Voodoo RoboticsWarehouseWorkflow Lab
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Problem-solving guide

Picking errors are too high

Sort mistakes by type and find the first point where the order, item, quantity, or location became wrong.

What to look for · What to measure · What to try this weekNot sure about a term? Open the plain-English glossary
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A simple example

Ten recent complaints include six wrong items from two adjacent locations. Improving location labels and item confirmation is more direct than adding another check at shipping.

01 · Check the complaint

Signs to confirm on the floor

  • Customer complaints or reships rise
  • Packing catches repeated mismatches
  • Inventory adjustments follow pick problems
  • Workers bypass confirmation under pressure
02 · Possible causes

Check more than one possible cause

The first explanation may sound right and still be wrong. Use the measurements in the next section to separate these possibilities.

1

Unclear item or location identity

2

Barcodes that do not scan reliably or scans that are awkward to perform

3

Adjacent position confusion

4

Inventory record errors

5

Approved way to handle a problem is slower than the shortcut workers use

03 · What to measure

Numbers that can change the decision

Opportunities and errors by typeCount chances for an error and actual errors, separated into wrong item, wrong quantity, missing item, damage, label, and other types.
Errors found before shipment versus after shipmentCount errors found inside the warehouse separately from errors found after shipment.
Cost per error by where the error was foundAdd labor, materials, freight, write-off, and customer cost for errors found at picking, packing, shipping, or after delivery.
Worker, product, location, and time concentrationCheck whether a small number of workers, items, locations, or hours account for most mistakes.
Correct work wrongly rejected and check-bypass rateCount correct work rejected by a check and how often workers bypass or override that check.
04 · Possible fixes

Choose a fix only after the facts point to it

1

Confirm the correct item with a scan or check

Use this when: Wrong-item errors dominate

2

Guided destination positions

Use this when: Items put into the wrong order position or adjacent orders dominate

3

Fix the inventory record and its cause

Use this when: Inventory record is wrong

05 · This week

A practical seven-day starting plan

  1. 01

    Write down the error categories and keep them unchanged

  2. 02

    Check 100 recent errors back to the point where the work first went wrong

  3. 03

    Calculate caught and escaped cost separately

  4. 04

    Observe every confirmation workaround

  5. 05

    Test the control closest to the point where the work first went wrong

Turn what you measured into a small test

The diagnostic compares practical options and shows which limits could change the answer.

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