If I had to guess, I’d place Directed Picking as one of the most underrated features in our system.

In fairness, Directed Picking does require some initial setup and consideration. But once that’s in place, it can drastically reduce picker travel time and facilitate better organization in your warehouse.

With this quick blog post, my end goal is to help you learn…

• What Directed Picking is, how it works in RF Plus
• Pros & Cons(iderations)
• How to complete first-time setup

Pros & Cons(iderations)

Pro #1 – Speed up picking without tribal knowledge

It’s likely that you have 1-2 warehouse workers who can locate almost any part, show you every shortcut, AND explain why on Tuesdays, the chrome-plated parts won’t be in their usual place until Brandon does replenishment at 1pm when his shift starts.

Put simply, we introduced this feature to help teams pick faster.

With Directed Picking, users receive intelligent suggestions on which lines to pick first from the customer order, where to go, and how much to pick.

Unlike standard picking, it involves significantly less scanning and typing, automatically finds the shortest travel route, and prevents users from backtracking.

Consideration #1 – Less user validation = Higher risk of input errors

It’s important to remember that there’s usually a good reason why we constantly get confirmation messages like “Are you sure you want to post/delete this?”. Forcing users to think twice before submitting pick transactions might be necessary in some cases.

Pro #2 – FIFO Picking support on trace parts

A question we get often is how do I implement FIFO Picking AND also ensure my workers are sticking to it?

Managing exactly what and where parts are picked is a core trait of Directed Picking. When part trace is enabled, RF Plus can easily provide workers with the correct trace part to pick based on FIFO rules.

Consideration #2 – Requires adequate inventory accuracy

It is important to note that this feature works best in warehouses that have designated areas, zones, or locations with a reasonable level of inventory accuracy.

If so, you might want to consider a different picking strategy. Wave or Batch Picking, for example, groups picking by similar product traits or by special picking requirements.

Pro #3 – Supports Optimized Warehouse Layouts (i.e. ABC Classification)

By guiding workers to the most efficient (or desired) pick path, you can easily maintain a more optimized warehouse layout. For example, with ABC inventory classification, you can store high-frequency parts (A-class) closer to pick/pack areas and significantly reduce travel time.

📌 Read more about ABC inventory analysis in my previous blog post here

🏃‍♂️Getting started—First-time setup tips & best practices

Setting up Directed Picking starts with establishing a logical picking sequence that aligns with your warehouse layout. This means assigning sequence numbers to each pickable location—usually starting closest to your shipping staging area and increasing toward the farthest point.

The goal is to create a natural and efficient pick path that minimizes backtracking and accelerates fulfillment.

We strongly recommend working with our team during this setup phase to ensure your sequence logic supports both your layout and workflows. We’ve helped many clients configure this successfully, and a quick consultation can save you time and rework.

To make things easier, ask our team for a copy of our Directed Picking SOP Template, which outlines the setup steps, best practices, and user instructions.