PURPOSE: To automatically seek kind and number of a box for packing an article in a physical distribution center.

CONSTITUTION: At a request from the terminal 7 of a physical distribution center, a host computer 10 recognizes articles and number to be picked up from unprocessed order acceptance data of a destination in an order acceptance data file 19, refers to data which regulates a size in packing an article recorded in an article information file 16 of every article kind and data which regulates a storage size in a box information file 18 of every packing box kind, calculates necessary box kinds and number, and outputs from a printer 8, a picking list for describing the kinds and number of the box, along with articles and number to be picked up. A worker picks up an article from an article shelf 13 while looking at the list and packs the article in a box picked up from a box shelf 4.