Zoho Inventory Barcodes, Picking, Packing and Shipping Guide

How does pick, pack and ship work in Zoho Inventory?

Fulfilment starts from a confirmed sales order and moves through three documents. Each step updates stock status, so sales and finance can see what has been picked, packed and shipped without asking the warehouse.

1. 1Picklist (optional): lists the items and quantities to pull from one warehouse for one or more sales orders.
2. 2Package: records what goes into each box. One sales order can have several packages.
3. 3Shipment: records how the package leaves, either a manual shipment or a carrier shipment with label and tracking number. Several packages can go in one shipment.
4. 4Delivery: shipment status is updated manually or through carrier tracking, and the sales order shows its shipment status as packages move.

Picklists need multi-warehouse switched on and are enabled under Settings > Organization Settings > General. If you ship from one small stockroom, you can create packages directly and skip picklists.

How do you set up barcodes in Zoho Inventory?

Barcodes in Zoho Inventory are tied to an item field. Zoho's help documentation describes these steps:

1. 1Go to Settings > PDF Templates > Item Barcodes and enable item barcodes.
2. 2Under Items preferences, choose the scanning field: SKU, ISBN, UPC or EAN. EAN is the default.
3. 3Open an item, click Generate Barcode, choose a template and the generation field, then click Generate & Save. Bulk generation works from the Items list.
4. 4Print with Print Barcode or Print QR Code and set the number of copies.
5. 5For a label printer, match the template's paper and label size to the printer settings.

Templates support linear barcodes such as Code 128 and QR codes, and can show item name, SKU, rate or organisation name. Serial and batch numbers can be encoded for tracked items. Zoho's pricing page lists barcode generation on higher plans, while scanning is listed as a general feature. The mobile app can use the phone camera to scan items, and web scanning works with a scanner that types into the item field.

Choose the scanning field once and stick to it. If your suppliers already print EAN or UPC codes on products, scanning those saves you labelling inbound stock. If many products arrive without codes, generating SKU barcodes and labelling on receipt is more reliable. Mixing both without a rule is the most common reason scans fail on the packing bench.

How do picklists, packages and shipments work in practice?

You can create a picklist from the Picklist module, from a sales order, or in bulk by selecting several sales orders and choosing Generate Picklist. Grouping decides who picks what: by item, by sales order, or one picker for the whole list. Item statuses run Yet To Start, In Progress, On Hold and Completed. In bin-enabled locations an admin can set a preferred bin, but pickers can take stock from another bin. Click Scan Item in the picklist to scan quantities instead of typing them.

Packages record the contents of each box and print a package slip. Record dimensions and weight on each package, because carrier rates depend on them. You can create several packages for one sales order, and one shipment for several packages. A shipment can be recorded manually if you use your own courier, or created through a carrier, where Zoho Inventory validates addresses, fetches rates, and lets you print the label and tracking number. A carrier shipment can be voided from the Packages module with Void & Delete.

Reports close the loop. Packing History lists packages with status and tracking numbers, and Shipment Details shows carrier, tracking, delivery dates and status. AfterShip integration can send tracking updates to customers. For a full warehouse redesign, our Zoho Inventory implementation and warehouse setup covers bins, picklists and carrier accounts together.

Which carriers integrate with Zoho Inventory in each region?

Carrier support depends on your country and Zoho Inventory edition. The table lists what Zoho's help and add-on pages show at the time of writing. Always confirm the carrier and service level in your own organisation before promising customers a delivery option.

India has one extra step: Zoho Inventory's India edition supports e-way bills, which you may need for road movement of goods above the threshold. In the Gulf, confirm VAT on shipping charges and customs paperwork for cross-border orders between GCC states.

What mistakes slow down picking and shipping?

• Printing barcodes from one field, such as SKU, while scanning is set to EAN, so scans fail.
• Turning on bins without labelling physical shelves to match, so pickers ignore the suggested bin and stock records drift.
• Creating picklists per order when batching by item would cut walking time.
• Skipping package dimensions and weights, so carrier rates come back wrong.
• Using third-party UPS billing without checking chargeback risk, which Zoho's help warns about.
• Not training packers to scan serial or batch numbers, which breaks traceability.
• Going live in peak season. Run a week of real orders in a quieter period, compare picked and shipped quantities against the sales orders, and fix the process before volumes rise.

Flowpeak is a registered Zoho partner with Zoho certified consultants, working remotely from Chennai with warehouses in several time zones. We set up barcodes, label templates, picklists, packages and carrier accounts, then test real orders with your team before go-live. Pricing is quoted in writing after a free scoping call. To speed up your dispatch process, Book a free call.

Frequently asked questions