A warehouse layout directly affects how quickly orders are fulfilled and how efficiently items are picked.
Studies have revealed that the distribution center layout alone can impact more than 60% [1] of the walking distance covered by workers in picking operations. However, the high cost and complexity of re-installing or expanding a warehouse layout often make it an impractical solution.
Fortunately, distribution centers don’t need to overhaul their entire layout to achieve significant efficiency gains. By leveraging technology and implementing optimization strategies such as slotting techniques, right picking methods, and picking path optimization, substantial reductions in picking distances and improvements in performance can be realized.
In this article, we will explore how distribution centers can enhance their order fulfillment processes without replacing their existing infrastructure, offering practical insights and solutions for optimization.
Warehouse Slotting
Warehouse slotting is the process of arranging inventory in the most optimal way for storage & picking by item size, weight, SKU velocity, order frequency, and other factors to increase the efficiency of order fulfillment.
Two Perspectives of Warehouse Slotting
- Macro slotting: strategic organization of space, storage, aisles, pick & pack locations, and other structural elements to enhance efficiency and material flow within the facility.
- Micro slotting: micro slotting delves into the granular details of how products should be positioned within the designated areas.
- SKUs with higher demand should be more accessible,
- Heavier, or more unstable items should be placed lower, to increase the safety of the employee and inventory.
Both are indispensable components of distribution center optimization, working in tandem to create a highly efficient and organized warehousing system.
When planning the first steps in a warehouse slotting strategy a good starting point is applying the ABC analysis - listing all SKUs which have been ordered over a certain period and then allocating each SKU’s category to a certain location in a warehouse depending on its priority.
We’ve delved deeper into this topic in our earlier blog post, where we discuss the advantages of slotting, and various slotting approaches, and provide a detailed explanation of ABC slotting analysis.
A slotting strategy tailored to a distribution center's specifications can decrease picker travel time by up to 60%, decreasing the time to fulfill orders and increasing distribution center productivity.
Benefits of an Effective Slotting Strategy:
- Reduces picker travel time by up to 60%.
- Decreases order fulfillment time.
- Increases overall distribution center productivity.
Explore different slotting strategies to find the best fit for your distribution center.
Picking Smarter Ways to Pick
Picking smarter pick strategies and routes is all about decreasing the time and distance a picker (worker, who is responsible for the item retrieval within order fulfillment) must undertake to retrieve items from distribution center shelves from one or multiple orders.
Order Picking Methods
Read a more in-depth article on the picking strategies & methods, discussing each type of picking method more in-depth and examining which warehouses would benefit the most from each method.
Picking Smarter Routes
Reducing the travel distance of a picker on a warehouse floor involves incorporating 2 optimizations: (1) order clustering and (2) picking path optimization.
Order clustering
In order clustering or grouping multiple orders are consolidated into a single pick route, enabling pickers to complete one tour through the warehouse instead of making separate trips for each order.
In conventional warehouse operations, order grouping often relies on basic picking logic, resulting in scattered walking patterns and picking routes across the entire warehouse. However, by implementing a smarter clustering algorithm, orders can be consolidated more effectively, reducing walking distances by 20-50%.
Picking path optimization
Picking path optimization involves generating the shortest/most efficient routes for pickers within each order group or pick route. The goal is to minimize the distance traveled and the time required to retrieve items.
Many WMS picking strategies focus exclusively on individual orders, overlooking the advantages of smarter order clustering.
By combining the two modules – order clustering & picking path optimization - pickers can efficiently handle multiple orders in a single pass through the warehouse.
This means fewer footsteps, faster order picking, and ultimately reduced order fulfillment time.
Cluster picking combined with picking path optimization can cut walking distances by up to 50%.
- Cut walking distances by up to 45%
- Achieve higher fulfillment levels without extra manpower
- Decrease labor costs by 15%
- Increase warehouse productivity by 10%
Learn more about picking optimization here.