Mobile Pick Workflow | ShipWave Help Center

The pick state machine

Every pick line moves through a strict three-step state machine: scan bin, scan SKU, confirm quantity. The mobile app refuses to skip ahead—you cannot confirm a quantity until both scans succeed. Each step writes a ScanEvent row to the server, giving you a complete audit trail for every unit that leaves a shelf.

Mismatch handling

If a picker scans the wrong bin or the wrong SKU, the device flashes the screen red, fires a haptic vibrate, and logs the bad scan with type mismatch_bin or mismatch_sku. The line stays in its current state, no quantity is decremented, and the picker is prompted to try again. Mismatches do not block the wave—they just cannot complete that particular line. Managers see mismatches in real time on the Scan Exceptions dashboard.

Short-picks with a reason code

When the shelf has fewer units than the order asks for, the picker taps Short Pick and chooses a reason: OutOfStock (none on the shelf), Damaged (unsellable units present), or WrongBin (inventory was misfiled). The order line is marked partial and the cycle-count engine queues that bin for an audit. See Cycle counting for what happens next.

Wave and batch modes

For high-volume warehouses, batch picking lets one picker pull multiple orders in a single warehouse loop. A wave groups 10–50 orders by sortOrder and shows each scan plus the destination tote slot. Single-order mode (one order at a time) is the default and is best for warehouses with mixed SKUs per order. Toggle in Admin → Settings → Operations.

Resume from IndexedDB on app restart

If a picker’s device crashes or the battery dies mid-wave, the next sign-in restores the exact state of the pick—current line, completed lines, queued offline scans. State lives in IndexedDB and survives PWA updates. Pickers never lose their place, and managers do not have to manually reassign waves.

FAQs

Can a manager skip the bin scan in an emergency?

Yes. Managers see a <em>Manager Override</em> button on the bin step. Overrides are logged with the manager’s user ID and surface in the exception report.

What if the SKU barcode is missing or destroyed?

Use the keyboard icon to type the SKU manually. The scan event is tagged <code>manual_entry</code> so you can audit how often this happens by user.

How long can a wave sit before it expires?

Waves never expire on their own—they only complete or get cancelled by a manager. A picker can put a wave down at end of shift and resume it the next morning.

Do mismatches alert anyone immediately?

A manager can subscribe to push notifications for the warehouse. Five mismatches in a 10-minute window triggers an admin alert by default.

The mobile pick workflow