Reverse picking

In reverse picking, the conventional principle of picking goods is reversed. While in positive picking, specific individual items are removed from the shelf for an order, in the reverse variant, the majority of the stock is removed, leaving only a small remaining quantity at the storage location.

What remains on the shelf?

The name derives from the fact that it is not the ordered quantity but the remaining quantity that defines the process. In practice, this means: The picker removes the entire pallet or container from the storage location, separates the few items not needed for the current order, and returns them to the shelf. The “remainder” goes directly to shipping or production.

When is this method appropriate?

The decision to use reverse picking is based purely on an economic assessment of picking cycles. It is primarily used in the following cases:

• Large order quantities: A customer orders nearly a full pallet (e.g., 95 out of 100 boxes). It is more efficient to return five boxes to the shelf than to remove 95 boxes individually.
• Fast-moving items with high turnover: This applies to items that are in such high demand that a freshly delivered pallet is needed almost immediately in its entirety to fulfill customer orders. Instead of laboriously storing the goods individually, the pallet is used as a whole, and only the tiny remaining quantity that has not currently been ordered is placed on the shelf.
• Ergonomics and time: Handling an almost empty pallet is easier for employees than restacking an almost full pallet.

Process in the Warehouse Management System

To ensure inventory levels remain accurate, the IT infrastructure must support this process. Instead of receiving the command “Take 95 units” from the system, the employee receives instructions such as: “Remove one pallet and leave five units in place.” After confirmation, the system posts the majority of the goods to the shipping order and adjusts the storage location inventory to reflect the remaining quantity. This minimizes the error rate when counting large quantities, as the employee only needs to verify the small difference.

Advantages and disadvantages at a glance

The biggest advantage lies in the massive time savings for large orders and the conservation of employee resources. A disadvantage, however, is that if the procedure is applied incorrectly (e.g., if more remains on the shelf than is removed), it can lead to increased counting effort and inventory inaccuracies. Therefore, a clear quantity limit defining when the system switches to “negative” is essential.