Planning Your Warehouse Layout

Planning Your Warehouse Layout

When planning a new warehouse layout or making existing warehouse design changes to support a new product, there are some important decisions to be made that will directly affect the results of your warehouse project. A comprehensive assessment of warehousing goals must be completed in order to construct a warehouse that fulfills those goals.

Most warehouse projects fail or succeed based on these primary factors: correct assessment of storage requirements, the physical material handling of goods inside and outside, having access to adequate utility services, warehouse location in a convenient spot for local road access, and having proper staff facilities.

Proper pre planning will result in a warehouse design project that progresses smoothly with less problems. It is easier to plan for issues at the start rather than trying to deal with them after the project has started.

A proper forecast of your stock inventory and storage needs are key factors to consider when pre planning your warehouse installation. While every detail of future orders isn’t always known, a proper plan will expect some changes will be needed to keep up with office space and warehouse requirements. By not planning for additional requirements, your warehouse will not have the capacity needed to support your stock.

Movement of goods inside and outside of the warehouse must also be considered. Having a clearly defined material handling process will also develop an overall warehouse design that supports the plan. Improvements in material handling will result in positive business results by controlling costs and improving shipping times.

Machinery and equipment have a variety of utility requirements. This is an important part of warehouse design because an adequate supply of electricity and water is required. Additionally, heating and cooling concerns need to be addressed if your stock requires a particular storage temperature. Having a clear assessment of your warehouse utility needs will help to solve problems from inadequate lighting to not being able to use presort and shipping machines.

The location of the warehouse should include easy access to local roads. This will definitely improve receiving times and cut out the need for alternative delivery systems such as rail. Local transportation access will also help vendor support of your stock.

Having proper staff facilities will improve job performance and reduce down time. By providing the staff with quality equipment will improve communication and overall job satisfaction. Also, having proper equipment will result in a safer work environment and less accidents. The new layout must have consideration for the safety factors for the staff.Changing the layout of a warehouse can be challenging. But with a proper assessment of needs and a clear warehousing strategy, warehouse layout changes can be an effective cost saving measure that promotes improved shipping and results in an increase in profits. Due to the large cost of a warehouse design project, many factors need to be considered. Often organisations choose to outsource this work to specialised firms in order to achieve organisational goals. With the proper planning an support, a warehouse layout design project can be the key to starting or improving an existing organisation.
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