The Fulfillment Bottleneck: Separated Pick and Pack Processes
Traditional warehouse fulfillment operates picking and packing as entirely separate stages. Workers pull items from shelves into tote bins, transport them to packing stations via conveyors or carts, then inspect and repackage everything into shipping boxes. It is a sequential flow riddled with inefficiency.
The biggest culprit is inter-process wait time. Field data from mid-to-large distribution centers shows that transit and queuing between picking completion and packing start accounts for 30–40% of total outbound lead time. During peak seasons, tote bins pile up at packing stations, pushing that figure beyond 50%.
The separated model drains time, labor, and space simultaneously.
Simultaneous Pick-and-Pack: A Paradigm Shift in Process Integration
At the 2026 Automation World exhibition in Seoul, Fassto demonstrated a simultaneous fulfillment system that captured industry attention. The concept is simple yet powerful:
The robot carries the final shipping box and picks directly into it.
When an order is received, the WCS (Warehouse Control System) determines the optimal box size, and an AMR (Autonomous Mobile Robot) begins its route through the aisles with an empty shipping box mounted on top. As items are picked from shelves—either by workers or robotic arms—they go straight into the box. The moment picking is done, packing is done too.
This approach works not only for single-item orders but also for multi-SKU orders containing 3–5 items, thanks to intelligent route optimization.
Core Technology Components
Three technical pillars must work in tight coordination for simultaneous pick-and-pack to succeed on the warehouse floor.
1. Real-Time Route Optimization
The WCS applies a modified Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP) algorithm based on SKU location coordinates. Rather than computing simple shortest paths, it performs dynamic route recalculation that factors in aisle occupancy by other robots and shelf access queues. In environments with 200+ concurrent AMRs, route refresh cycles under 100 milliseconds are required.
2. Automated Box Size Selection
A 3D bin-packing algorithm analyzes the volumetric data of items in each order to select the optimal box size. Oversized boxes waste materials and inflate shipping costs; undersized boxes increase damage risk. Leading systems achieve a fit rate above 95% across 5–8 standard box sizes.
3. Multi-Robot Collision Avoidance and Task Distribution
With dozens to hundreds of AMRs sharing narrow aisles, deadlock prevention and workload balancing are essential. The standard approach extends A*-based pathfinding with a temporal dimension using MAPF (Multi-Agent Path Finding) techniques, combined with dispatching logic that accounts for each robot's battery level and current position.
WMS-WCS Integrated Architecture
The success of simultaneous fulfillment hinges on real-time data synchronization between WMS and WCS.
A WebSocket-powered real-time dashboard is particularly critical, enabling floor managers to identify bottlenecks instantly and respond on the spot.
ROI Analysis
Aggregated data from domestic and international simultaneous fulfillment deployments reports the following measurable outcomes:
| Metric | Improvement |
|--------|-------------|
| Outbound lead time | 50% reduction (avg. 4 hours → 2 hours) |
| Packing labor | 70% reduction (most packing station staff redeployed) |
| Box material costs | 15–20% savings (automated optimal sizing) |
| Mis-shipment rate | Below 0.1% (robot + barcode dual verification) |
| Payback period | 18–24 months (at 5,000+ daily shipments) |
For centers processing over 10,000 shipments per day, ROI materializes even faster. When factoring in the cost of hiring temporary workers for peak seasons, the real savings are substantially higher.
POLYGLOTSOFT WMS/WCS Integrated Automation Solution
POLYGLOTSOFT delivers WMS and WCS as a unified platform, enabling end-to-end automation from order receipt through robot dispatching, real-time monitoring, and shipment completion. With standardized AMR vendor interfaces, order-level box optimization algorithms, and a WebSocket-based live dashboard, we provide every technology component required for a successful transition to simultaneous fulfillment. If you are exploring warehouse automation, visit [POLYGLOTSOFT](https://polyglotsoft.dev) to schedule a free consultation.