Pick-to-light vs scanner picking: when each one wins

Pick-to-light and scanner-based picking are the two dominant warehouse pick technologies in ANZ.

One is six-figure infrastructure with bin-mounted light displays.

The other is sub-NZ$150 per picker on Bluetooth scanners.

Both solve the same fundamental problem: picking accuracy and throughput. The cost and operational shape differ enormously.

Here is the honest comparison and when each one wins.

What pick-to-light actually is

Pick-to-light is a warehouse pick technology where bin or shelf locations are fitted with small LED light displays. When a pick is released to the floor, the relevant bins light up; the picker walks the zone, picks the lit quantity, and presses a button to confirm.

ANZ's dominant pick-to-light vendor is Interlogic Multipick, a NZ-based specialist that has been the ANZ pick-light supplier of record for 25+ years. Their hardware is in many of NZ's largest 3PLs, distribution centres, and high-volume retailers.

The pick-to-light value proposition:

• Speed. Picks are visual rather than text-based; pickers process them faster than reading from a screen.
• Accuracy. Light says go to this bin, pick this quantity. Eliminates the read-and-search step.
• Hands-free. No scanner to hold; both hands free for picking.
• Training time. New pickers reach productivity faster than scanner workflows.
• Throughput at scale. High-velocity operations (5,000+ picks per shift per picker) see real throughput gains.

What scanner-based picking actually is

Scanner-based picking uses a Bluetooth or wired barcode scanner paired with a phone or workstation. The pick app shows the next pick location and quantity; the picker walks to the bin, scans the bin barcode to verify, picks the quantity, scans the item to verify.

The scanner workflow trades the hardware investment for a software-driven flow:

• Cheap. Bluetooth scanner ~NZ$149 per unit. Phone is the operator's existing device.
• Flexible. Same hardware works across multiple zones, multiple operations, multiple SKUs.
• No bin-level infrastructure. No light hardware, no wiring, no shelf-mount costs.
• Software-evolving. Pick algorithm changes are software-only, no hardware reconfiguration.
• Mobile. Pickers can scan in any aisle, any bin, without infrastructure pre-built.

The cost comparison

For a 5,000-bin warehouse with 10 active pickers:

Pick-to-light (Interlogic Multipick or equivalent):

• Light displays per bin: NZ$80–150 each × 5,000 bins = NZ$400,000–750,000
• Controller infrastructure, wiring, installation: NZ$80,000–200,000
• WMS integration and software: NZ$40,000–100,000
• Ongoing maintenance: NZ$15,000–30,000/year
• Year 1 total: NZ$520,000–1,050,000+

Scanner-based picking:

• Bluetooth scanners: NZ$149 × 10 pickers = NZ$1,490
• Phones (typically existing operator devices): NZ$0
• WMS pick module: bundled with OpsUI Warehouse, NetSuite, or equivalent
• Ongoing maintenance: minimal (battery replacement, occasional unit replacement)
• Year 1 total: NZ$1,490 + WMS module cost

The hardware cost ratio is roughly 300:1 to 700:1 in favour of scanner picking. This is the central decision factor for most ANZ SMB and mid-market operations.

When pick-to-light wins

Pick-to-light earns its six-figure investment when:

• Pick volume is genuinely high. Operations doing 50,000+ picks per shift per picker, or 1,000,000+ picks per month total. The throughput gain at this scale justifies the hardware investment.
• The picking zone is dense and fixed. Bin layout that doesn't change. Pick paths that are predictable. SKUs that live in the same place for years.
• Picker training time is the bottleneck. High turnover operations where new pickers need to reach productivity quickly without months of scanner-workflow learning.
• Accuracy is critical and scanner workflows aren't cutting it. Some operations need accuracy above 99.95%; pick-to-light beats scanner at the very top of the accuracy curve.
• Multi-order batch picking at high speed. Pick-to-light excels at picking 6–12 orders simultaneously from a single dense zone.
• Voice picking is also being considered. The decision is usually pick-to-light vs voice picking at the high end, with scanner workflows below.

These conditions describe enterprise distribution centres and high-volume 3PLs. Most ANZ operations don't fit.

When scanner-based picking wins

Scanner-based picking is the right answer when:

• Pick volume is SMB to mid-market. Below ~5,000 picks per day, scanner workflows are dramatically cheaper for similar accuracy outcomes.
• Bin layout changes with operational growth. Adding aisles, restructuring zones, opening new locations: scanners don't need infrastructure reconfiguration.
• Multi-zone operations with diverse picking strategies. One picker may zone-pick in the morning and wave-pick in the afternoon. Scanner workflows flex; pick-to-light is zone-fixed.
• You operate as a 3PL with multiple brand clients. Different brands have different bin layouts. Pick-to-light infrastructure is hard to reuse across client moves.
• Capital allocation favours operational flexibility over throughput. The six-figure pick-to-light investment is a big bet that the operation will stay the shape it has today.
• You want modern WMS software depth, not hardware-led picking. Modern WMS pick algorithms (wave, zone, cluster, batch, optimised pick-path) deliver throughput gains that approach pick-to-light without the hardware cost.

For most ANZ SMB and mid-market warehouses, scanner-based picking is the right answer by a wide margin.

The honest reality: pick-to-light isn't obsolete, but it's narrower than vendors suggest

Pick-to-light is a genuinely useful technology at the right scale. Operations doing 1M+ picks per month see real throughput gains that justify the hardware investment.

Below that scale, the math gets harder. NZ$500,000 of pick-to-light infrastructure vs NZ$1,500 of scanner hardware needs the scale to justify it. For most ANZ operations, including most operations that vendors approach with pick-to-light pitches, the scanner workflow is the right choice operationally and financially.

The honest test: how many picks per day are you actually doing? If the answer is under ~5,000 per picker per shift, scanner is the right tool.

Voice picking: the third option

A brief note on voice picking (Honeywell Vocollect, Lucas Systems, others):

Voice picking sits between pick-to-light and scanner in cost and use case. Pickers wear headsets; the system speaks the next pick instruction; the picker confirms verbally. Costs per picker are typically NZ$5,000–15,000 in headset hardware plus WMS integration.

Voice picking is valuable for:

• Cold-chain warehouses (gloves and freezer environments make scanner UX awkward)
• Hands-free environments (heavy lifting, ergonomic constraints)
• Operations between scanner-volume and pick-to-light-volume

For most ANZ operations, voice picking is a niche; scanner picking handles the same outcomes at lower cost.

How OpsUI handles picking

OpsUI's Warehouse module is built around scanner-based picking with Bluetooth scanner support out of the box. OpsUI's first-party Bluetooth scanner ships at NZ$149/A$149 per unit and reads 1D + 2D barcodes including labels and screens.

The Warehouse module supports all five picking strategies (wave, zone, batch, cluster, discrete) chosen per pick run. Pick-path optimisation runs inside each wave. Cycle counts can run between picks via task interleaving.

For ANZ operations doing under ~5,000 picks per day, OpsUI's scanner-driven workflow delivers throughput and accuracy comparable to pick-to-light at 1/300th to 1/700th the hardware cost.

For ANZ operations beyond that scale where pick-to-light is genuinely justified, OpsUI can integrate with Interlogic Multipick and other pick-to-light vendors via REST API. The integration shape is partner-quoted because each pick-to-light deployment is bespoke.

Selection framework

Stay scanner-based if:

• Under ~5,000 picks per day per picker
• SMB or mid-market warehouse
• Bin layout changes as operations grow
• Multi-zone, multi-strategy picking needed
• Capital allocation favours flexibility
• WMS depth matters more than hardware speed

Evaluate pick-to-light if:

• 5,000+ picks per day per picker, sustained
• Dense fixed-bin warehouse with stable SKU positioning
• High picker turnover making training time critical
• Throughput is the central P&L line
• You can justify a six-figure CapEx investment
• Operation is 3PL or DC at enterprise scale

Bottom line

Pick-to-light is a real technology with a real use case at scale. Interlogic Multipick is a genuinely strong ANZ provider for operations that fit the scale.

For most ANZ SMB and mid-market warehouses, scanner-based picking delivers comparable operational outcomes at dramatically lower cost. The decision is about operational scale and capital allocation, not "which technology is better."

The most common mistake is being pitched pick-to-light when scanner-based picking would deliver the same outcome for 1/500th the cost.