Speed Up Your E-commerce Orders with Data-Driven Picking Workflows

Walking the warehouse floor at this bustling warehouse in Las Vegas, Nevada, you can feel the fast momentum — with every picker moving with purpose, orders flowing in real-time from online stores straight to mobile devices — and packages heading out to customers just as fast. 

At Rockstar 3PL, they aren’t just meeting e-commerce deadlines; they’re crushing them. Through data-driven workflows optimized for e-commerce picking speed, they’ve streamlined every step, empowering their team to fulfill more orders in less time. 

Using CartonCloud’s WMS, the team at Rockstar is able to optimize warehouse pick paths based on live order data, access real-time product locations, and choose the best workflow for each job — keeping their fulfillment fast, accurate, and ready for peak demand.

[CartonCloud] has saved us so much time and it's helped streamline the process of just creating a very positive workflow and a seamless workflow within our warehouse.” — Jimmy Skodras, Vice President of Operations and Logistics at Rockstar 3PL.

Join us on-site with the Rockstar team where we’re getting a behind-the-scenes look at the pick path strategies that keep their e-com operations running smoothly. 

TL;DR: We’ll break down the top three pick path workflows for e-commerce and share exclusive e-commerce picking speed tips from Rockstar 3PL and the CartonCloud team — so your 3PL crew can pick smarter, move faster, and ship out high-volume orders every day.

Q: What is pick path sequencing in e-commerce fulfillment?

A: WMS pick path sequencing is the process of organizing pick locations to create the most efficient route for picking orders.

The type of products you store, where you store them — and even the types of orders you fulfill — all come into play for warehouse picking route optimization.

By using this data, your WMS can guide pickers along the shortest, most efficient route — cutting travel time and enabling your team to handle more orders in less time, even during peak periods like Black Friday or Cyber Monday.

Q: How can a WMS help optimize warehouse pick paths?

A: When you use a WMS to set and adjust pick paths based on live order data and location performance, you can fine-tune your picking process for maximum speed and efficiency. Instead of guesswork, every route is mapped to save time, reduce steps, and keep orders moving out the door faster.

Depending on your order mix and fulfillment needs, there are several e-commerce picking workflows in CartonCloud (known as Wave Picks) that you can use in your operations for maximum efficiency.

1. Bulk Pick – Using this workflow, your team can pick multiple orders simultaneously by the product, rather than order by order. (This is especially useful if your stock is in a hard to reach location and may require a forklift to pick).
2. Split Pick and Pack – This workflow works much like bulk picking, but the tasks are split — your pickers collect the stock while another team handles the packing. (If you have packing stations located in another area of your warehouse, then this workflow is an ideal fit!).
3. Pick to Tote – For high-volume e-commerce with smaller, fast-moving items, Pick to Tote is designed to reduce walking time by letting pickers collect items for multiple orders (often 10–30) at once using a tote trolley and sorting each order into their designated tote. 

You can learn more about what wave picking is here.

Q: Does optimizing pick paths really make a difference?

A: Absolutely! Warehouse picking route optimization means less time walking the aisles, lower labor costs, and a quicker turnaround for every order — which are all critical for fast, reliable e-commerce picking. With 3PL e-commerce pick, pack and reporting tools, it’s like giving your warehouse its own GPS — guiding every step for maximum speed and accuracy.

When you optimize your warehouse pick path, you also:

• Reduce congestion in between aisles,
• Increase accuracy with fewer missed or incorrect picks,
• Get new team members up to speed faster with optimized routes they can follow from day one.

Why Picking Speed is Essential for High-Volume Warehouses

In e-commerce fulfilment, picking speed is one of the top factors driving customer satisfaction — because every second saved in the warehouse gets orders out the door faster. When customers expect same-day or next-day delivery, it’s essential that your team can pick as fast as possible to meet these expectations. 

While at Rockstar 3PL, our team saw this in practice first-hand.

“We could see right away that Rockstar 3PL put picking speed at the top of their priority list. For them, it’s especially important for customer service in a city where speed is everything.

Walking the floor, what really struck us was how naturally they were able to move through their picks — no matter where the stock was located. Whether they were pulling items from ground-level pick faces, or up on a forklift grabbing stock from high shelves, they could pick for multiple different orders all in the same run.” — Shaun Hagen, CartonCloud CEO

In order to optimize warehouse pick paths for speed, Rockstar 3PL uses CartonClould’s mobile app and wave picking on their tablets to complete all their picks in one go.

“The app was very beneficial to the whole process here in terms of putting things away, putting pallets away in their locations, all the way from picking orders to moving items on those orders or wave picking as well.” — Jimmy Skodras, Vice President of Operations and Logistics, Rockstar 3PL

Now, let’s dive more into exactly how they do it.

How to Map, Sequence, & Review Pick Paths Using your WMS

At Rockstar 3PL, optimized picking starts with knowing exactly where every product lives.

“We have the locations that are already on our racks. So if there was any question of what item is in that specific location — it's as easy as scanning that barcode and it pops up on your CartonCloud app.” — Jimmy Skodras

Before you start picking, it’s important to map your warehouse locations so your team can move through the most efficient route every time.

CartonCloud Team Tip: “When setting up your warehouse locations, it’s helpful to create a numbered sequence that follows the best possible pick path for your warehouse by assigning each location to a corresponding number. Most teams use an ‘S’ pattern, moving down one row and then back up the next, ensuring a logical, efficient flow for picking.” — Olivia Trankina, North American Operations Manager, CartonCloud

In CartonCloud, this is quick and easy! You can export your warehouse locations as a CSV, set the order you want them picked in, and re-import the file — instantly updating your pick path sequence. 

Now, whenever you create a Sale Order, your stock will be listed in the pick path sequence you’ve set.

CartonCloud Team Tip: “We recommend numbering locations in increments of 10 so you can slot in new locations later without redoing the whole sequence.” — Javier Hernandez, Implementation Consultant, CartonCloud

For Rockstar 3PL, they can choose the pick paths they use depending on their order type.

“Rockstar 3PL is a perfect example of a multi-service modern 3PL — they’re handling e-commerce orders alongside stock for industries ranging from high-end hospitality to the fast-moving Las Vegas nightlife scene. Being on-site, you can see how diverse their order profiles are, from single-item online purchases to bulk shipments for events. That’s why the ability to adjust their pick paths based on order type is essential. It lets them move seamlessly between high-volume e-commerce runs and larger, more complex orders, keeping fulfillment fast and accurate across the board.” — Shaun Hagen

Here’s a couple typical use cases of pick paths methods you can use, depending on scenario:

• Large volumes of identical single-item orders - Use Split Pick and Pack to group all identical orders with a quantity of one, pick them in a single pass, then bulk print labels and the prep for packing.
• Multi-item or bundled orders - Use Pick to Tote to collect items for multiple orders at once, sorting them into totes as you go so they’re organized and ready for packing when you return to the pack station.
• Large, bulky items or high-volumes of the same SKU – Use Bulk Pick to collect products in one efficient run, whether they’re stored in high-to-reach areas (using forklifts) or in easy-access pick faces. 

Using Location Data for Ongoing Optimization

To ensure your picking speed is always optimized, it’s important to use location data to prioritize stock in accessible areas. 

CartonCloud Team Tip: “We always recommend reviewing location efficiency data regularly — especially after peak periods or major stock changes. Even small tweaks, like moving a top-seller closer to your packing area, can shave seconds off every pick, which can really add up.” — Javier Hernandez, Implementation Consultant, CartonCloud

In CartonCloud, you can configure the location efficiency of each warehouse location so the system automatically prioritizes stock in your most accessible spots. When a picker is assigned an order, the WMS will guide them to the fastest-to-reach location first, reducing unnecessary travel time and keeping fulfillment flowing smoothly.

This kind of smart stock placement is exactly what you see in action at Rockstar 3PL, where their team moves confidently through the warehouse, scanning barcodes and picking from well-placed locations — a setup that keeps their e-commerce fulfillment running quickly and efficiently.

Warehouse Picking Route Optimization in Action

Once your warehouse is mapped and your pick path sequence is set, CartonCloud makes it simple for your team to follow the most efficient route through your warehouse — every time. 

Here’s a quick walkthrough of a Wave Pick, using an optimized warehouse pick path — where the pick path sequence is ordered by location.

Top Pick Path Sequencing Questions — Answered!

Q: What’s the difference between batch picking vs. wave picking?

A: Batch picking is when pickers collect the same SKU for multiple orders in one go, often from a single bin location. Wave picking, on the other hand, groups multiple orders into “waves” that are picked together based on factors like product type. 

Q: Can different pick path workflows be used in the same warehouse?

A: Absolutely. Many 3PLs use a hybrid approach — for example, Bulk Pick for larger products, Pick to Tote for small fast-moving SKUs, and Split Pick and Pack for multi-item orders. By matching the workflow to the order type, you can boost speed without sacrificing accuracy.

Q: Is pick path sequencing only for large warehouses?

A: Not at all. Smaller warehouses can benefit just as much — even short routes add up over hundreds of picks each day, making warehouse picking route optimization a major time saver for small teams.

Key Takeaways

• Optimizing your pick paths with real-time location and order data means your team can follow the most efficient and logical route when picking for orders — cutting down on warehouse travel time and speeding up your e-commerce fulfillment process.
  
  
• Depending on your order mix, you can select from several pick path sequences in CartonCloud such as Bulk Pick, Split Pick and Pack, or Pick to Tote to grab multiple orders in one pass.
  
  
• Ongoing pick path optimization ensures your warehouse adapts quickly to changing order patterns and peak periods, keeping e-commerce fulfillment running smoothly year-round.

Want to know more?

Our friendly team can walk you through exactly how CartonCloud’s warehouse picking route optimization workflows work — and how they can boost your speed and accuracy. Book a free demo to see them in action, or jump right in by downloading our free Pick Path Optimization Template — making it easy to map and upload your locations in bulk right in CartonCloud.