The picking plan is the configuration step that prepares a wholesale order for your warehouse team to pick. From the ShipHero desktop, you assign the inventory locations to pick from, choose how the order will be picked (mobile or manual), and optionally assign specific pickers to each location. Setting the order to Ready to Pick makes it available to your team on the ShipHero mobile app.
Before You Begin
- The wholesale order must exist in ShipHero and a staging location must already be assigned before creating a picking plan. See How to Assign a Staging Location to a Wholesale Order for instructions.
- Open the order from the Orders to Process page to access the picking plan.
Table of Contents
- Step 1: Assign Picking Locations to the Wholesale Order
- Step 2: Choose a Picking Flow and Assign Pickers
Step 1: Assign Picking Locations to the Wholesale Order in ShipHero
Assigning locations tells ShipHero which inventory locations in your warehouse pickers should pull from to fulfill the order. You can assign locations manually, use the auto-assign feature, or take a hybrid approach — using auto-assign first and then editing specific SKUs afterward.
Important Notes and Limitations
- You can select locations marked as pickable and non-pickable.
- Unit of Measure (UOM) SKUs: If the order was created with an Eaches UOM SKU, you can assign locations containing inventory with a larger unit of measure. If the order was created using a UOM other than Eaches, you can only assign locations with that same unit of measure.
- Hybrid Assignment: You must use Auto-assign first, then edit specific SKUs. Manually selecting locations and then running Auto-assign is not supported — Auto-assign can override manual selections if locations differ from the specified criteria.
- Courier Orders — Eaches and Cases ONLY: If the wholesale order has a Courier order type, you cannot assign locations containing SKUs with a Pallet UOM. Break down the pallet UOM into cases before assigning the location. See How to Use Unit of Measures (UOMs) for more information.
Manually Assign Picking Locations
Manual assignment lets you select specific inventory locations for each SKU.
- Click the Select button next to the location column for a SKU.
- Check the box next to the location(s) and enter the quantity to pick from each.
- Click Save.
| Inventory remaining to be assigned | Inventory fully assigned to locations |
|---|---|
The upper right of the modal shows the required amount to assign — a green check mark appears once all inventory is assigned. If a selected location doesn't have enough inventory, a red arrow shows the remaining quantity needed. Locations can be sorted by Most Stock, Least Stock, First to Expire, or Last to Expire, and searched by name. You can assign multiple locations to a single SKU and adjust quantities using the up and down arrows or by typing directly.
Auto-Assign Picking Locations
Selecting Auto-Assign Locations opens a modal with five prioritization rules. Rules are ranked 1–5, with rule 1 carrying the most weight. The priority order is fixed and cannot be changed.
- Prioritized locations: Search and select specific locations to prioritize during auto-assignment.
- Location Type: Choose whether to prioritize non-pickable or pickable locations. If no inventory exists in the selected type, the algorithm falls back to the other type.
- Unit of measure: When enabled, the algorithm prioritizes locations with larger units of measure.
- Lots (4a): Prioritizes location assignment based on the selected lots method — FIFO, LIFO, FEFO, or LEFO. Expires in X Days (4b): Only considers locations meeting this expiration date criteria. Applies to lot-controlled SKUs only.
- Stock: Prioritize locations with the least or greatest amount of stock.
Step 2: Choose a Picking Flow and Assign Pickers in ShipHero
After assigning locations, choose how the order will be picked and who will complete the work. ShipHero supports three picking flows for wholesale orders.
| Picking Flow | Best For | Full Instructions |
|---|---|---|
| Picking & Packing (Mobile) | Pick lines and immediately pack them into LPNs on the device. Best for single-touch operations, small orders, or when you want to print and apply the LPN label as you go. | How to Pick and Pack a Courier Wholesale Order (Mobile) |
| Picking (Mobile) | Pick to a packing station directly. Ideal for wave or batch picking, multi-line orders, or when packing requires extra checks such as dimensions, weight, or compliance. | How to Pick a Wholesale Order (Mobile, Pick Only) |
| Manual (Paper Picking) | Print the picking list and give it to a team member to pick from. No mobile app or confirmation scans required. | How to Manually Pick a Wholesale Order |
A picking sheet can also be printed during mobile picking, which is useful for capturing a picker's name and signature for auditing purposes.
Select a Picking Method
Important
You can switch the picking method any time before moving the order to Ready to Pick status. Once an order is set as Ready to Pick, the picking method is locked and the order must be Reset before changes can be made.
Mobile Picking: Enable the Mobile toggle, then select Picking and Packing or Picking from the dropdown.
Manual Picking: Disable the Mobile toggle. Picker assignment to specific locations is not available in the manual flow.
Assign Pickers to Specific Locations (Optional)
Assigning pickers to specific locations is optional but recommended for larger teams — especially when different locations require different equipment or qualifications (for example, a forklift operator for pallet locations). Granular permissions control which employees can be assigned as pickers. See Roles and Permissions for required settings.
- Individually: Click +Assign Picker and select the employee from the list. You also have the option to assign that user to all locations at once.
- In Bulk: Check the boxes next to the line items, click Assign Picker from the bulk menu, and select the employee.
| Individual Assignment | Bulk Assignment |
|---|---|
You can change a picker assignment up until the moment they begin work. Assignments cannot be modified once a user has started picking from a location. Unassigned locations remain available to any authorized user — upon scanning a location, the user is automatically assigned to it.
After completing location and picker assignments, set the order to Ready to Pick. The Packing Layout will display confirming the order is available for picking on the mobile app.