Mobile Picker & Scanning
Bin management and warehouse layout
Build out your aisle, shelf, and bin structure once—then let ShipWave route pickers down the shortest path automatically.
Why bins are the foundation
Every SKU lives in one or more bin assignments, and every pick scan validates against an expected bin. Without bins, the mobile picker has no source of truth. Plan to spend an afternoon labeling your shelves before you go live—it is the single highest-leverage thing you can do for picking accuracy.
Setting up your layout
Go to Admin → Warehouses → [warehouse] → Bins. Add each location with a label (e.g.
A-03-2), an aisle (A), a shelf (03), and a sort order number. Most warehouses use a "snake" pattern: low numbers down aisle A, high numbers up aisle B, and so on. The sort order is just an integer—ShipWave does not care about the scheme, it only orders picks ascending.Bulk import from CSV
For warehouses with hundreds of locations, click Import CSV and upload a file with the columns
label, aisle, shelf, sortOrder. ShipWave creates or updates bins by label, so re-importing a corrected file is safe. A Download template link gives you a starting point. Imports run in chunks of 500 and report any duplicates or invalid sort orders inline.The default bin per warehouse
Each warehouse has one bin marked Default—think of it as overflow. When new inventory arrives without a specific home, ShipWave assigns it to the default bin and the put-away report tells the team to relocate it. Receiving never blocks because of a missing bin assignment. You can change the default at any time by clicking Make default on any bin.
Printing ZPL bin labels
Click Print labels on the bins page to generate a ZPL file with a barcode for each bin label. Send it to any Zebra-compatible printer (we recommend the ZD420 for shelf edges). Each label includes the human-readable bin code, a Code 128 barcode the mobile app can scan, and the warehouse name for cross-site clarity. Reprint individual labels by selecting them with the checkbox column.
How sortOrder drives the pick path
When a wave of orders is released to the floor, the mobile app sorts every line by
sortOrder ascending. A picker scanning down a wave walks the warehouse in a single loop instead of zigzagging. If you renumber your aisles later, just update sort orders in bulk via CSV import—no other config changes are needed. See The mobile pick workflow for what happens after sort order routes the wave.FAQs
Can one SKU live in multiple bins?
Yes. Bin assignments are a many-to-many relationship—the same SKU can have inventory in three bins, and the pick algorithm picks from the closest one (lowest sortOrder) first.
What happens if a picker scans a bin that does not exist?
The app flashes red and logs a ScanEvent with type <code>bin_not_found</code>. The pick is blocked until they scan a real bin or a manager overrides.
How do I deactivate a bin without losing history?
Open the bin and toggle <em>Active</em> off. Past scans and assignments are preserved, but the bin is hidden from put-away and pick routing.
Do I need to label every shelf if I do not use bin tracking yet?
No—but the mobile picker requires bin tracking enabled to work. If you skip bins, you skip the mobile app.
More in Mobile Picker & Scanning
- Setting up the ShipWave mobile picker app
Install the PWA on any phone or tablet, sign in with a PIN, and start picking, packing, or counting in under five minutes.
- The mobile pick workflow
Scan bin, scan SKU, confirm quantity, move on. The mobile app guides pickers through each line and catches every mismatch.
- Scan-to-verify pack stations
Stop labels from going on the wrong box. Every pack scan is verified against the pick, and label purchase is blocked until pack is clean.
- Cycle counting with blind counts
Define count zones, schedule them on a rotation, and let counters verify quantities without seeing the expected number.
- Lot and serial number tracking
Track expiry dates, run recall workflows, and pick units in FEFO order with built-in GS1-128 barcode parsing.