A few unnecessary steps may not seem costly. Multiply them across every product, order, picker, and shift, however, and wasted travel quickly becomes a significant warehouse productivity problem.
Reducing order-picking time is not about asking employees to walk faster. It requires shortening the distance between high-demand inventory, the picker, the cart, and the final packing or staging area. Smart slotting, direct pick paths, ergonomic product placement, and properly configured mobile equipment all help eliminate movement that does not contribute to completing an order.
By combining ABC Slotting, Golden Zoning, and organized routes with heavy-duty Warehouse Picking Carts, man-up platform accessories, and industrial aluminum hand trucks, facilities can complete more picks with less walking, bending, reaching, backtracking, and manual handling.
📋 Quick-Reference: The Faster Order-Picking Blueprint
- 🔍 Challenge: High-Velocity Products Scattered Across the Warehouse
- Strategy: ABC slotting and golden zoning.
- Solution: Slanted Lug Merchandiser #53993 or Multi-Tier Picking Cart #50548. Angled shelves improve visibility and access, helping pickers retrieve products without bending.
- 🔍 Challenge: Pickers Complete Only One Order Per Trip
- Strategy: Batch picking to collect items for several orders during one route.
- Solution: 8-Tote Picking & Delivery Cart #54116 or 3-Tier Pick-to-Tote Cart #99799. Multiple totes keep orders separated on one mobile platform.
- 🔍 Challenge: Mixed-Size Orders Require Frequent Cart Changes
- Strategy: Match shelf spacing, capacity, and access to the order profile before the route begins.
- Solution: 3-Sided Order Picking Cart #DWG54083H or Adjustable Pick & Put Cart #50212. Removable and adjustable shelves accommodate changing product sizes.
- 🔍 Challenge: Vertical Aisles & Bulk Retrieval Slow Down Floor Pickers
- Strategy: Utilize vertical storage space and integrate forklift or machinery capabilities for high-bay picking.
- Solution: Quick Change Order Picker Platform #99664 or Raised Platform Picking Pallet #51901. Operators elevate directly to vertical storage racks safely.
- 🔍 Challenge: Bulk, Boxed, or Oversized Items Slow Down Standard Totes
- Strategy: Use flatbed platform or collapsible transport to move heavy or irregular loads quickly.
- Solution: Heavy Duty Platform Truck Series or Folding Handle Utility Cart Series. Flat, unobstructed decks allow rapid loading and unloading of oversized boxes.
- 🔍 Challenge: Parts, Cartons, and Components Require Separate Trips
- Strategy: Bring the right combination of storage and transport directly to the work area.
- Solution: Dual-Sided Parts Cart #DWG53293 or a New Age Industrial Aluminum Hand Truck. Mixed parts or focused carton loads can move together instead of being retrieved from several locations.
Travel Time Is Usually a System Problem
When picking performance falls behind, employee speed often receives the blame. In many warehouses, however, the larger issue is the travel and wasted motion built into the process. Fast-moving products may be stored far from packing. Employees may double back through aisles, complete one order at a time, or stop to reorganize poorly configured carts. Frequently picked products may also be placed too high, too low, or too deep on a shelf, adding unnecessary motion at every stop.
The solution is to design the system around the work. Inventory placement, aisle direction, order grouping, cart configuration, and final staging should all support the shortest practical path from storage to shipment.
1. Place High-Velocity Inventory in the Golden Zone
The Golden Zone is the area where employees can retrieve products with minimal bending, stretching, or overhead reaching—generally between waist and shoulder height. This prime storage space should be reserved for the products picked most frequently.
ABC Slotting provides a simple framework: high-velocity “A” items receive the most accessible positions, moderate-volume “B” items occupy secondary locations, and slower-moving “C” products can be placed farther away or on less convenient levels. Heavy products should remain low enough for controlled lifting without requiring employees to retrieve them directly from the floor.
💡 Slotting Tip: Review product velocity regularly. Promotions, seasonal demand shifts, and new customer contracts can quickly change which SKUs deserve golden-zone placement.
2. Create Pick Paths That Prevent Backtracking
Even a well-slotted warehouse can lose time if employees repeatedly cross the same aisles. Whenever possible, establish a defined pick sequence that moves in one direction from the route entrance toward packing, consolidation, or staging. Clear aisle signage, consistent rack numbering, location labels, and floor markings help employees follow the path without stopping to interpret it.
Fast-moving products should be positioned closer to packing or in dedicated forward-pick zones. Products commonly ordered together can also be stored near one another. Empty Warehouse Picking Carts and totes should be staged near the route entrance, while completed orders should remain close to packing without blocking active traffic.
3. Use Batch and Zone Picking to Eliminate Repeat Trips
When employees complete one order at a time, they may walk through the same aisle repeatedly to retrieve similar products. Batch picking combines multiple orders into a single route—the picker collects items for several orders and separates them into assigned totes or shelves while moving through the warehouse.
Zone picking divides the facility into smaller areas. Employees remain within an assigned zone, pick the products stored there, and then transfer the organized order to the next zone or consolidation point. These strategies can also work together.
The equipment must support the method. Highly optimized Warehouse Picking Carts should hold the required number of totes, keep orders visibly separated, fit comfortably within the aisle, and remain easy to control when loaded. For additional workflow strategies, read Maximizing Order Picking Efficiency with the Right Equipment & Accessories.
4. Match the Mobile Equipment to the Order Profile
A cart is not efficient simply because it has wheels. Its shelves, dimensions, tote positions, handles, capacity, and turning radius must match the work.
➡️ Slanted Lug Merchandiser #53993: Improve Visibility
The #53993 uses angled shelves with retaining lips to keep lugs and their contents visible and accessible. Instead of bending over flat containers or searching through poorly positioned bins, pickers can see and retrieve products more quickly. Well suited for split-case picking, sorting, small parts, and other high-frequency picking applications.
➡️ 3-Sided Picking Cart #DWG54083H: Adapt to Mixed Loads
The #DWG54083H includes a removable middle shelf and a hitch and receiver assembly. The adjustable storage space allows one cart to handle smaller products and bulky items during the same route. Its towable design can also help move multiple units together during batch picking.
➡️ 8-Tote Picking & Delivery Cart #54116: Pick from Either Side
The #54116 holds up to eight compatible totes on angled shelves and provides access from both sides. Dual-sided access allows employees to work from the most convenient side of the aisle without repeatedly turning the cart. Multiple totes keep several orders separated during one route.
➡️ Multi-Tier Picking Cart #50548: Organize More Vertically
The #50548 uses multiple angled levels to improve product visibility and organize higher-volume picks vertically. Orders, product types, priorities, or route sections can be separated on one mobile platform.
➡️ Warehouse Order Picker Platforms (OP Cages) #99664: Elevate Safely in High-Bay Aisles
For high-density operations utilizing vertical space, the #99664 Quick Change Order Picker Platform transforms manual material handling into an efficient high-reach fulfillment process. Built for integration with man-up order pickers and forklifts, these heavy-duty platforms feature universal fork pockets with replaceable solid oak clamp blocks. Shelves pitched 4° to the back provide total product containment during vertical retrieval.
➡️ Dual-Sided Parts Cart #DWG53293: Combine Large and Small Components
The #DWG53293 combines larger shelf space on one side with smaller parts storage on the other. Its tight-turn maneuverability makes it exceptionally practical for assembly cells, maintenance departments, kitting and assembly workflows, and confined picking zones.
➡️ Adjustable Pick & Put Cart #50212: Change with the Order
The #50212 allows shelves to move between flat and angled positions, while removable middle levels create space for bulkier products. Employees spend less time switching equipment or trying to force a varied order onto a fixed configuration.
➡️ 3-Tier Pick-to-Tote Cart #99799: Separate Multiple Orders
The #99799 uses three flat shelves with containment lips, handles at both ends, and swivel casters. The cart keeps multiple totes organized for batch picking while allowing employees to approach, push, or pull it from either direction.
5. Use Hand Trucks, Platform Trucks, and Folding Carts for Short, Focused Moves
A multi-tier picking cart is valuable for batch orders, but it is not always the fastest equipment for the task. When an employee needs to retrieve a single bulky item, move several stacked cartons, or navigate an exceptionally narrow storage area, a smaller footprint or a flatbed design requires far less maneuvering.
- Loop Handle Hand Truck #HT18F10: A dependable, classic solution for cartons and focused warehouse moves. Its continuous loop handle offers excellent control for single-handed or heavy-load maneuvering, while the heavy-duty flat nose plate helps employees position the truck beneath boxes more easily.
- RTC18 Rotatruck Stair Climber: Uses multidirectional Rotacaster wheels arranged to travel over stairs and curbs. The wheel design also supports lateral movement and tight turns, helping employees navigate obstacles with less tilting, backing, and load repositioning.
- Heavy Duty Aluminum Platform Trucks: Engineered for transport of heavy, oversized, or irregular bulk loads that won’t fit on standard shelf configurations. The all-welded, smooth aluminum deck handles maximum weight capacities while remaining easy to push.
- Folding Handle Utility Carts & Stock Trucks: Perfect for intermittent picking operations, tight aisles, or workspaces with limited storage. These carts provide a sturdy, flat transport deck for mixed boxes, yet the handle folds completely flat when finished, allowing the cart to be stored upright or tucked under workstations.
6. Treat Ergonomics as a Time-Savings Strategy
Ergonomics and productivity are closely connected. When employees must bend deeply, reach across wide carts, push unnecessary equipment weight, or repeatedly reposition awkward loads, each pick takes longer. Fatigue can also build throughout the shift, reducing performance as the day continues.
As a proud member of the MHI EASE (Ergonomic Assist Systems & Equipment) Industry Group, New Age Industrial designs mobile equipment with human-centric challenges in mind. Frequently picked products should remain within comfortable reach. Heavy inventory should be placed on lower levels without requiring floor-level lifting. Angled shelves improve access where visibility matters, while flat shelves provide stable support for totes and mixed loads.
Lightweight aluminum reduces the amount of nonproductive frame weight employees push during every trip. The same advantage applies to vertical systems: lightweight aluminum OP cages put significantly less strain on forklift batteries and hydraulic lift mechanisms, drastically reducing equipment downtime.
7. Measure the Route—Not Only Picks Per Hour
Pick rate shows the final result, but it does not explain why the process is fast or slow. Observe the route with the picker. Look for repeated aisle visits, excessive search time, cart reorganization, congestion, difficult turns, long empty-cart returns, and products that are transferred more than once.
Distance traveled per order and time spent between actual picks can reveal problems that are hidden by a single productivity number. The fastest improvement may not require a major automation or software investment. It could be relocating one high-velocity SKU, changing the pick sequence, adding an angled shelf, selecting a narrower cart, or positioning a hand truck closer to the work.
8. Leverage Custom Aluminum Engineering for Unique Workflows
While standard mobile equipment can solve many common layout issues, no two distribution centers have the same aisle widths, tote sizes, order profiles, or automation setups. When a standard cart is close—but not quite right—the most efficient strategy is to build around your exact workflow.
New Age Industrial engineers, extrudes, fabricates, welds, and manufactures its aluminum equipment entirely in the USA. Customizing your material handling equipment allows you to fine-tune every variable for maximum throughput: precise dimensions to match aisle clearances, container compatibility for your exact tote sizes, advanced lift integration for your forklift fleet, and application-specific handles, caster configurations, and kitting layouts.
For guidance on beginning a custom project, read How to Customize Order Picking Equipment.
Turn Every Saved Step into Greater Throughput
Order picking will always require movement. The goal is to make sure every step contributes directly to completing the order. Golden zoning shortens reaches. ABC slotting brings high-demand products closer. Batch and zone picking reduce repeat trips. The right heavy-duty Warehouse Picking Carts and forklift platforms keep multiple orders separated and accessible, while industrial hand trucks complete focused moves without unnecessary equipment weight.
Ready to shorten your pick paths and build equipment around your operation? Explore New Age Industrial’s Warehouse Picking Carts, industrial hand trucks, and custom material handling solutions, or contact our factory team of experts for a free, no-obligation consultation.
