Too many pick-list errors? Pick on a phone, not a clipboard
Swap the printed pick list for a station on any phone or tablet: scan each item as it goes in the box, and the wrong one is caught before it ships.
You know this if…
- Customers get the medium when they ordered the large.
- A line on the pick list is missed and the parcel goes out short.
- Pick lists are printed, written on and binned, and nobody knows who packed what.
- Out-of-stock lines are discovered at the shelf, after the order was promised.
Why it happens
A pick list is a copy of the order at the moment it was printed. It can't check what goes in the box, it can't tell the picker a line changed, and what really happened is written in pen on a sheet that ends up in the bin.
Errors come from the gap between the list and the shelf: similar SKUs side by side, a size picked by eye, a short line nobody wrote down.
How Manifold handles it
The Pick & pack station is Manifold's picking screen for a phone, tablet or bench computer. It shows each site's parcels waiting to be picked, packed and shipped, and confirms every item by scanning it.
Open the parcel
The queue lists this site's parcels by stage, urgent first. Scan the order number off the slip to open its parcel, or press "Start next".
Scan each item
Each scan counts against its line. A barcode that isn't on the parcel is flagged, not counted, and serials and lots are picked by their own codes.
Record a short pick, with why
If the shelf is short, say so and pick a reason; the line stays owed instead of disappearing.
Pack and ship
Packing goes into a box Manifold suggests from the ones you set up — or packs itself, if your workflow says so — then book a label or ship it with the carrier's tracking number.
What you can check
Staff sign in with a PIN
A station is a device enrolled once by an owner or admin; staff unlock it with their own PIN, so every pick is recorded against the person who did it.
Stations and PINs →Works with the scanner you have
Phone camera in Manifold's mobile app, a Bluetooth or USB scanner, or a rugged Android handheld's trigger.
Picking and packing →Shorts are kept, not lost
A short pick records its reason and leaves the rest of the line owed to the order, so it ships when the stock does.
Backorders →Questions people ask
- Does it need special hardware?
- No. It runs in the browser on any phone, tablet or computer. Manifold's mobile app adds the phone's camera as a scanner, and any keyboard-style or Bluetooth barcode scanner works too.
- Can we still print pick lists?
- The station is built to replace them, but nothing stops you picking from the order screen in the back office while you switch over.
- Does it do batch or wave picking?
- Not today: the station picks one parcel at a time, which is how most small teams pick. Each parcel opens straight from the queue or by scanning its number.
- Do I have to stop using what I have now?
- No. Every new Manifold business starts read-only: orders come in, imports run and your team works in Manifold in full, but nothing goes out — no stock to your store, no email to customers — until an owner goes live. Run it beside your paper and spreadsheets until you trust it.
See it on your own products.
Nothing changes until you say so.
Connect your Shopify store or bring a spreadsheet, and your own products, stock and orders are in Manifold the same day. Every new business starts read-only: your team can work in it in full while nothing goes out — no stock to your store, no email to customers — until an owner goes live. Free for 60 days.
Other problems we fix
Wholesale orders going out wrong: prices, terms and partial shipments
Trade customers charged retail, unpaid orders shipped, half-orders lost: give each customer its own price list and terms, and ship what's there.
Only one person knows where everything is
When stock lives in one person's head: every SKU's stock by location and every movement recorded with its document and who did it, searchable by anyone.
How to stop overselling across Shopify and wholesale
Stop selling stock you no longer have: one count across Shopify and wholesale, with orders holding units and the store's figure updated within seconds.