Direct Pack is an alternative fulfillment method in ShipHero that lets you pick and pack an order simultaneously from inventory locations right at your packing station. It's designed for fast, accurate, and efficient order processing. Your use case will determine the best approach in setting up your Direct Pack Station.
In this article we will cover different use cases, how to set up your Direct Pack station for each and the process to follow when completing customers' orders.
Basic DirectPack Station Setup
Advanced DirectPack Station Setup (Using Forced Location Allocation)
Common Use Cases:
| Use Case | Who it's for | Key Benefit |
|---|---|---|
|
Alternative to Multi-Item Batch (MIB) Picking for Small Warehouses |
Smaller warehouses with a limited number of SKUs and a single pickable location for each. | Streamlines picking/packing when MIB is too complex. |
| Alternative to MIB for Similar Orders | Handling orders with similar items which makes users return to the same locations while picking MIB batches. | Saves Steps and prevents the need to return to the same locations in MIB picking. |
| Alternative to Bulk Ship for Core Products | Larger warehouses with a core group of SKUs frequently sold together. | Provides efficiency when there aren't enough identical orders to make Bulk Ship efficient. |
DirectPack Requirements
The hardware and software requirements for setting up the Basic and Advanced DirectPack station are the same. We highly recommend using a scanner wherever possible to reduce error and speed up processing times.
Below are the Required and Recommended items when setting up your DirectPack Station.
- Packing App: Latest version installed at the packing station. (Download the latest version HERE)
- General hardware: Barcode scanner, printers, scales, etc. (More information on Recommended Hardware for your packing station.)
- Barcoded products: (Required when using a scanner at your pack stations.)
- Recommended: Command barcodes or an Adaptive Packing station.
Basic DirectPack Station Setup
The Basic DirectPack setup is the simplest setup for customers that want to work one order at a time, have a smaller warehouse footprint, with each product (SKU) assigned to a single pickable location located at/around the packing station.
Step 1: Define and Stock Locations
Action: Create your warehouse locations and assign inventory.
Key Rules for Basic Setup:
- Mark only the location(s) at the packing station as "pickable."
- Mark all inventory locations outside the packing station as "non-pickable."
Critical Inventory Warning (Basic Setup)
If the same SKU is present in multiple pickable locations, the system will randomly select one of those locations to deduct inventory from. This will lead to inventory discrepancies across the locations in your warehouse.
Additional Resources:
Step 2: Configure Packing Station
Ensure you have all of the required hardware and supplies set up at your packing station. As a best practice, we recommend using Command Barcodes with a scanner or gamifying the packing experience with an Adaptive Packing set up.
| Command Barcode | Function | Notes |
| Get Next Order | Requests the next order that can be shipped to open automatically. | Essential for continuous processing. |
| Print Invoice and Labels / Print Labels | Triggers the printing of shipping documents. | Use the command appropriate for your operation. |
| Okay/Confirm and Cancel | Acts as a mouse click for on-screen prompts (e.g., packing notes). | Reduces reliance on the mouse. |
| Get Weight | Triggers the scale to get the package weight and enter it into the weight field. | Requires an integrated scale. |
| Send to Hospital | Designates an order for further review or correction. | Links to the Hospital flow. |
| Take ParceView Snapshot | Captures a picture of the package contents. | Requires ParcelView setup. |
| Print Box Barcodes | Prints barcodes to label your packaging material slots. | Recommended Optimization. |
| Add New Package | Allows a packer to move to a second box for multi-package shipments. | Used for multi-package orders (see Note). |
Optional Optimizations:
At ShipHero we believe the less clicks the better! Here are some ways to optimize your operations even further.
- Order tags and/or statuses can be used to filter which orders are processed at the Direct Pack station. If using custom statuses and tags, they must be assigned to the user processing the orders.
- Use Automation Rules to streamline repetitive tasks and reduce errors at the packing station. We recommend the following:
- Set Box to Use
- Set Shipping Method
- AutoPrint Shipping Label
Advanced DirectPack Station Overview (Using Forced Location Allocation)
Important Note
Direct Pack must be enabled by our ShipHero's support team before starting this setup process. This setup is also required when utilizing ShipHero's Pack2Light solution.
The advanced configuration allows users to assign a group of Direct Pack locations to each packing station. This ensures that only orders with all of the items available in the specified Direct Pack locations pull up in the order queue.
Other key benefits of using the Advanced DirectPack setup include:
- Ability to have multiple Direct Pack stations with the same products.
- Multiple Pickable locations: Assign inventory to DirectPack stations and throughout the picking areas of your warehouse to allow less common product combinations to be processed in the MIB flows.
- Easier to process lot controlled items for customers that do not have strict FEFO/FIFO requirements.
Advanced DirectPack Setup
The process of setting up an Advanced DirectPack station is almost identical to the Basic DirectPack station setup; with the main difference being how you create the locations and assign them to the Packing App before processing orders.
Please reference the section above for a list of required hardware and software.