Food hubs are essential to connecting local farmers and producers with consumers, serving as vital links in the local food supply chain. But running a food hub efficiently takes more than just sourcing great products—it requires streamlining operations. One of the most crucial tasks is order processing, especially if you're dealing with a high volume of orders. Efficient order processing can save time, reduce errors, and ultimately enhance customer satisfaction.
So, how do you pack 100 orders an hour for your food hub? In this post, we’ll dive into the key strategies, tips, and tools that will help you streamline order processing and reach this level of efficiency.
Order processing, also referred to as order fulfillment or sales order management, is the series of steps that food hubs take to handle customer orders from start to finish. This includes everything from inventory management and order packing to sorting and shipping. For a food hub, smooth order processing can be the difference between packing ten orders or packing 100 orders an hour.
Picture your order processing workflow like a conveyor belt: every step—whether it's picking, packing, or loading—needs to work in perfect harmony. When one part of the system falters, the entire process grinds to a halt.
Here are the key steps involved:
To hit that impressive goal of 100 orders per hour, your team needs to pack at least 1.5 orders per minute. This means efficiency at every stage of the process, from organizing the workspace to preparing packing lists. In these steps, we lay out how to set up an optimal system to help your team get organized, optimize their assembly line, and get faster at packing.
The first step to increasing your packing speed as well as your team’s efficiency, is to set up your packing list or report efficiently. This report is the source of truth for what needs to be picked and how it needs to be individually packed into boxes. There are many pick-and-pack list formats to choose from, and which format you choose depends on the products you’re packing and how they are currently organized.
You can easily filter orders by week or location using sales software like Local Line and export your pack list. Exporting directly from Local Line saves you tons of time from manipulating and organizing data manually. Inside Local Line, you have four picklists, two packlist formats to select from, and a combination report. These include:
Picklist Formats
Packlist Formats
Picklist and Packlist Combination: This export combines both a picklist and packlist. You get both a breakdown of the total base units needed and by customer.
👉To see and play around with all the different types of pick and packlists you can choose from inside Local Line, book a free demo with our team!
After working with thousands of farms and food hubs, we’ve found that every operation has slightly different needs for their pick and packlists. That’s why we’ve provided so many different formats to choose from.
As a reference, Tandy, food hub manager at Siskiyou Farm Co., leverages two different reports for their pick-and-pack workflow. They export the picklist (advanced inventory and hubs) for product delivery from their vendors. They then leverage the packlist (by customer, by product line item) and order invoices for packing individual orders.
👉To learn more about how Siskiyou Farm Co.’s order pick up day works, Tandy clearly lays out their food hub’s pick-and-pack workflow in this recent article.
Once you’ve figured out the best pick and packlist format for your hub, be sure to have the required number of copies printed out and ready for the packing team. Some helpful tips to improve your pick and packlists:
Layout matters. To maintain speed, your packing station must be organized in a way that makes it easy for your team to grab and pack the right items quickly. The best way to arrange your packing station is to ensure traffic always moves in one direction. This limits team members going against the flow, bumping into each other, and disorganization as a whole.
Set up your products so team members can collect them individually in a way that makes sense based on their packlist. There are a few ways to arrange products:
Tip: Use color-coded bins or zones for different types of products to speed up the selection process.
Setting up an assembly line-style process can dramatically increase your speed. Designate roles for different team members—one person focuses collecting items for the order, while another checks off items from the list and seals the box. By splitting the workload and focusing on specific tasks, you avoid bottlenecks.
Many farmers and food hubs we work with assign “pickers” and “packers”. The picker uses a crate to collect all items for the order based on their packlist. The crate is then passed onto the packer, who double-checks the order's contents and ticks off every item on an order slip. The order slip is then placed inside the box as a reference.
Accuracy is key. What’s the point of packing at super speed if you have to make adjustments afterwards? It’s crucial to check every order to ensure it’s packed correctly. Set a process to have all orders checked before being stacked for fulfillment. As mentioned above, leveraging both a pack list and an order slip allows a two-point check for all boxes going out the door.
The first step is to understand your current order processing workflow and how your current team operates. Map out each step from order placement to fulfillment and identify bottlenecks that slow down the process. Are there manual steps that could be automated? Are there any redundancies or inefficient processes that need to be eliminated?
Thought exercise: if you were to hire a new team member today, how easy would it be for them to learn your current system?
Communication is key to hitting high-efficiency goals. Internally, your team needs clear communication channels to stay in sync. Having clearly defined roles and systems will ensure everyone knows exactly what to do and when to do it. Here are some helpful tools and best practices:
Externally, keeping customers updated on their orders with automated notifications reduces confusion and increases satisfaction. Tools like Local Line send automated order summaries to customers after the order has been completed. Include relevant information such as pick up time and instructions.
Even the best technology won’t help if your team isn’t trained to use it. Proper training ensures that everyone understands the workflow and knows how to operate efficiently. Ensure your staff is well-versed in the systems you use and that there’s ongoing development and feedback to continually improve.
At Local Line, we strive to provide the best customer service to our customers. If you or your team needs training support, our team would be happy to help!
Finally, you need to track your progress and make continuous improvements to hit your packing target. Be sure to record how many orders your team is packing in an hour. How far/close are you to your target?
Additionally, set up regular performance reviews to identify areas for improvement and adapt based on customer and staff feedback. The faster and more efficiently you can process orders, the more time you’ll have to focus on other areas of your business, like growth and customer service.
If you're looking for an easy way to get more efficient, Local Line is a game-changer. Our order management software is designed to handle the complexities of food hubs, automating key tasks and ensuring accuracy at every step.
Here’s how Local Line can help you optimize your order processing:
With these tools in place, you’ll be well on your way to packing 100 orders an hour with less stress and fewer errors.
Packing 100 orders an hour for your food hub is an ambitious goal, but with the right tools and processes in place, it's achievable. Local Line offers the automation and efficiency you need to make this a reality. By implementing these strategies—analyzing your workflow, leveraging technology, and training your team—you can scale your operations, improve customer satisfaction, and grow your food hub.
Ready to pack 100 orders an hour? Get started with Local Line today!
A food hub is an organization or business that actively manages the distribution of local food products from producers to consumers. To learn more about food hubs, check out our recent guide on food hubs!
Set up clear policies for changes and cancellations. Automated systems, like Local Line, notify customers and update inventory in real-time when changes occur.
Use real-time inventory management software, like Local Line, to track perishable goods and minimize waste by keeping stock levels accurate.
Local Line integrates seamlessly with accounting systems like QuickBooks, helping you manage financials alongside order processing. To learn the best practices for farm accounting, check out our blog on enterprise accounting!
Key performance indicators include order processing time, error rates, customer satisfaction, and cost per order. For more tips, check out our recent article on farm KPIs and metrics.
