Different Layouts of Warehousing
U-Shaped Flow
Straight-Through Flow
Modular-Spine Flow
Multi-Story Flow
Advantages of U-shaped Flow Layout
good utilization of dock resources (shared doors for inbound and outbound activities)
makes cross-docking easier (inbound and outbound activities right next to each other)
good lift truck utilisation (putaway and retrieval trips are combined)
opportunities to expand in 3 dimensions
better security (entry/exit can be controlled from one side)
A products can be stored in prominent position
Advantages and Disadvantages of straight-through flow
efficient operations due to direct product flow
suitable for high throughput warehouses
inbound and outbound activities can not be combined -> additional resources
difficult to take advantage of ABC storage
Name the main warehouse operations
Inbound
receiving
putaway
storage
Outbound
order picking
sortation & accumulation
unitising & shipping
What does receiving include?
unloading of products or goods from the carriers
verification against the documents
preparing products for putaway and storage
updating receiving and putaway transactions in the system
3 receiving practices
Receiving Scheduling (know when to order)
schedule inbound loads to match outbound requirements
proper scheduling helps to balance the use of resources
Pre-Receiving (know the details of the good arriving)
capture required information in advance for receiving and putaway
minimises holding time at the receiving area
Receipt Preparation (know what to do when goods arrive)
preparatory activities at the time of receiving
obtain information on product processing for storage in advance
pre-packaging, apllying labels & tags etc.
4 types of putaway
Direct Putaway
putaway directly to primary or reserve locations
designated location is reserved
Directed Putaway
WMS calculates ideal storage location to maximise utilisation and productivity
putaway operator is directed by WMS
Batched and Sequenced Putaway
sort inbound goods by zones and locations sequence
“Zwischenlager”
Most common picking strategies
Single Order Picking
Batch Picking
Zone Picking
Characteristics, advantages and disadvantages of single order picking
One (or more) order picker(s) is/are assigned to a single customer order
Advantages
Disadvantages
maintains order integrity
long travel distance
easy to identify picking errors
cannot handle high volume
suitable for low volume
suitable for handling urgent orders
Characteristics, advantages and disadvantages of batch picking
Multiple customer orders for the same items are batched together and picked during a picking tour
The items are then taken to the staging area to be sorted and combined with other items of the same order before packing
reducing travel time
frequent picking errors
can handle large number of items
additional resources needed to sort items into customer orders
Characteristics, advantages and disadvantages of zone picking
Separates customer orders into fixed or variable zones
Order picker is assigned to a designated zone
reduced travel time
good operator-zone accountability
no order accountability
good work standards & reduced socialising
less picking errors due to experienced picker
What is cross docking?
consolidating shipments from different sources without putting into storage and delivering to the customer directly
Cross Docking characteristics
scheduling inbound deliveries to arrive at warehouse JIT
requires large staging areas to sort inbound materials
shift of focus from “Supply Chain” to “Demand Chain”
bypassing the normal storage & order-picking cycles
Types of Distribution of Cross Docking
Pre-Distribution cross docking
vendor prepares product (i.e. labeling) according to customer
products are directly transferred in cross docking operation
customer information is totally available to vendor
difficult to coordinate
Post-Distribution cross docking
customer information are handled centrally by distributor
same for labeling, verification and so on
-> high labor costs
What kind of SKUs are suitable for cross docking?
high demand with low variance
-> match supply and demand
easy to handle
What are the 7 principles of world class warehousing?
Profile: family mix distribution, handling unit mix distribution
Benchmark
Simplify: eliminate as much work content as possible
Computerize
Mechanize: mechanized material handling
Layout
Humanize
Last changed2 years ago