10 Practical Tips for More Efficient Order Shipping

Every e-commerce seller knows the feeling. Orders are coming in, which should be great news, but instead of celebrating growth, you're drowning in shipping tasks. You spend hours printing labels, searching for products, and making decisions about which carrier to use for each order. By the end of the day, you've shipped everything, but you're exhausted and know tomorrow will be exactly the same.

The truth is, most shipping inefficiency comes from solving the same problems over and over instead of fixing them once. You manually select PostNL for Dutch orders every single time. You walk to the back of your warehouse for that one popular SKU multiple times per day. You print labels one by one, match them to orders, and hope you don't mix them up.

These aren't complicated problems, but they compound. When you're shipping 20 orders per day, inefficiency is annoying. When you're shipping 100 orders per day, it becomes unsustainable. You either hire more people (expensive) or work longer hours (exhausting), when the real solution is to eliminate the inefficiency itself.

This guide covers 10 practical improvements that actually work. These aren't theoretical concepts or complex systems that take months to implement. These are straightforward changes you can start making today, each one tested by hundreds of sellers who've successfully scaled their operations without scaling their headcount.

We'll start with the foundation - getting your warehouse organized - then move through order processing optimizations and advanced automation. Pick the tips that address your biggest pain points first. Even implementing just two or three of these will transform your daily shipping operations.

The Foundation: Get Your Warehouse in Order

1. Implement Bin Locations with Barcode Scanning

The single biggest time-waster in order fulfillment? Searching for products. If your team spends even 30 seconds per order looking for items, that's 25 minutes wasted per 50 orders.

Bin locations solve this permanently. Assign every storage spot a unique code like A-01-01 (Aisle A, Rack 1, Shelf 1). When you receive inventory, scan the bin location, then scan the product. Your system now knows exactly where everything lives.

During picking, your pick list shows: "SKU-12345: Bin A-01-01, Quantity: 2". No searching, no guessing, no asking colleagues. Just walk directly to the location and pick.

The barcode scanning adds another layer of accuracy. Scan the bin location to confirm you're in the right spot, scan the product to verify it's correct. This virtually eliminates pick errors that lead to customer complaints and expensive returns.

Stockpilot's mobile scanning app makes this entire workflow seamless. The app handles receiving, bin assignment, and order picking all through your phone. Stockpilot's bin location management tracks every product's exact position, and the barcode verification system ensures accuracy at every step. The investment in a decent barcode scanner (€200-300) pays for itself in the first week through time savings alone.

2. Organize Your Warehouse by Pick Route

Your warehouse layout directly impacts shipping speed. Products should be positioned based on pick frequency, not randomly or alphabetically.

Start with ABC analysis:

• A items (20% of SKUs, 80% of picks): Place these in the "golden zone" - waist to shoulder height, closest to your packing station
• B items (30% of SKUs, 15% of picks): Secondary locations, still easily accessible
• C items (50% of SKUs, 5% of picks): Top shelves, back areas, wherever space allows

Design your pick path as a logical flow. If you're walking back and forth across your warehouse, you're wasting time and energy. The ideal route is a U-shape or straight line where pickers move in one direction, collecting items as they go.

Stockpilot's pick route optimization automatically generates the most efficient walking path based on your bin locations. The system analyzes your warehouse layout and creates pick lists that minimize distance traveled. Combined with Stockpilot's pick frequency analytics, you can identify which products should be moved to prime locations for maximum efficiency.

When you implement proper warehouse organization with Stockpilot's route optimization, picking speed increases by 40-60%. That's not a marginal improvement - it's transformative for your daily operations.

3. Invest in Proper Shipping Materials and Equipment

Poor equipment creates constant friction. You know the frustration: tape that won't dispense properly, boxes that don't close right, labels that won't stick. These small annoyances compound into major time losses.

Essential equipment investments:

• Fixed tape dispensers at each packing station. The handheld ones seem convenient but slow you down. A proper desk-mounted dispenser means one-handed operation
• Standard box sizes. Limit yourself to 5-6 sizes maximum. Decision fatigue from choosing between 15 box options wastes mental energy
• Label printer at standing height. No bending, no reaching. Labels print directly where you need them - especially when using Stockpilot's PrintNode integration for automatic printing
• Pre-cut cushioning materials. Buy pre-cut bubble wrap or air pillows. Rolling and cutting bubble wrap for each order is pure waste

Create dedicated zones for each material. Boxes stacked by size, cushioning in bins, marketing inserts in slots. When everything has a place, packing becomes automatic rather than a constant search mission.

The difference between a well-equipped packing station and a makeshift setup? About 2 minutes per order. Multiply that by your daily order volume - the investment pays for itself quickly.

Streamline Your Order Processing

4. Consolidate Orders from All Channels in One Screen

Channel-hopping is a productivity killer. Log into bol.com, process 10 orders. Switch to Amazon, handle 5 more. Check Shopify, grab another 8. By the time you're done, you've spent more time logging in and navigating than actually processing orders.

Central order management changes everything. All orders - regardless of source - appear in one dashboard. You see order status, payment confirmation, shipping address, and special instructions in a unified view.

Stockpilot's central order dashboard consolidates everything automatically. Orders from bol.com, Amazon, Shopify, your own webshop, and even B2B portals flow into a single queue. You can filter by status, sort by priority, or group by destination. But the key is: one screen, all orders.

This consolidation also prevents the dangerous oversight of forgotten channels. We've all been there - you process everything from your main channels, then realize three days later you had orders sitting in that marketplace you rarely check. Stockpilot's multi-channel sync eliminates these blind spots by continuously pulling orders from all connected channels.

Bulk operations become possible too. Select 50 orders, apply the same shipping method, print all labels at once with Stockpilot's bulk shipping label creation. What used to take an hour now takes 10 minutes.

5. Use Shipping Rules for Automatic Carrier Selection

Manual carrier selection is a hidden time thief. For each order, you evaluate: What's the weight? The destination? The value? The customer's delivery preference? Then you choose the appropriate carrier. This decision-making adds 30-60 seconds per order.

Stockpilot's shipping rules engine automates these decisions entirely. You define the logic once:

• Orders under 2kg to Netherlands → PostNL letterbox
• Orders to Belgium → DHL
• Orders to Germany over €100 → DPD with insurance
• Orders containing SKU-FRAGILE-001 → Always UPS with extra protection

The system applies these rules instantly to every order. No thinking required. The right carrier is pre-selected based on your predefined logic.

Stockpilot's advanced shipping rule combinations handle complex scenarios:

• IF destination is France AND weight > 5kg AND value > €150 → Use DPD Express
• IF customer selected express shipping AND destination is Netherlands → PostNL same-day delivery
• IF order contains lithium batteries → Special carrier with dangerous goods handling

The shipping rules in Stockpilot run automatically on order import. By the time you open your order dashboard, the optimal shipping method is already selected based on your rules. You can override if needed, but 95% of the time, the rules get it right.

The real power of Stockpilot's automated carrier selection comes during peak seasons. Black Friday hits, orders triple overnight. Without shipping rules, you'd spend hours making carrier decisions. With Stockpilot's rules, it's already done.

6. Batch Process Similar Orders

Processing orders one by one is like washing dishes individually instead of filling the sink. Batch processing groups similar work together for massive efficiency gains.

Effective batching strategies in Stockpilot:

Single-item orders first. These are your quickest wins. Stockpilot's order filtering lets you instantly select all single-item orders, print pick lists together, pack in rapid succession. You can process 20 single-item orders in the time it normally takes for 5 mixed orders.

Group by destination country. Stockpilot's country-based batching groups all German orders together, meaning you're in the "DPD International" mindset. Same customs forms, same shipping rules, same label format. Your brain doesn't constantly switch contexts.

Priority orders in separate batch. Stockpilot's priority filtering identifies express shipping orders that need attention to deadlines. Process these first thing in the morning as a distinct batch. No risk of missing cutoff times because an express order was mixed with standard shipping.

The key is to commit to the batch. Stockpilot's batch processing view keeps you focused - complete the entire batch before moving on. This focused approach can double your processing speed.

Advanced Shipping Workflows

7. Implement Pick Lists with Location Guidance

A pick list without bin locations is just a shopping list. A proper pick list is a guided tour through your warehouse, optimized for efficiency.

Stockpilot's intelligent pick lists include:

• Bin location for every item (A-01-01)
• Quantity to pick clearly displayed
• Optimal route order - items listed in the sequence you'll encounter them
• Barcode for verification at point of pick
• Check-off system to track progress

Stockpilot's pick list generation follows your warehouse flow. If your warehouse runs A to Z aisles, the list is automatically sorted A to Z. No backtracking, no zigzagging.

Multi-order pick lists in Stockpilot multiply efficiency. Instead of picking order by order, you pick for 10 orders simultaneously. The list shows "Bin A-01-01: Pick 7 units (Order #1: 2, Order #5: 3, Order #8: 2)". One trip through the warehouse fulfills multiple orders.

At the packing station, Stockpilot's verification system catches errors. Scan each item as you pack it. The system confirms it belongs to that order, preventing shipping errors before they happen.

Stockpilot's route optimization algorithm knows your bin locations, calculates the most efficient path, and groups items to minimize walking. What looks like magic is just good algorithm design built into the platform.

8. Automate Printing with PrintNode Integration

Stop hitting Ctrl+P for every document. Stop selecting the right printer from a dropdown. Stop walking to different printers for different document types. These micro-interruptions destroy your shipping flow.

Stockpilot's PrintNode integration eliminates all manual printing steps. Documents automatically route to the correct printer without any interaction. Packing slips go to the A4 printer at the packing station. Shipping labels go to the thermal label printer. Pick lists print at the warehouse entrance.

How Stockpilot's automatic printing transforms your workflow:

• Click "Ship Orders" in Stockpilot
• Pick lists instantly print at the warehouse printer via PrintNode
• Packing slips print in order at the packing station
• Shipping labels emerge from the label printer in perfect sequence
• You never touched a print dialog

Multi-location printing with Stockpilot and PrintNode gets even more powerful. Warehouse team gets pick lists on their printer. Office gets invoices on theirs. Different locations, different printers, zero manual routing.

The time savings seem small - 10 seconds per print job - but multiply that by 100 documents per day. That's 15+ minutes of pure waste eliminated. More importantly, Stockpilot's PrintNode automation maintains your flow state. No context switching, no printer selection, no walking to retrieve documents.

Configure once in Stockpilot which document types go to which printers. After that, everything prints automatically to the right place. Your team can focus on packing and shipping, not print management.

9. Set Up Order Forwarding and Automatic Order Splitting

Not every order ships from your warehouse. Modern e-commerce involves multiple fulfillment locations, and manual forwarding is unsustainable at scale. Even more complex: orders that need to be split between different suppliers or warehouses.

Stockpilot's automatic order splitting is a game-changer for complex fulfillment. When an order contains products from multiple suppliers, Stockpilot automatically splits it and sends each part to the right location. Customer orders Product A and Product B? If A comes from Supplier 1 and B from Supplier 2, Stockpilot creates two separate fulfillment requests automatically.

Stockpilot's forwarding options cover every scenario:

Email forwarding with documents: The simplest integration - Stockpilot emails your packing slip and shipping label directly to your supplier's fulfillment address. Perfect for smaller suppliers who don't have complex systems. They receive everything needed to ship with your branding, no technical integration required.

System integrations: For larger operations, Stockpilot connects directly to WMS and ERP systems like Picqer, Odoo, or SAP Business One. Orders flow seamlessly into their system with all necessary data. No manual entry, no errors, just automatic synchronization.

Amazon MCF routing: Items stored at Amazon can fulfill orders from any channel. Stockpilot's Amazon MCF integration automatically identifies FBA inventory and routes those orders to Amazon for fulfillment.

Conditional forwarding with SKU rules: Stockpilot's IF/ELSE logic handles complex scenarios:

• IF SKU contains "SUPPLIER-A-" → Forward to Supplier A's email with packing slip
• IF SKU starts with "FBA-" → Route to Amazon MCF
• IF SKU matches dropship list → Send to Picqer WMS
• IF destination is Spain AND product weight < 5kg → Forward to Spanish 3PL
• ELSE → Fulfill from own warehouse

Order splitting examples in Stockpilot:

• Customer orders 3 products: 2 from your warehouse, 1 from supplier
• Stockpilot automatically creates two orders: one for your warehouse, one emailed to supplier
• Both ship with your branding, customer receives one seamless experience
• Tracking updates flow back to Stockpilot and sync to all sales channels

The beauty of Stockpilot's forwarding engine is flexibility. Whether your supplier uses email, Odoo, SAP, or carrier pigeons (okay, not that last one), Stockpilot adapts to their system. You maintain central control while orders flow automatically to the right fulfillment location.

Stockpilot's split order tracking keeps everything visible. Even when an order splits into three parts going to different locations, you see all statuses in one dashboard. Customer service can answer questions without hunting through multiple systems.

10. Monitor and Optimize with Data

You can't improve what you don't measure. Most sellers have no idea how long order processing actually takes or where bottlenecks occur.

Key metrics in Stockpilot's analytics dashboard:

• Time per order by employee - who's fast, who needs training?
• Pick rate - items picked per hour, identifying slow zones
• Error rate by process - where do mistakes happen most?
• Carrier performance - actual delivery times vs. promises
• Processing time by order type - single vs. multi-item, domestic vs. international

Stockpilot's bottleneck analysis reveals problems systematically. If picking takes 3 minutes but packing takes 8 minutes, you don't need faster pickers - you need to fix the packing process. Maybe it's the tape dispenser, maybe it's box selection, maybe it's label printing. Stockpilot's data insights reveal the real problem.

A/B testing with Stockpilot's reporting. Try new pick routes for a week, measure the difference. Test different batching strategies, compare results in Stockpilot. Switch carrier for German orders, track delivery performance. Make decisions based on data from Stockpilot's performance metrics, not assumptions.

Stockpilot's analytics show average processing times, identify peak efficiency hours, spot patterns in errors. The system shows which shipping rules save the most time, which forwarding routes work best, where manual intervention still occurs.

Regular optimization reviews using Stockpilot's reporting tools keep you improving. Every month, look at your Stockpilot data. What's the slowest part of your process? Fix that one thing. Next month, find the new slowest part. Continuous small improvements compound into major efficiency gains.

Start with One, Build from There

Don't overwhelm yourself trying to implement all 10 tips at once. Pick the one that addresses your biggest pain point:

• Constantly searching for products? Start with Stockpilot's bin location system
• Switching between marketplaces all day? Implement Stockpilot's central order management
• Manually selecting carriers? Set up Stockpilot's shipping rules
• Making lots of pick errors? Introduce Stockpilot's barcode scanning

Implement one improvement, measure the impact with Stockpilot's analytics, then add the next. Most sellers see 30-50% time reduction with just the basics in place.

The compound effect is powerful. Bin locations save 30 seconds per order. Shipping rules save another 45 seconds. Batch processing cuts 60 seconds. Suddenly you're processing orders in 2 minutes instead of 5 minutes. That's 150 orders in the time it used to take for 60.

The Bottom Line

Efficient shipping isn't about working faster - it's about working smarter. These aren't revolutionary concepts, but most sellers haven't implemented them properly. The difference between struggling with 50 orders per day and comfortably handling 150 orders per day isn't more staff or longer hours. It's better systems.

Every minute saved on routine tasks is a minute you can invest in growth - sourcing new products, optimizing listings, improving customer service. That's how you scale without sacrificing your life to the business.

With Stockpilot, these optimizations aren't just theory - they're built into the platform. From bin management to shipping rules, from PrintNode integration to automated forwarding, the tools exist. You just need to use them.

Start your 14-day free trial of Stockpilot today. Pick one tip, implement it properly with Stockpilot's features, and watch your shipping efficiency transform.