrete picking, one order at a time, suits large or multi-item orders. Batch picking, one SKU for many orders, suits single-item orders of popular SKUs. Zone picking splits the floor between pickers, and wave picking releases orders in timed groups, often by courier cut-off. Order picking compares them in detail.

See CommerceOS on your own data.

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Last reviewed: by Fretron.

Sources

  1. Sell. Pack. Ship.: fulfillment options for Amazon.in sellers (FBA, Easy Ship, Self-Ship). Amazon.in. https://sell.amazon.in/shipping-and-fulfillment (accessed 5 Nov 2026).