How to Scale High-Volume E-Commerce Fulfillment Without Hiring More Staff

In my time working with 3PL owners, I’ve seen the same pattern over and over in e-com warehousing USA: a 3PL lands a big e-commerce client, volume spikes, and the first instinct is to pull the "hiring lever." 

👉 [cue the panic GIF]

If you’re looking to scale your e-com 3PL in America, you don't necessarily need more staff — you just need the right tools in place to make the most of the resources you already have.

By using the right WMS workflows, your current team can move like a crew twice your size (we’re talking more orders in fewer passes and automated storefront updates that happen while you sleep!). 

TL;DR: I’ve helped teams of just two people out-pick 3PL warehouses with 10x the staff simply by shifting their picking strategy. See how you can scale your high-volume e-com 3PL in America using CartonCloud’s specialized workflows like Wave Picking, Pick to Tote, and Pack Screen to massively increase output with the team you already have.

Q: What e-commerce WMS workflows are most important for small teams? 

A: There are three e-commerce WMS workflows I always recommend for small teams doing 3PL fulfillment in America: Wave Picking, Pick to Tote, and Pack Screen. 

When you’re running a lean operation, picking orders one by one can slow down your path to scale. You need to move faster, sort orders as you go, and be able to keep up growing order volumes.

Here are the top e-com tools for e-commerce 3PLs in America handling high-volume fulfillment:

1. Wave Picking - This workflow allows one person to pick up to 100 orders in a single pass through the warehouse. Depending on your order mix, you can tailor the wave to best match your needs, such as picking in batches, zones, or splitting up your pick and pack. 

For example, Batch Picking works best when you’re moving high volumes of the same SKU, letting your team grab everything in one run. If your inventory is organized into specific areas, Zone Picking helps divide the workload by assigning pickers to dedicated sections of the warehouse. When speed is critical, Split Pick and Pack separates picking and packing tasks so small teams can work in parallel, with better visibility and smoother handoffs.

This flexibility is especially important for lean operations like Core Logistic Services, an e-com 3PL in America that is run by a team of two.

Cass Strunk, Founder of Core Logistic Services, explains how CartonCloud’s wave picking supports their scaling 3PL:

“[Wave picking] allows one person to pick all of the items for a group of orders, and then another person to use all of those picked items to pack the actual packages.

It really makes picking and packing so seamless. We can see each item that needs to go in each order, and then as we’re picking them, it all gets divided out perfectly.”

“I feel like CartonCloud is really the third person who works here in the warehouse.”

2. Pick to Tote - For multi-item orders or bundled products, Pick to Tote is definitely my go-to pick. With this workflow, you can assign each order to its own tote during picking, so items stay organized from the start. 

Using Pick to Tote, you can have 1 person push a tote trolley throughout the warehouse and grab for example, 30 different orders in one go! Once picking is complete, you can pick up the tote and move straight into packing with your entire order already organized in the bin. 

For e-commerce 3PLs in America, this workflow removes bottlenecks at the packing bench and makes it much easier to handle complex orders at volume.

3. Pack Screen - Pack Screen is what really locks the whole process together. After your picking is done, I recommend using Pack Screen to streamline your dispatch process smoothly. 

You scan the tote to instantly pull up the order details, scan your cartons and products as you pack items, and then print the carrier label right there — all in one smooth step. There’s no manual checks or second-guessing what goes into each box, everything is confirmed right on the spot.

You can check out these workflows in this webinar where I explain everything in more detail.

Q: How can I integrate my WMS & e-commerce platforms? 

A: Integrating CartonCloud’s WMS with e-commerce platforms is super easy, and in CartonCloud, there are plenty of online storefronts you can connect to so orders flow directly into the system without adding any extra admin for your team.

A popular platform we come across all the time is Shopify, and we have a self-managed integration which makes it really easy for you to go in and set it up within a few minutes.

How does it work? To put it simply, as soon as an order is placed on your customer’s Shopify store, it automatically flows into CartonCloud. Once that order is picked, packed, and shipped, the status updates in both systems (and the shipping notification/tracking details are sent right to your end customer). 

In CartonCloud, we also provide direct integrations into multiple e-commerce platforms like WooCommerce and Amazon (because chances are, your clients are going to be on multiple platforms to sell their products!).

When those integrations are set up early, you can manage high-volume orders from multiple sales channels without your team having to spend time manually entering or managing data.

Q: What is the best workflow to pick & sort e-commerce orders? 

A: The best workflow to pick and sort e-commerce orders is Pick to Tote, because you can sort orders directly into their own tote while picking. 

The good news is, this workflow doesn’t depend on fancy equipment! Whether you’re using plastic totes, cardboard boxes, or anything else with a scannable label, the idea is the same: each order gets its own container while you’re picking. That makes it much easier to handle high-volume, multi-item orders without things getting mixed up.

For example, if you’re packing a curated haircare kit, you can pick the shampoo, conditioner, and hair mask and drop them straight into one tote. Everything stays together from the first pick right through to packing, which saves time and avoids rework later.

Tip: You can pick as many orders as you have totes with Pick to Tote, since you can customize your flow based on the capacity of your tote trolley. A trolley with 30 totes is a great sweet spot for most e-commerce teams.

Once picking’s done, you can just roll the tote trolley back to the pack station. From there, your packer can grab the tote, scan it, and jump straight into Pack Screen to finish packing and print the label. 

Check out this video tutorial of Vincent in the warehouse using Pick to Tote and Pack Screen to complete the entire fulfillment process.

Q: How quickly can I get my WMS up & running for e-commerce fulfilment?

A: You can get your WMS up & running fast for e-commerce fulfillment with CartonCloud! For most e-com 3PLs in America, they can go live in just a week, and that’s because our team focuses on customizing CartonCloud to suit your specific needs right off the bat. 

Say you have a new high-volume e-commerce client that comes onboard, or suddenly you have a new flood of SKUs to manage. We make it our top priority to ensure you have the right templates and workflows ready to go so orders can start flowing right away.

C&C Warehouse in South Carolina is a great example of how getting the right pieces in place early can make all the difference.

“When we started this process, it was kind of dire. [Olivia, our Implementations Specialist], was really supportive with that. 

She was always super responsive — whether it was emails or linking different articles. She helped us with some customization templates that I wasn’t able to figure out and that we needed pretty quickly.” — Alex Mathis, Production Director, C&C Warehouse

“Olivia’s ability to meet customers where they are and really customize the approach made a big difference.

It wasn’t ‘here’s everything.’ It was ‘this is what you need right now,’ and then customizing it so we’re set up where we’re supposed to be.” — Greg Cate, Owner, C&C Warehouse

We also have a lot of great tools that make it easy for your team to get started fast, such as our online Academy that’s packed with video guides and tutorials, as well as our Knowledge Base which has step-by-step guides, making it really easy to follow along to help you configure the system to your needs.

“It’s configurable and easy to use. I did the whole onboarding process myself — the Knowledge Base is super complete. It went really fast and really good.” — Santiago Zubillaga, Founder, Logistica Patagonia

If you’re ready to get started, our team is always here to help you get set up right away. Reach out to our team to get started today!

Key Takeaways

• CartonCloud’s e-commerce WMS workflows help e-com 3PLs in America ship more without hiring more staff. E-com workflows like Wave Picking, Pick to Tote, and Pack Screen increase throughput by letting teams pick high-volume orders in fewer passes, sort orders as they pick, and streamline packing and dispatch.
  
  
• Direct CartonCloud integrations keep orders flowing without any data entry required. By connecting with platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce, and Amazon, orders flow into the system in real time, inventory stays up to date, and tracking information is automatically sent back to the storefront.
  
  
• A fast go-live makes it easier to keep up with growing e-commerce demand. CartonCloud is configurable and quick to launch, so when order volumes increase or a new client comes onboard, teams can start fulfilling orders in days.

Start Scaling Your E-Com Operation Today

If you’re ready to see how you can do more with the team you already have, book a free demo with our friendly team, and we will walk you through how to use the right CartonCloud workflows for your operation.