Week 7 - Warehouse Design & Improvement Flashcards
State 3 possible design and improvement scenarios
• Greenfield development
• Expansion of an existing facility
• Full or partial redesign of an existing facility
3 main stages in warehouse design and improvement
• Analysis
• Planning
• Implementation
What are the different strategic warehousing objectives? (5)
• To operate at a defined level of customer service
• To provide a given level of storage capacity
• To enable a given rate of throughput
• To be within specified limits of operating cost per unit of throughput
• To maintain the integrity of the stock handled and stored
11 Variables that influence warehouse strategy development
• Required customer service levels
• Costs of purchasing, transportation and warehousing
• Sales forecasts
• Geographical locations of suppliers and customers
• Strategic inventory policy
• Market trends and developments
• Regulation and legislation
• Grants and taxes
• Land and skills availability
• Road network
• Modal interchange facilities
What does warehouse management involve? (2)
• The aligning and integration of warehouse activities into the supply chain by evaluating trade offs between upstream and downstream activities
• Critical in the development of an optimal warehousing function to supplement a optimal overall supply chain
What should be considered in strategy development? (2)
• The warehouse design should allow for flexibility
• Inappropriate configuration options are costly and disruptive to change
What are the skills required in warehouse design? (2)
• Analytical skills - to collect and interpret data
• Creative thinking - to devise possible alternative systems and layouts
Example of a strategic approach to warehouse design/improvement
Top-level considerations in the warehouse design process (4)
• Re-iteration of the stated warehouse strategy and detailed objectives
• Declarations of all constraints that have been applied in formulating the physical and operational design
• Data on which the design process is based
• A statement of assumptions used in the process
Operational considerations in the warehouse design process (3)
• Specification of unit load to be used
• Specification of the storage media
• Specification of the material handling equipment
Services and ancillary area requirements in the warehouse design process (6)
• Number and construction of loading docks
• Number and sizing of offices requirements
• Packaging, marshalling, consolidation requirements
• Heating and lighting requirements
• Amenities
• IT infrastructure requirements
Documents required for warehouse design output (3)
• Specification of the building in terms of length, width and height
• A detailed layout of the building, the site facilities, access routes, expansion options
• Detailed description of the operating procedures and control systems for those procedures
What are the different operating procedures within a warehouse? (7)
• Goods in
• Storage
• Picking
• Replenishment
• Marshalling and consolidation
• Returns and disposals
• Dispatch
What do the control systems monitor? (2)
• Operating performance
• Cost control
What should a warehouse layout provide? (2)
• Should arrange the processes in a logical sequence that can help streamline operations, boost productivity, and reduce expenses
• Provide easy access to stored goods, minimise travel time and improve order fulfillment rates
4 Key design principles in warehouse design and improvement
• Flow
• Capacity
• Accessibility
• Traceability
Importance of flow as a key design principle for warehouse design and improvement (4)
• Should allow for a smooth flow through the facility
• Minimised handling
• Avoiding bottlenecks / throughput constraints
• Potentially a one-way system to achieve this
Importance of capacity as a key design principle for warehouse design and improvement (3)
• Must meet the pallet storage requirements
• Utilisation factors - how well / how much different parts of the warehouse are used
• Receipt/ handling areas, doors
Characteristics of accessibility as a key design principle for warehouse design and improvement (2)
• Fast / medium / slow movers
• Standardised handling equipment
Characteristics of traceability as a key design principle for warehouse design and improvement (2)
• Tracking
• Integrity
5 Characteristics of a U-shaped warehouse layout
• Allows for dock flexibility in shipping and receiving
• Accommodates storage locations that are effective for both receiving and shipping
• Minimises truck roadway
• Easy for cross-docking
• Security - single sided entry and exit
4 Characteristics of a straight through warehouse layout
• Typically suitable for high-volume environment
• Typically long and barrow building configuration
• Limits dual materials flows
• Process flow: Receiving -> storage -> order picking -> despatch
Formulas for cost performance:
- Cost performance as a percentage of sales
- Costs per order dispatched
Formula for productivity performance:
- Units picked per hour
- Dock to stock time
