Overview
Pack Mode prevents your packers from shipping the wrong items to your customers. In this guide, we'll go over how to get started with Pack Mode, recommendations for your operation, and the various settings used to configure it.
Table of Contents
Require Packing Before Shipping
Getting Started
By default, Pack Mode will show up on your order page in Lister.
Scan a pack slip, product barcode, or even type in an order number to open Pack Mode.
Once Pack Mode is open, the packer will need to confirm each item and assign at least one box. The packer won’t be able to proceed unless the order is 100% correct.
Once all items are accounted for, and a box has been selected, you can confirm an order. This will give the packer credit for packing this order and record the boxes used for the shipping report.
Depending on your workflow (see below), the associate will be prompted to either ship the order or start packing another order. See our recommendations below on which one is best for your operation.
Workflows
Pack and Ship at Same Station
For smaller organizations, your order fulfillment workflow might involve one person packing and shipping an order. If this is the case for your operation, we recommend you use Pack Mode as confirmation for multi-item orders only. Here's how that works:
As an admin, go to Admin > Shipping and turn on "Require Packing before Shipping". Next time your associates go to ship a multi-item order, Pack Mode will prompt the user to confirm all items, then immediately send them to shipping once an item is confirmed. This cuts down on misships with minimal overhead to shipper workflows.
For more details on how "Require Packing before Shipping" works, see section below on this setting.
Separate Packing and Shipping Stations
If your operation packs and ships at different stations, we recommend the default version of Pack Mode that comes with Lister. Have your packers open up Pack Mode at the beginning of the day, and when they receive items to pack, start scanning them into Lister to confirm. Productivity for packing will be tracked, and the boxes used will be in your shipments report.
Once a box is packed, you'll need a way for the shippers to pull up the order again. You'll have a few options on how to do this based on the equipment you have.
Barcode Printer
If you have a spare barcode printer, we recommend you reprint a single product barcode and place it on the box. That way, a shipper can scan the barcode in shipping and continue the order. This is the fastest and most recommended way to track packages.
Paper Printer
If you have a spare 8.5x11" printer, we recommend printing a pack slip, placing it in the box, and leaving the box open for your shippers to scan, or placing it in an envelope.
Leaving Box Open
If you're unable to procure more equipment, you can leave product barcodes on each item and leave the packed box open. Your shippers would then need to scan a barcode in the shipping box. This is not a recommended practice, and we suggest using a printer instead.
Scan Sheets
Pack Mode can be controlled without having to touch a mouse by using our scan sheets. These are 8.5x11" sheets of paper that have barcode commands that you can scan into Lister to control Pack Mode. Scan sheets can be printed either from Pack Mode (under the box selector) or in Admin > Shipping Boxes.
Here's what it looks like:
Scan Sheet Controls
Here's what all of the controls do:
Confirm: Scanning this is the same as clicking "Confirm order" in the top right of Pack Mode.
Reset: This will reset Pack Mode to a blank slate. This is the same as clicking "Reset" in the top left in Pack Mode.
Print pack slip: This will cause a pack slip to open in a new tab for printing. This is the same as clicking "Print pack slip" in Pack Mode.
Custom: This will assign the order's box as "Custom," meaning the shipper will input custom dimensions when shipping the item. Use this for one-off boxes.
Your boxes: Scanning one of these will automatically select the corresponding box in Pack Mode.
Scan Sheet Customization
You can customize what boxes go on the scan sheet in Admin > Shipping Boxes by checking off the "Include on scan sheet" column. Aside from "Custom" box, all boxes will be ordered by name (A-Z) on the scan sheet.
Disable box confirmation
Pack Mode will require your packers to select a box each time they confirm an order. Adding a box in Pack Mode removes an extra step when you ship the item and records the boxes used in the shipments report. It is recommended you leave this as a requirement in Pack Mode.
However, if you find you don't need this extra step, or like assigning the box in the shipping step, you are free to remove this requirement. To disable, navigate to Admin > Orders, and disable "Require box selection".
Next time you go to pack an order, the box won't be required.
Require Packing Before Shipping
By default, packing an order is not required in order to ship an item out. For organizations that pack and ship at the same station, it might be advantageous to enable this. Not sure what you should do? See our section on recommended workflows above.
To require packing before shipping, go to Admin > Shipping, and make sure "Require packing before shipping" is checked ON.
When you turn this setting on, the "Pack Orders" link will disappear from your order manager in Lister. This is because Pack Mode will now show up when your associates go to create shipping labels. For multi-item orders, Pack Mode will always show, but if you scan a product barcode, Pack Mode will be skipped since your associate already has the right item. When Pack Mode shows is modeled below:
