How to Streamline Your Warehouse Operations:Putaway and Picking

Putaway and picking are the two most critical movements in any warehouse - one gets inventory to its storage location, the other retrieves it for customer orders. Together, they determine how fast, accurately, and cost-efficiently your warehouse runs. According to a McKinsey report, warehouse picking alone accounts for up to 55% of total operating costs in a distribution center. Yet most warehouses still treat putaway and picking as separate problems - and that disconnect is costing them time and money every day.

This guide walks you through how putaway and picking work, the strategies behind each, and - critically - how the quality of your putaway directly shapes the speed of your picking. You will also see how modern inventory management software like Cryotos connects both into a single, efficient workflow.

What Are Putaway and Picking in a Warehouse?

Putaway and picking are the inbound and outbound movements of inventory within a warehouse. Putaway moves received goods from the dock to a designated storage location. Picking retrieves those stored goods to fulfill a customer order. Together, they form the complete inventory cycle - what goes in must come out efficiently.

Most warehouse inefficiencies trace back to one of these two processes. A poor putaway decision made at 9am can still be slowing down a picker at 4pm. That is why the best warehouse operations design putaway with picking in mind from the start.

Putaway Defined

Putaway is the process of moving received inventory from the unloading dock to its designated storage bin, rack, or shelf. It sounds simple, but in a high-SKU ecommerce warehouse handling thousands of products daily, a single misplaced item can cascade into delayed orders, incorrect shipments, and unhappy customers. Effective putaway uses predefined rules - based on product size, demand frequency, weight, and expiry - to assign each item to the best possible location.

Picking Defined

Picking is the process of retrieving specific items from their storage locations to fulfill a customer order. It is the most labor-intensive step in order fulfillment. A warehouse that picks 500 orders a day with a 2% error rate is shipping 10 wrong orders daily - each one a potential return, refund, or lost customer. Picking efficiency depends heavily on how well inventory was stored during putaway.

How the Two Processes Connect

Think of putaway as setting up the chessboard and picking as playing the game. The better the setup, the faster and smarter every move becomes. When fast-moving SKUs are stored near dispatch zones, pickers travel less. When barcodes are scanned and logged during putaway, pickers always know exactly where to go. The two processes are not independent steps - they are two halves of the same system.

The Putaway Process: Step by Step

A reliable putaway process follows a consistent sequence regardless of warehouse size

• Receiving and Inspection — Incoming shipments are unloaded, counted, and checked against purchase orders. Items are flagged for damage or quantity discrepancies before entering the system.
• Labeling and Identification — Each item or pallet is labeled with a barcode, RFID tag, or QR code. This is the single most important step for inventory accuracy downstream.
• Storage Location Assignment — A warehouse management system (WMS) or manual process assigns each item to an optimized storage bin based on product type, demand, and warehouse layout.
• Transport and Placement — Items are moved to their assigned locations via forklifts, conveyors, or manual carrying, then placed in the designated bin.
• System Update — The WMS is updated to confirm the item's exact location, making it immediately available for picking.

Types of Putaway Strategies

The right putaway strategy depends on your inventory profile and warehouse layout. Here are the four main approaches

• Direct Putaway — Items go straight from receiving to their final picking location. Fast and simple, but best suited for smaller warehouses with fewer SKUs. It offers little flexibility when volumes increase.
• Fixed Putaway — Each SKU has a permanent, dedicated storage location. Staff and pickers learn the layout quickly, which speeds up both processes. Works well for stable, predictable product ranges.
• Dynamic Putaway — Locations are assigned based on real-time availability and demand data. A WMS tracks how fast each SKU moves and adjusts storage placement over time. Best for high-volume ecommerce operations with shifting demand.
• Hybrid Putaway — High-demand items get fixed locations; slower-moving products fill available space dynamically. This is the most practical approach for most mid-to-large ecommerce warehouses managing a wide mix of SKUs

The Picking Process: Methods and When to Use Each

Picking methods determine how your team processes orders. Choosing the wrong method for your order volume and warehouse layout can waste hours of labor every day. Here is a breakdown of the four most widely used picking methods:

• Discrete Picking — One picker handles one order at a time from start to finish. It is the most straightforward method and has the lowest error rate, but it is also the least efficient in high-volume operations because pickers travel the full warehouse for every order.
• Batch Picking — One picker collects items for multiple orders in a single trip through the warehouse. Travel time drops significantly. According to Oracle NetSuite, batch picking can reduce travel time by up to 30% compared to discrete picking. Best for operations processing a high volume of small orders.
• Zone Picking — The warehouse is divided into zones, and each picker is assigned to a specific zone. Orders pass from zone to zone as pickers add their items. Reduces congestion in large warehouses and lets pickers develop deep familiarity with their zone. Best for large facilities with clearly defined product areas.
• Wave Picking — Orders are released in planned "waves" based on shipping deadlines, carrier cutoffs, or order priority. Pickers across all zones work simultaneously on the same wave. This is the most sophisticated method and works best with WMS support to coordinate timing and workload distribution.

How Putaway Directly Impacts Picking Efficiency

This is the connection that most warehouse guides miss: every shortcut taken during putaway creates extra work during picking. And because picking happens far more often than receiving, a single bad putaway decision compounds across hundreds of orders.

Here is how the link plays out in practice

• Location accuracy — If an item is placed in the wrong bin during putaway and the WMS is not updated, pickers will travel to an empty location. Every picker who walks to an empty shelf loses 2–5 minutes per incident. At scale, this adds up to significant daily labor waste.
• Slotting strategy — Items stored far from dispatch because of poor putaway decisions force pickers to travel longer routes. Warehouses using velocity-based slotting — placing fast-moving SKUs closest to shipping — report pick path reductions of 20–40%, according to industry benchmarks from the Warehousing Education and Research Council.
• Congestion — When heavy, bulky items are stored in high-traffic pick aisles, pickers slow down or get blocked. Smart putaway keeps bulky items in dedicated, lower-traffic zones while positioning high-velocity SKUs in wide, accessible aisles.
• Scan compliance — Putaway teams that skip scanning create inventory "ghost locations" — items that show as available in the WMS but are physically in the wrong place. This is one of the leading causes of picking errors and order inaccuracies.

The takeaway is straightforward: investing time and process discipline in putaway pays back multiple times over in picking speed and accuracy.

Best Practices to Streamline Both Putaway and Picking

Improving putaway and picking does not always require a full technology overhaul. These four practices deliver measurable results in most warehouse environments:

Slot Fast-Moving SKUs Close to Dispatch

Use your order history data to identify your top 20% of SKUs by order frequency. Store these items in the pick zones closest to your packing and shipping areas. Review your slotting every quarter - demand patterns shift, especially in ecommerce, and your storage layout should shift with them.

Enforce Scan Compliance at Every Step

Every putaway move should include a scan - at receiving, at the storage location, and as confirmation in the WMS. Skipping a single scan creates a data error that could send a picker on a wasted trip hours or days later. Barcode and RFID scanning during putaway is the cheapest insurance policy against picking errors. The Gartner Supply Chain research consistently shows that scan-based putaway reduces inventory discrepancies by 30-50% compared to manual putaway processes.

Use WMS-Directed Putaway

A warehouse management system that directs putaway removes the guesswork from storage decisions. Instead of leaving location assignments to individual judgment (which varies by staff member and shift), the WMS applies consistent rules every time - by product size, weight, demand velocity, and available space. The same system then generates optimized pick paths, so putaway and picking decisions are made from the same data set.

Audit and Re-Slot Regularly

Run a slotting audit at least quarterly. Pull your order data, identify your top movers, and confirm they are stored in your fastest-access zones. At the same time, identify slow-moving SKUs occupying prime space and move them to secondary storage. A Reliable Plant study found that regular slotting audits reduce average pick travel time by up to 25% in distribution environments.

How Cryotos Helps Optimize Putaway and Picking

Cryotos is a CMMS platform with a built-in inventory and warehouse management module that connects putaway and picking into a single, trackable workflow. Here is what that looks like in practice

• Real-time stock visibility — Cryotos tracks inventory location in real time using QR codes, barcodes, and NFC tags. Putaway teams scan items as they arrive; pickers always see an accurate, live location — no ghost locations, no empty-shelf surprises.
• Warehouse structure mapping — Define your warehouse down to aisles, racks, shelves, and bins inside Cryotos. This structure drives accurate putaway location assignments and gives pickers a clear, logical pick path through the facility.
• Critical stock notifications — Cryotos alerts your team when stock in a bin drops below a set threshold, so replenishment putaway happens before a picker reaches an empty location during fulfillment.
• Mobile-first operations — Both putaway and picking workflows run on the Cryotos mobile app with offline mode, so teams on the floor can scan, confirm, and update without being tethered to a desktop terminal.
• Integration with maintenance workflows — Because Cryotos is built on a CMMS foundation, warehouse equipment — forklifts, conveyors, scanners — can be tracked and maintained within the same platform. Equipment downtime does not have to disrupt putaway or picking operation

Whether you are managing a single ecommerce fulfillment center or multiple warehouse locations, Cryotos gives you the inventory accuracy and workflow visibility to make both putaway and picking run faster and with fewer errors. Explore Cryotos CMMS or request a demo to see how it fits your warehouse operations.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between putaway and picking?

Putaway moves received inventory from the receiving dock to a designated storage location inside the warehouse. Picking is the reverse - retrieving stored items from those locations to fulfill a customer order. Putaway is an inbound process; picking is an outbound one. The accuracy of putaway directly determines the speed and accuracy of picking.

Which picking method is best for ecommerce?

For most ecommerce operations processing high volumes of small, multi-item orders, batch picking offers the best balance of efficiency and accuracy. It reduces picker travel time significantly without requiring the complex zone coordination of wave picking. As your operation grows, combining batch picking with zone assignments gives you further efficiency gains.

How does a WMS improve putaway accuracy?

A warehouse management system improves putaway accuracy by directing workers to specific, pre-optimized storage locations rather than relying on individual judgment. It enforces scan confirmation at each step, updates inventory records in real time, and flags discrepancies immediately. This eliminates misplacements and ensures every picker who follows has accurate location data to work from.

Can CMMS software help with warehouse inventory management?

Yes - a CMMS like Cryotos that includes an inventory management module can manage putaway and picking workflows alongside equipment maintenance. This is particularly valuable in warehouses where forklift or conveyor downtime directly affects the speed of both processes. Having a single platform for inventory tracking and asset maintenance reduces operational blind spots and gives managers a complete picture of warehouse performance.