warehouse/ capacity decisions Flashcards

1
Q

what is a warehouse

A
  • facility where items are temporarily stored (SKUs)
  • essential part of the SCM
  • increasingly outsourced to logistics service providers
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2
Q

roles of warehouse

A
  • consolidation
  • —> product mixing and reduce transportation costs
  • buffering (storage)
  • —-> allows different areas of the suppy chain to operate independently, operational efficiency, reduce customer lead times
  • value-added service
  • —-> specific roles in the warehouse, packaging, pricing, labeling, kitting, customization
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3
Q

consolidation warehouse vs distribution

A

Consolidation - combines shipments from a numnber of sources in the same geographic area into larger, economical shipping loads

Distribution -> receives large incoming shipments and splits them to smaller outgoing shipments to demand points in a georgraphic area

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4
Q

why are warehouses beneficial to companies?

A
  • transportation economies
  • production economies
  • quantity discounts/ forward buys
  • protection against uncertainties/ demand fluctuations
  • overcoming time and space differences between producers and customers
  • reverse logistics (storing temporary items o be disposed or recycled)
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5
Q

Challenges of warehouse

A
  • smaller order
  • shorter response times
  • larger product variety
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6
Q

difference between warehouse and cross-docking

A
  • no storage/ order picking involved
  • goods are sorted/consolidated/ transferred from inbound trailer to outbound trailers
  • only receiving/ shipping function
  • customer is known before goods arrive
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7
Q

main warehousing activities

A
  • receiving (unloading, update inventory record, incpect quality/quantity)
  • storage (repackage, transfer to storage location)
  • order picking (retrieval) -> most labor-intensive activity,
  • preparing for shipping -> value-added services (pricing, labeling) and packed and stacked in right load unit
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8
Q

Decisions that determine the efficiency of warehousing activities

A
  1. layout of the warehouse
  2. operations strategy (not changed frequently)
    - —a. storage strategy -> where to store sku?
    - —b. order picking strategy -> how to retrieve sku?
    - —objective: maximize service level
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9
Q

forward reserve configuration

A
  • large reserve area: bulk items
  • small forward area: order picking items
    advantage: picking efficiency, reduced distance
    disadvantage: need to replenish forward area from reserve area
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10
Q

storage strategy location assignment policies

A
  • dedicated
  • full-turnover
  • class-based
  • family grouping
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11
Q

storage strategy rules

A
  1. dedicated: fixed location for SKUs
    - > pro: order pickers will become very familiar with SKU locations, meaning efficient and less likely to make errors
    - > con: importance for certain SKUs might change overtime
  2. full turnover strategy: highest sale SKUs closest to the depot
    - > optimize warehousing activities
    - > con: confusing to order pickers if location changes too much, requires a lot of data and effort
  3. Class-based strategy: a compromise between full turnover and dedicated
    - > divide SKUs to 3: A (highest turnover), B(moderate turnover), C(low turnover)
  4. Family grouping: related SKUs are stored together (salt shaker and pepper shaker)
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12
Q

order picking strategy

A
  • order picking is very labor-intensive
  • 50% of time spent on travel time
  • searching and picking should be done more than traveling
  • Either employ humans or employ machines
  • Humans -> picker to parts (zoning, batching, routing) or parts to picker (tech: robots, AGV)
  • Machines -> fully automated
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13
Q

Picker-to-parts strategy

A
  1. Zoning
    - > each order picker assigned to single-zone
    - > pros: familiar with locations
    - > cons: different skus of the same order might be in different zones
    - > consolidation strategies: progressive (order picked zone by zone) or synchronized (picked at the same time and merged at the end)
  2. Batching
    - > picking a set of orders in a single picking tour
    - > pros: reduces travel distance
    - > criteria: timing of orders, the proximity of orders, order due times are respected
    - > sorting done during or after picking tour
  3. Routing
    - >list of skus and their quantities assigned to a single order picker and sequencing the items on the pick list to ensure short route through the warehouse
    - > S-shape (works with within aisle storage), Return (across aisle & diagonal), Mid-point (permieter), Largest gap (perimeter)
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14
Q

warehouse management systems

A

used to run daily operations and track inventory levels in automated way

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15
Q

RFID

A

data chip that sends out information as microelectric waves that can then be scanned in the warehouses

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16
Q

class based strategy

A
  1. within aisle: A items placed in the middle aisle in front of depot, then B, then C
  2. across aisle: A items placed in the first few lanes of the aisles closest to depot
  3. diagonal
  4. perimeter: outer lanes A, inner lanes B then C