Direct answer. The order picker is the warehouse employee responsible for gathering the items of a customer order, through picking, checking and packing, before shipment. It is one of the most sought-after jobs in logistics in France (ROME code N1103), not to be confused with the machine of the same name.
A job at the heart of operating costs
Order picking is regularly identified as a warehouse's single largest cost item, with industry literature citing roughly 50 to 55% of operating costs tied to this activity — a figure to treat as a widely used ballpark rather than a universal measurement, since organizations and automation levels vary so much from one site to another. The order picker works according to different picking methods (order picking, zone picking, wave picking or batch picking), with or without support tools such as pick-to-light, voice picking or RF scanning, and may be required to operate a forklift, a low-level or elevating-cab order-picker machine, or a pallet truck, depending on the height and volume of the items picked.
According to available pay data, the average salary of an order picker in France is around €2,460 gross per month, with variation by sector (pharma, e-commerce, mass retail), region and seniority. The job is one of the persistently hard-to-fill positions in logistics, alongside forklift operators, in an industry that has recorded tens of thousands of unfilled positions in recent years.
FAQ
What is the salary of an order picker?
The average salary observed in France is around €2,460 gross per month, but it varies depending on the industry (pharma, e-commerce, mass retail), the region and the employee's seniority. Temporary and permanent placements show varying annual ranges based on these same criteria.
What is the difference between the order picker (job) and the machine of the same name?
The job refers to the employee who prepares orders in the warehouse. The machine of the same name is a truck whose operator platform rises with the operator to reach the upper levels of racking. The context of the sentence usually distinguishes the two uses.
Do you need a CACES certification to be an order picker?
It depends on the equipment used: operating an order picker machine or a forklift falls under CACES R489, with a different category depending on lift height (1A for low-level, 6 for elevating-cab). A picker working entirely on foot does not need a CACES certification.
Related terms
Order picker (machine) · Picking · Slotting · Forklift operator · CACES · Location addressing.
See also: forklift operator salary, the future of the forklift-operator job, forklift-operator shortage: solutions, CACES R489 guide.
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