Warehouse Pick Route Issue Recovery
Design a handheld recovery flow for blocked aisles, missing stock, damaged items, and incorrect bin data during warehouse picking.
The brief
Understand the problem
Background
Pickers work against route plans and dispatch cutoffs, but real warehouse conditions rarely match system data perfectly. Improvised shortcuts can create safety risks, inventory errors, and incomplete orders.
User context
Darius is picking a grocery order on a rugged handheld device. An aisle is closed for a spill, and the next chilled item is missing from its expected bin.
Product problem
Darius needs to report conditions quickly, receive a safe next task, and preserve enough evidence for inventory and dispatch teams to recover the order.
Objective
Create active route, issue report, resequencing, and resolution states for a disrupted pick.
What to design
Define the experience
Required experience
- Follow the current pick route and confirm an item
- Report a blocked path or stock discrepancy
- Accept a safe resequenced task list
- Resolve, substitute, or escalate the affected item
Screens and states
- Active pick route
- Issue report
- Resequenced route
- Item resolution
Core user flow
Follow the critical path
- 01
Darius reaches a closed aisle and reports the spill using a quick code
- 02
The device removes the unsafe segment and sends him to the chilled zone
- 03
The expected yogurt bin is empty, so he scans the shelf label and records a photo
- 04
A supervisor approves a nearby reserve bin and the route updates
Product rules
Requirements and constraints
Requirements
- Keep scan, quantity, location, and order context visible
- Offer a small set of observable issue types with notes
- Explain how resequencing affects cold, frozen, fragile, and cutoff rules
- Preserve each report for inventory correction
- Allow offline work with clear sync status
Constraints
- The interface cannot route through a reported hazard
- Substitutions require order and customer policy support
- Gloved use and low-light scanning must be considered
Reality check
States worth considering
Finish line
What to deliver
- Four handheld screens covering a hazard and a stock discrepancy
- Interaction notes for gloved input, scanning, and offline sync
If you want more
Optional extensions
Optional direction
Visual resources
Use these as a starting constraint if you want one. They are not part of the required solution.
Updock & Source Serif Pro
Clear interface writing gives people the confidence to understand what changed and decide what to do next.
Updock & Source Serif Pro
Clear interface writing gives people the confidence to understand what changed and decide what to do next.