How to Create an Ecommerce Packing Station for Speed

• An L-shaped packing station eliminates pack bench bottlenecks by separating scanning from packing and keeping orders flowing continuously.
• One licensed scanner can support multiple packers, reducing system access costs while increasing packing speed and labor flexibility.
• Rotational handoff between scanner and packers prevents idle time and clutter from unfinished orders or excess pick trolleys.
• Centralized scanning improves accuracy, supervision, and throughput, helping warehouses ship more orders without expanding space or headcount.

A knock-on effect of having streamlined mobile workflows and rapid picking methods is that packing stations could quickly become overwhelmed with items to box up and dispatch.

Indeed, bottle-necking at the pack bench is a serious issue for productivity and space management. Fortunately for you, we’ve got the solution dialled in.

In this article, we’ll explain how you can scale and streamline your warehouse dispatch process with Descartes Peoplevox.

1. Scaling and streamlining your warehouse dispatch process with Peoplevox
2. Use L-shaped benches
3. Example scenario
4. Recommendations for packing bench setup
5. Would this set up work for you?
6. Packing station FAQs

• Arrange multiple ‘pack’ benches in an L shape around one ‘scan’ bench in the middle.
• The ‘scan’ bench operator is the only Peoplevox device user.
• This bench needs a scanning device running Peoplevox mobile app, a computer running the Peoplevox web app, and a printer.
• The ‘scanner’ takes items from pick trolleys as they arrive at the packing area, scans them through the system, and hands them off to the assembled packers in sequence.

Check out the video below by former Peoplevox CEO, Jonathan Bellwood, on how a minor tweak to your packing bench arrangement can speed up the entire process, optimises space, avoids bottle-necking, and get more orders out the door faster.

1. A trolley with multiple complete orders is brought to the packing area.
2. The one license-holding ‘scanner’ team member scans the trolley itself, then takes any item off the trolley.
3. Peoplevox tells them what order that item is for and any other items required for that order.
4. The ‘scanner’ scans those other items.
5. Peoplevox automatically prints the required documentation for that order (dispatch note, carrier label, etc).
6. The ‘scanner’ passes the items and the documentation to the first ‘packer’ at bench 1.
7. ‘Packer’ 1 doesn’t need to use the system, and could be a contractor or temp, and gets to work packing the items and docs into the necessary box/packaging.
8. While ‘Packer’ 1 is packing, ‘Scanner’ has already scanned more items for the next order from the trolley and can give them to the awaiting ‘packer’ 2.
9. ‘Scanner’ continues to rotate around their ‘packers’ until all the orders are packed completely, with each ‘packer’ completing one pack at a time without either waiting around for the next order or having too many items piled up on them waiting to pack.

Note: from scanning an item, it takes 5-7 seconds to print the documents and give all the items to someone to pack.

• We recommend having between 1-4 packing benches, subject to your busy schedule and average order profile.
• Three benches would be optimal for an average of 3 items per order.
• Four pack benches would be best if your items per order average is more like 1.5.

One license speeds up packing, and using this setup, the bottleneck created from faster picking and slower packing can be removed. You will also negate the clutter of too many trolleys full of items waiting to be packed around the pack benches.

As a further benefit, this system also improves accuracy alongside speed, as you can have a supervisor watching the packers to ensure they’re accurate and diligent in their work.