Pick and pack (pick en pack): how it works and what it costs per order

Pick and pack (in Dutch pick en pack) means collecting the ordered products from the warehouse shelves (pick) and packing them in a box or envelope (pack), so the order is ready to ship. It is the core of fulfilment: every order your webshop sells passes through it once.

You will see both spellings, pick and pack and pick en pack. They mean the same thing. Fulfilment companies also call it order picking or order processing, and they charge a fixed amount per order for it.

What exactly is pick and pack?

Pick and pack starts as soon as an order comes in and ends when the parcel is ready for the carrier. Storage and the shipping itself usually fall outside it: they appear as separate lines on your invoice. That distinction matters when you compare quotes, because "price per order" doesn't mean the same thing at every company.

The steps of pick and pack

1. Order in. Your webshop or marketplace is connected to the warehouse management system (WMS). The order appears there automatically, with the products, the address and the chosen shipping method.
2. Pick. The system creates a pick list with the shelf locations in a sensible walking route. A warehouse worker collects the products and scans the barcode (EAN) of each item, so the right product goes out in the right quantity.
3. Pack. At the packing table, the worker chooses the smallest packaging that fits: a letterbox box, an envelope or a shipping carton. Your own flyer, packing slip or branded packaging can go in too.
4. Label. The shipping label is created automatically with the right carrier. Weight and size determine the rate you pay.
5. Ship. The parcel goes into the carrier's cage or crate and is collected at the end of the day. If the order came in before the cut-off time, it leaves the same day. Your customer gets the tracking code through your webshop.

Picking methods: how a warehouse collects orders

How a warehouse picks depends on the number of orders and the kind of products. The three best-known methods:

Method	How it works	Suits
Order picking	One worker walks past all the shelves for a single order	Few orders, many different products
Batch picking	Several orders are collected in one round, then split up	Lots of small orders with the same products
Zone picking	Each worker picks in their own zone; the order moves from zone to zone	Large warehouses with a wide range

Larger fulfilment companies combine methods and use scanners, picking trolleys or robots. For you as a webshop the method matters less, as long as the error rate stays low and the cut-off is met. Do ask how they check that an order is correct: a scan per item is standard.

What does pick and pack cost per order?

A typical rate for pick and pack is around €1.60 to €2.40 per order, excluding shipping. Extra items in the same order, packaging materials and storage are often charged separately.

Of the 207 active fulfilment companies in our directory, 21 publish a "from" price per order on their own website:

• the lowest is €0.90;
• the median is €1.95;
• the middle half falls between €1.69 and €2.95.

These prices exclude shipping, unless the company quotes an all-in rate. Shipping comes on top, from about €3.20 for a letterbox parcel. Check what the pick price includes: sometimes two or three items are included, sometimes you pay extra from the second item. A "from" price also often applies only above a certain volume.

All the cost items, with worked examples, are in What does fulfilment cost?. The "from" prices per company are on cheap fulfilment.

Pick and pack: do it yourself or outsource?

Doing it yourself works fine while you have few orders. You need a shelf per product, a packing table, shipping software and time: allow 3 to 5 minutes per order. At 300 orders a month that is easily 20 hours a month of packing, before you count inbound deliveries and returns.

Outsourcing usually pays off from around 50 to 100 orders a month, or sooner if you run short of space or time. What you gain:

• you pay per order instead of with your own hours;
• you get lower shipping rates, because the fulfilment company combines volume;
• orders placed later in the day can often still ship;
• the warehouse absorbs peaks around Black Friday and the holidays.

What you give up is direct control over every box. A good partner therefore lets you follow along in a portal and sticks to agreements about packaging and flyers. Read Webshop logistics: do it yourself or outsource? for the full trade-off, or use the checklist of 12 questions when you ask for quotes.

Frequently asked questions about pick and pack

Is pick and pack the same as fulfilment?

No. Pick and pack is one part of fulfilment. Fulfilment also covers inbound, storage, shipping and returns.

Is shipping included in the pick and pack price?

Usually not. Most fulfilment companies charge shipping separately, by country and size. Some quote an all-in rate that includes shipping; ask which parcel sizes it covers.

What is a reasonable price for pick and pack?

Around €1.60 to €2.40 per order is typical. The median of the "from" prices that fulfilment companies publish themselves is €1.95.

How do I find a fulfilment company that suits my orders?

Browse all fulfilment companies with their integrations and cut-off times. Or connect your webshop and see, based on your own orders, which companies fit and roughly what it costs. Start your match.