Shipping Labels and Batch Printing: Warehouse Procedure

A shipping label is the identity of an order on its journey from warehouse to customer, and batch printing lets you label the day's orders in one pass and hand them to the packing line. In a well-designed label flow, warehouse staff do not browse orders one by one or download labels channel by channel; the pick list, the label and the parcel are tied together by the same barcode. This guide covers how labels are generated, channel and carrier differences, batch printing setup and a checklist that prevents mislabelled parcels.

Where labels come from: three models

In multichannel selling, labels arrive by three different routes, and the warehouse has to handle all three at once.

• Marketplace-generated labels. The carrier contract belongs to the marketplace; the label is created by the channel once the order is confirmed. The seller prints it and hands the parcel to the carrier. Hepsiburada's own delivery model is one example, covered in Hepsiburada HepsiJet shipping and parcel processes.
• Carrier-generated labels. The seller works with their own contracted carrier; order details go to the carrier and the label comes back. Carrier integration with Aras, Yurtiçi, MNG and PTT describes this flow for Turkish carriers.
• Cross-border labels. For micro-export shipments the label ships with customs paperwork; the label alone is not enough.

Which channel uses which model depends on the contract and changes over time; check the marketplace's current shipping rules for the definitive answer.

Why batch printing matters

If you ship ten parcels a day, downloading labels one at a time is tolerable. Past a hundred parcels, opening a panel, waiting for a download and printing for each label takes hours. Batch printing cuts that to minutes, but the real benefit is order, not speed: labels print in the same sequence as the pick list, the packing line keeps that sequence, and the carrier manifest builds itself.

Batch printing only works when a few preconditions are met:

• Orders from every channel are gathered in one list.
• Each order has a known carrier and label model.
• Pick list, label sequence and parcel sequence are identical.
• The order barcode appears on both the label and the pick list.

Switching to batch printing before these are in place only makes mistakes faster.

Step-by-step batch label and packing procedure

This is the daily dispatch flow a warehouse team can follow. Write down who owns each step.

1. Filter the day's orders. Confirmed, paid, not cancelled, from every channel. Flag orders with partial cancellations separately.
2. Group by carrier. Each carrier has its own label size and collection time. Move orders that will miss the cut-off to the next day.
3. Build the pick list. Sorted by shelf location, with variant and quantity explicit and the order barcode visible.
4. Generate labels in bulk. Pull labels from the channel or carrier in one go. Labels that fail (address error, carrier not responding) drop into a separate list.
5. Print in pick-list order. Printer output and pick list must share the same sequence.
6. Scan items while picking. A wrong variant triggers a warning on the spot.
7. Scan the order barcode and the label barcode together while packing. No match, no label. This is the single step that prevents mislabelling.
8. Create the carrier manifest. Parcel count and tracking numbers per carrier. Close it with the courier's signature.
9. Write tracking numbers back to the channel and the ERP. The customer sees the shipment on the marketplace; finance closes the delivery.
10. Resolve failed labels at end of day. Contact the customer for address fixes; open a ticket with the carrier.

The cost of a label error is not in the label but in the parcel's journey. One parcel sent to the wrong customer means two returns, two reshipments and two negative reviews.

Common label mistakes

The issues we see in real warehouses fall into a few patterns.

• Printing labels before packing. Labels pile up on the table, parcels arrive later, and matching is done by eye.
• Two labels for one order. Both the channel label and the carrier label get generated; one goes on the parcel, the other in the bin, but the tracking number is now split.
• Missing the cut-off. The label was printed but the parcel missed the courier; the channel records a late dispatch.
• Ignoring partial cancellations. A three-line label was printed, one line had been cancelled; the parcel goes out short or over.
• Truncating the address. The printer template cuts the end of the address and the carrier cannot deliver.
• Forgetting customs paperwork. Label present, export documents missing; the parcel waits at the border.
• Applying a thermal label straight from a hot printer. A curled label makes the barcode unreadable and the carrier processes it by hand.

Labels and paperwork for cross-border shipments

In micro-export the label is not the only document. Export paperwork, currency details and the customs declaration must be prepared with the shipment. Even with a correct label, missing paperwork leaves the parcel waiting at customs. Micro-export and the ETGB order flow explains how those documents are prepared at order time.

In batch printing, treat international orders as a separate group: different carrier, different label size, extra documents. Mixing them into the domestic line is where most errors happen.

Printers and label layout

The physical side of the flow matters too. Thermal printers match standard carrier label sizes and need no ink. Set up the template once per carrier and channel, run a test print and confirm the barcode scans. Place the printer next to the packing bench so a label goes onto a parcel the moment it prints; a distant printer means labels stacking up on a table.

How it works with Bulutegra

In Bulutegra, orders from every channel appear in one list; channel tabs, date range and customer or SKU search filter the day's dispatch, and you can export it as CSV. Because each order is written to the ERP automatically with customer, line items, carrier and payment details, the pick list and the label come from the same source. Partial cancellations and returns are processed per line, so the label covers only the lines that ship.

For micro-export orders, export paperwork, currency and customs details are prepared at order time and travel with the label to the packing line. Users in the Warehouse role pick and pack by scanning; Admin and Finance roles follow shipment and tracking data on their own screens. Channel monitoring runs continuously, so a channel whose label generation goes quiet raises an alert.

To see the label flow with your own carriers and channels, request a demo or browse the channel list.