Wave Picking is a batch picking method that groups totes by SKU instead of by order. Each tote on the cart holds one SKU shared across every order in the wave that needs it, so a single cart trip can fulfill dozens or even hundreds of orders. ShipHero's wave generator generates waves automatically when enough orders share SKU overlap to fill a cart.
Location Aware Picking Required
Wave Picking requires Location Aware Picking to be enabled on your account first. Contact your ShipHero to discuss Getting started with Location Aware Picking before setting up Wave Picking.
Already have Location Aware Picking? See How to Set Up Waves in ShipHero for prerequisites and configuration steps.
Table of Contents
- How Wave Picking Works in ShipHero
- Key Benefits of Wave Picking in ShipHero
- When to Use Wave Picking in ShipHero
- Get Started with Wave Picking in ShipHero
How Wave Picking Works in ShipHero
In Multi-Item Batch (MIB) picking, each tote on the cart holds the items for one order. The cart is capped at the number of totes it carries, typically 25, so it can fulfill at most 25 orders per trip.
Wave Picking removes that ceiling. Each tote holds one SKU, and that tote is shared by every order on the cart that needs it. The cart is constrained only by the physical volume of the items, so a 25-tote cart can fulfill dozens or even hundreds of orders in a single trip.
ShipHero's wave generator runs every 15 minutes and generates a wave when the configured minimum number of orders share enough SKU overlap to fill a cart. When that minimum isn't met, no wave is created and orders continue through MIB and your other existing picking methods. Wave Picking and MIB run side by side. One does not replace the other.
[IMAGE PLACEHOLDER] What it should show: A cart with Pick-to-Light totes lit, to visually anchor "one SKU per tote" for a reader skimming the page.
Candidate source: Drive 202-WAVES-SCAN-CART.PNG or 208-WAVES-WAREHOUSE-MAP.PNG.
Key Benefits of Wave Picking in ShipHero
Wave Picking reduces cart trips, walking distance, and aisle congestion for high-volume warehouses.
- Fewer trips per order. All units of a SKU for the wave go into one tote, so the picker visits each location once per wave.
- Predictable cart-level work. Each wave is sized to a known cart configuration, making it easier to plan labor and forecast completion times.
- Lower mental load for the picker. The mobile app and Pick-to-Light hardware tell the picker exactly what to pick and which tote to place it in, location by location.
- Less aisle congestion. Larger waves with fewer carts mean fewer pickers in the same zones at the same time.
When to Use Wave Picking in ShipHero
Wave Picking works best when your order profile matches how the wave algorithm builds batches.
| Wave Picking is a good fit when... | Stay on MIB and Smart Batching when... |
|---|---|
| Daily volume is consistently high: order volume exceeds roughly 250-300 multi-item orders per picking window. | SKU demand is highly dispersed and almost every order has a unique item combination (the top SKU appears in less than 1% of orders). |
| A small number of SKUs account for a large share of the day's orders: the top SKU appears in 10% or more of orders. | Volume is low and a single window doesn't generate enough multi-item orders to fill a wave. |
| Pack stations have cart-mounted Pack-to-Light hardware. | Your operation is built around single-item orders. Use Bulk Ship or SIB instead. |
ShipHero's batch generator automatically separates single-item orders into Bulk Ship or SIB flows. You don't need to filter them out manually before running waves.
Get Started with Wave Picking in ShipHero
| Article | Who it's for |
|---|---|
| How to Set Up Waves in ShipHero | Warehouse managers and admins configuring Wave Picking for the first time. |
| How to Pick Waves in ShipHero | Pickers using the ShipHero mobile app to run a wave batch. |
| How to Pack Waves in ShipHero | Packers fulfilling orders from a wave cart at a pack station. |