A customer orders one thing.
You send another.
Or the right product goes out in the wrong quantity.
Sometimes an item is missing altogether.
For an eCommerce business, these mistakes are expensive.
There is the cost of the replacement order, additional postage, return processing, customer service time and the impact on the customer experience.
If it happens regularly, the problem is rarely just “human error”.
The more useful question is:
“Where in the warehouse process is the mistake actually being created?”
Picking errors are often the starting point
One of the most common causes of incorrect orders is the wrong product being picked.
This can happen because:
- Similar products are stored close together
- Location labels are unclear
- Pick lists are difficult to read
- Staff rely on memory
- Products have very similar packaging
- Quantities are picked incorrectly
- The wrong location is visited
If the mistake is not identified during picking, it can travel all the way through packing and despatch before anyone notices.
Does your warehouse rely too heavily on visual checks?
Visual checking has its place.
But expecting someone to recognise thousands of products accurately every time can create unnecessary risk.
A barcode process can add a simple validation step.
The operative scans the location.
Then the product.
Then, depending on the process, the order or container.
If something does not match, the system can flag the error before the item moves any further.
Are packing errors causing the problem?
The correct items may have been picked, but mistakes can still happen at the packing bench.
Orders can become mixed together.
An item can be left behind.
The wrong shipping label can be placed on a parcel.
A product from one order can accidentally end up in another.
This is particularly likely when several orders are being processed at the same time without clear controls.
A good packing process should make it difficult for orders to become mixed.
Are labels being applied to the wrong parcels?
Sometimes the warehouse has picked and packed everything correctly.
The mistake happens at the final stage.
The wrong carrier label is applied to the parcel.
Now the correct order is heading to the wrong customer.
A controlled despatch process can help confirm that:
- The correct order is packed
- The correct parcel is being processed
- The correct carrier service is selected
- The correct shipping label is applied
This is another area where barcode validation can remove opportunities for mistakes.
Are you processing too many orders at once?
Multi-order picking can improve efficiency.
But if the process is poorly designed, it can also increase the chance of mixing products between orders.
Picking several orders together needs clear controls around:
- Containers
- Order identification
- Product separation
- Packing
- Exception handling
Faster picking is not useful if the extra speed creates more errors downstream.
Are product locations helping or hurting you?
Warehouse layout plays an important role in order accuracy.
If two nearly identical products sit side by side, they are easier to confuse.
If location labels are difficult to see, operatives may pick from the wrong shelf.
If stock is regularly placed in temporary locations, the system and physical warehouse can quickly stop matching.
Sometimes reducing mispicks requires technology.
Sometimes it simply requires better location management.
Usually, it is a combination of both.
Do your team know what to do when something is wrong?
One of the most important parts of any warehouse process is what happens when things do not go according to plan.
What happens when:
- The product is not in the expected location?
- The quantity is wrong?
- The barcode will not scan?
- The product is damaged?
- Two similar products are stored together?
If staff are encouraged to “just get the order out”, small issues can quickly become customer-facing mistakes.
Good exception processes are just as important as the normal workflow.
Is speed being prioritised over accuracy?
Warehouses naturally measure productivity.
Orders per hour.
Lines picked.
Parcels despatched.
Those numbers matter.
But they should not encourage the wrong behaviour.
If employees are pressured to move faster without suitable controls, accuracy can suffer.
The aim should not simply be to process orders faster.
It should be to process more orders correctly.
Wrong orders can create stock problems too
A despatch error does not only affect the customer.
It can also affect your inventory.
If the wrong product leaves the building but the system records the ordered product as shipped, your stock figures can become inaccurate.
That means one fulfilment error can lead to another problem later.
[Read: Why is my warehouse stock always wrong?]
Would a WMS stop incorrect orders?
A warehouse management system can help reduce the opportunities for mistakes by introducing stronger controls around:
- Locations
- Barcode scanning
- Picking
- Packing
- Stock movements
- Despatch
But software alone is not enough.
A poor process with a new system can still be a poor process.
The important part is understanding where the error is being created and then designing controls around it.
[Read: When does an eCommerce business need a WMS?]
Stop correcting mistakes after they happen
Replacing incorrect orders is expensive.
Preventing them is usually much cheaper.
If your warehouse regularly sends incorrect products, quantities or parcels, I can help you identify where those errors are being introduced.
I can visit your warehouse, observe your picking, packing and despatch processes, speak with your team and identify practical opportunities to reduce errors.
The aim is to build processes that make mistakes harder to make and easier to identify before the parcel leaves the warehouse.
That may involve changes to workflow, warehouse layout, barcode scanning, packing controls or, where appropriate, a WMS such as StoreFeeder.
Where StoreFeeder may form part of the solution, I will make that connection clear.