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Ways to pick orders in a small shop, compared
Paper, a spreadsheet, the pick list in your shipping app, a full warehouse system or pickBlink: what each costs, what it shows the picker and when it’s the right choice.
| Paper pick list | Spreadsheet | Shipping app pick list | Full WMS | pickBlink | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free | Free | Part of the shipping app | Usually priced for warehouses | $9 a month |
| Setup | Minutes | An afternoon | Hours (needs bin data per product) | Weeks, often with help | About ten minutes for a first shelf |
| Shows where each item is | Only if you write it | A bin code per row | A bin code, if filled in | Bin codes, scanners, often hardware | The bin lit up on a photo of your shelf |
| Walking order | By hand | Sort by bin column | Sort by bin field | Yes | Yes, numbered on the photo |
| Several orders in one walk | Hard | By hand | Some apps | Yes | Yes, split per order at the end |
| Checks the right item | No | No | Some apps, with a scanner | Barcode scanning | Barcode scanning with the phone camera |
| Stock per bin | No | If kept up to date | Rarely | Yes | Yes, with low-stock alerts |
| Orders from several stores | Copy by hand | Copy or import | Yes | Yes | Yes: 7 stores in one list |
| Best for | A handful of orders a day | One person who knows the shelves | Shops that already buy labels there | Many pickers, large warehouses | Small shops with helpers or many SKUs |
Paper pick lists
Print the order, walk the shelves, tick items off. It’s free and needs nothing, and for a handful of orders a day it’s hard to beat. It breaks down when someone else picks: they don’t know where things are, and nothing checks the item. Write the bin next to each line and sort by it; the pick list guide has a free template.
Spreadsheets
A sheet with one row per product and a bin column lets you sort an order into walking order and share the map with helpers. It’s only as good as its last update, and every order still has to be copied in by hand or exported from the store.
The pick list in your shipping app
Many shipping and order apps can print a pick list for the day’s orders, often sorted by SKU or a bin field you fill in per product. It’s a good step if you already buy labels there. The picker still reads a code and has to know where it is on the shelf.
A full warehouse management system
A WMS runs stock, locations, receiving and tasks for whole warehouses, usually with barcodes on every shelf and handheld scanners. It’s the right tool for many pickers and high volumes, and more than most small shops need, in price and in setup.
pickBlink
pickBlink is built for small shops that pick their own orders. Photograph a shelf, mark the bins on the photo (or let AI find them) and drag your products onto them. When an order arrives from Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Etsy, eBay, Amazon or Wix, its bins light up on the photo, numbered in walking order, with the quantity to take. Scan each item with the phone camera to check it, pick several orders in one walk, and keep stock per bin. It’s $9 a month after a 3-day free trial.
When pickBlink isn’t the right fit
- You ship a few orders a week and know every shelf by heart: paper is enough.
- You need shipping labels: pickBlink doesn’t buy or print them, so keep your shipping app for that.
- You run a large warehouse with dozens of pickers, receiving docks and scanners on every shelf: look at a full WMS.
Questions about choosing
What is the cheapest way to pick orders in a small shop?
A paper pick list sorted by bin is free and works for a handful of orders a day. It gets slow and error-prone once several people pick, or when products move around. pickBlink costs $9 a month and shows each item’s bin on a photo of your own shelves.
Do I need a warehouse management system (WMS) for a small shop?
Usually not. A full WMS is built for warehouses with many pickers, dock doors and scanners on every shelf, and is priced and set up accordingly. Most small shops need three things: a bin for every product, pick lists in walking order and a check that the right item went in the box.
What does pickBlink not do?
pickBlink doesn’t buy or print shipping labels (keep using your store or shipping app for that), and it can’t mark Amazon orders as shipped, because Amazon needs a tracking number. It needs an internet connection and runs in the browser rather than as a phone app.
Can I switch from a spreadsheet to pickBlink?
Yes. Keep your bin codes as the bin labels in pickBlink, photograph each shelf, and draw (or let AI find) the bins. Your products come in from your store, and you drag each one onto its bin.
Keep reading
How pickBlink works
From a photo of your shelves to picking orders with the bins lit up, in six steps.
How pickBlink works →pickBlink pricing
$9 a month after a 3-day free trial: the whole app, all 7 stores and 100 AI credits a month.
pickBlink pricing →Order picking glossary
Pick lists, slotting, batch, wave and zone picking, cycle counts and more, each in a sentence or two.
Order picking glossary →Light up your next order.
Set up your first shelf in about ten minutes. Try pickBlink free for 3 days, no card needed. Then $9 a month, with 100 AI credits included.