How to Speed Up Shopify Fulfillment with Automated Pick Lists
Fast fulfillment = happier customers and fewer “Where’s my order?” emails. The problem? Shopify’s default flow often caps order selection at 50 at a time, which turns bulk picking into a slog. In this guide, you’ll learn a simple, repeatable workflow to generate automated pick lists, batch hundreds of orders at once, and reduce mistakes—without changing your entire tech stack.
What is an automated pick list?
An automated pick list is a generated document (or on‑screen view) that consolidates all items across selected orders, so your team can pick by product/variant, not one order at a time. Good pick lists are grouped, readable, and printable, and they slot into your current packing workflow.
Common bottlenecks (and how to avoid them)
- 50‑order cap: Selecting orders from the default Orders page limits how many you can process in one run.
- Unsorted sheets: Mixed SKUs and no grouping increases walking time and errors.
- Missing filters: Pulling orders from the wrong location or time window creates stock‑outs and confusion at the packing station.
The 6‑step workflow
- Choose your time window and location — Filter orders by Location, Date Range, and Time Window to match how your team ships (e.g., “Today 6am–2pm, Main Warehouse”).
- Fetch orders in bulk — Load hundreds of orders at once to eliminate the 50‑order limit.
- Group by product/variant — Consolidate identical SKUs so the picker pulls a single quantity for each product.
- Sort by shelf layout — Sort by SKU or an “aisle → bay → shelf” field to create a logical pick path.
- Print or export the pick sheet — Include SKU, variant, quantity, and optional image; keep fonts large and readable.
- Quick QA before packing — Spot‑check a couple of high‑quantity items before sealing boxes.
A lightweight way to implement this in Shopify
You don’t need a WMS overhaul to get started. Nit Picker lets you filter by location/date/time, select 50–500+ orders at once, group by variant, and print clean pick sheets.