What is a proper warehouse layout...your guess is as good as mine. The issue: no two warehouses are alike. Some are new, some are old, some are renovated, some were used for one thing originally and now are something new altogether.

The best warehouse layout is one that makes sense to save time and labor dollars of your warehouse staff. Some companies have large items and some companies have super small items. Whatever your items are, here are some quick tips to get you started. If you need more direct strategy, drop me a note and let me know how I can help.

LOCATION - LOCATION - LOCATION....

Not just for selling or buying your house, but for where are your products placed in the warehouse. Recently on a site visit the operations manager said he used to work for a parcel delivery service. This service made him realize that to save time of the pickers it would be best for everything to have an address. This is very true. Evens on the right, odds on the left. Makes sense.

SOFTWARE

Another valuable tool is your software. More than likely it has a pick-path option that will allow you to program the software to give your pickers a logical path through the warehouse. For example, you wouldn't want pickers going from the front of your warehouse (near the shipping area) to the back and back again to the front on one run would you? Probably not. you are wearing out your equipment and your people.

INVENTORY

No matter what you do, location and software or some variable in between, you will not accomplish much if you don't know what you have on the shelf in the first place. I realize that sounds insanely obvious, but think of this. Even if you have the best locations, and the best software, if the wrong items are on the wrong shelves...no one is going to save time.

So you will need to run a HITS report. Find out what items have the most HITS (lines sold per year) and which do not. Highest hit items should be in the front of the warehouse, least hit in the back. This will change over time, but not drastically where you will have to rearrange all the time. This system will even help your put away team when they are putting away newly arrived product. The theory is that the put away team can be quick about what comes in most often, if it is all right in the front near where products come in and leave, then they will save labor.

I hope that this blog has inspired you to think outside the box and re-evaluate how you use your warehouse space, no matter the shape or size.

Have a great day and please, let me know how I can help and what is going on in your warehouse!

danah@distributionteam.com