As you know, GroovePacker Lite is used to check each order as it's being packed to ensure that no mistakes are made. You may choose to do this process before creating a shipping label for each order, or you may prefer to print your shipping labels in bulk and then scan and pack each order before applying the label that was printed earlier. If you're getting started and you're not sure which of these two options to go with, I would recommend using the batch label printing if you will not need to weigh each packed package. In general bulk printing saves time, if it is an option. Many warehouses will divide their orders based on the contents and print bulk labels for some orders that ship flat rate for example, while others, that require individually weighed postage, are done in a separate batch. GroovePacker Lite is compatible with both of these workflows so you'll be shipping perfect orders either way.
Bulk Shipping Label Workflow
The workflow is started by printing the shipping labels and optionally the packing slips for a group of orders. Packing slips are optional here because the Shipping Label can be used to open the order for scanning as long as the tracking number is in Shopify. If Shopify is used to generate the shipping label you can count on the tracking number being available. If the label is printed elsewhere you'll need to verify it is sent back to Shopify before the scanning process begins.
If the tracking number is not available in Shopify you also have the option of scanning the packing slip to display the order, rather than the Shipping Label. This will require that the packing slips include an order number barcode. GroovePacker Lite includes a built-in packing slip that includes a barcode. The Knowledge Base article here goes into more detail.
When printing is complete the packer will be given the Shipping labels and the packing slips for the orders they will pack and there are now three options depending on your warehouse setup:
1 - They can pick the required items to pack a single order and return to a packing station to scan and pack the items (ideal for smaller warehouses and orders with more items per order)
2 - They can pick the required items to pack a single order and scan each item as it is picked and placed into the final box or bag it will ship in, or into a tote that keeps multiple orders separated. (this works well in very large spaces where returning to the packing station takes a too much time, and also in cases where items are small and many orders can be carried in a single tote that is divided into sections to receive more than one order, or where a cart that holds many orders is used as a mobile packing station)
3 - They can pick the required items to pack many orders at once. All items are brought back to a packing station where each order is scanned and packed using the items that were picked. (This is usually done using a consolidated pick list that shows the items required for 10-30 orders at a time. GroovePacker Lite does not currently offer consolidated pick lists but if the list is generated elsewhere this method is also possible)
In all of the workflows above the packer will begin the order scanning process by scanning the packing slip or the shipping label while on the GroovePacker lite home page.
On scanning, GroovePacker Lite will display the order and show the packer the items that need to be scanned. The scan and pack process will verify each item as it is scanned and ensure the order is packed correctly.
IMPORTANT: If the order does not display when scanned it may be that the order has been Archived. Please see this article to prevent orders from getting automatically archived when they are fulfilled. If your workflow requires that orders be archived before scanning you can enable the "Search and Queue Archived Orders" option in settings. This may delay order fetching if there are many archived orders on the account.
When scanning is complete the packer will be notified and can then apply the shipping label to complete the order. To ensure the correct shipping label is applied, GroovePacker Lite optionally requests that the packer scan the Shipping Label before they apply it. This option can be enabled in the GroovePacker Lite settings section.
When the last step of the scanning process is completed, the order receives a GPSCANNED tag. This tag removes the order from the Un-Scanned view.
Shipping Label after order is packed Workflow
This workflow begins with only the packing slips being printed. Here each packing slip will need an order number barcode that will be used to cue the order to be scanned. The Knowledge Base article here explains how packing slips can be printed with GroovePacker Lite and if a custom packing slip is required the process of adding the barcode to a packing slip using Order Printer is also included.
The packer will be given the packing slips for the orders they are going to be packing and they have the same three picking options mentioned in the previous workflow. Once they are reading to begin scanning an order they will open the GroovePacker Lite home screen and begin the process by scanning the order number barcode from a packing slip. They will then be guided through the packing process.
When the process completes GroovePacker Lite can automatically open the order in Shopify if the shipping label will be created by Shopify. Choose the "Create Shipping Label" option in the GroovePacker Lite settings to enable this functionality. After the label is created they would repeat the process with the next order.
If the Shipping Label is being created outside of Shopify, the packer would generally use the order number barcode from the packing slip to open the correct order in the App that creates the label. Once the label has been printed and applied to the shipment the packer will return to GroovePacker Lite and scan the next packing slip to continue the process. In this case, you would select the default, "Ready for Orders" option so that when the packer returns to scan to the next order GroovePacker Lite is waiting to receive the scan.
If you have questions about your specific workflow please reach out to support and we can help determine the best option and answer any questions you have.