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Warehouse
Operations
CHAPTER # 07

Mission Of A Warehouse
Improving
Utilizing

cross-docking

Increasing
Utilizing

order picking operations

productivity

space

Increasing

value added services

Improving order picking

operations
Where

a company spends more of its time and

money
To

improve the productivity is the main goal

Supply

chain requirements drive the

warehouse properly

Utilizing cross-docking

Occur at different levels

Like Manufacturer, Distributor, Retailor, Transportation levels

Each participants has different requirements

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The receiver requests that the cross dock
goods be sorted and prelabeled
Example
If 100 items are ordered, the warehouse
must
pick the 100 items and also separate those
items for the different store orders

Increasing productivity
To

do it faster with fewer people

To

maximize the effective use of space,

equipment and labor

Productivity

is not just labor performance

Utilizing space
Old

rule, when a warehouse is 80% full, more

space is needed

The

proper slotting of product starts to

disappear

Slow

moving items in fast moving locations

and vice versa

End

result decline in productivity due to poor

space utilization

Increasing value added

services
Warehouses

are no longer just picking and

shipping
Include

services that facilitate more efficient

operations

Benefit
Like

the customer

prelabeling goods

Functions in Warehouse
Receiving

Storage

Inspection

Postponement

and
quality control

Sortation

Repacking

Packing

Putaway

Cross

Order

picking

and Shipping

docking

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Receiving

Orderly receipt of all coming materials

Assuring the quality and quantity of ordered

material

Disbursing material to storage and other

organizational functions

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Inspection and quality

control
Extension
when

of the receiving process

supplies are inconsistent in quality

Product

must be inspected regularly

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Repacking
When

products are received in bulk form

Packing

singly

Relabeling

marking

is done when products are without

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Putaway
Act

of placing merchandise in storage

Includes

material handling and placement

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RECEIVING & SHIPPING

OPERATIONS

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Receiving is collection of activities assuring quantity and quality of materials.

Shipping includes packaging and checking orders for completeness.

Carriers must be properly considered for these operations along with the activities of
carriers.

Receiving and shipping begin and end upon crossing the property line by carriers

Both warehouse operations are aimed for the organization to have

Efficient material handling

Minimization of damage

Good housekeeping

A continuous flow without excessive congestion

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RECEIVING & SHIPPING SPACE
PLANNING
The steps required for determining space
requirements for the above mentioned
warehouse operations are:
1.

Determine what is to be received and shipped

2.

Determine the number and type of docks

3.

Determine the space requirements for

receiving and shipping area within the facility.

What is to be received
and shipped
Implies

information regarding what, when and

how much of the items shipped or received

Identification

of carrier types used for shipping

and receiving including the carrier height
width and length also with the height of the
dock

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Number & type of docks

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Waiting line analysis helps determines the number & type of docks.

If the arrival and service distribution are not much varied over time then
waiting line analysis helps addressing the problems of number

If the arrival and service distribution vary over time then simulation
technique will be used.

By type of dock we mean configuration, which has to be determined

after determining the no. of docks.

It considers the flow of carriers relative to the facility.

For rail docks configuration of the railroad spur dictate the flow of
railroads thus leading to configuration of rail dock

For truck docks traffic patterns of trucks must be analyzed

Different considerations are there for configuration of truck dock.

Determining shipping area

requirement
Receiving and shipping department area requirements within a
facilty may include space allocations for the following:

Personnel convenience/office

A receiving hold area

Trash disposal and recycling bins

Palletizing equipment

The truckers lounge

Buffer or staging areas

Material handling and manuevering

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Example 1

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What are the roadway requirements to the east north and west of
the facility and what space requirements are needed within the
facility.

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A total staging area is

{3(10) + 2(7)} x 52 = 2288 ft sq.
A truckers lounge of 150 ft sq. will be added.
The total space requirement will be

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Dock operations Planning

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Dock

operation planning deals with equipment

requirements for shipping and receiving which comprise
of equipment suitable between carriers and docks.

The equipment are:

o

Dock levers
(Between a dock at given height and
carriers of variable height)

Bumper pads (Between a fixed dock and a movable

carrier)

Dock shelters (Between a heated dock and unheated

carrier)

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Dock Leveler

Dock Shelter

Bumper pads

Storage space planning

The maximum and average quantities of unit load stored are

directly related to method of controlling inventory.

There are two major storage philosophies:

Fixed or assigned storage: Each individual SKU is stored in a

specific location and no other SKU is placed in that location even the
location is empty.

Randomized storage: Any SKU can be stored in any available

location in the inventory.

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Example 2

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Example 3

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Randomized vs dedicated storage

With dedicated storage the required no. of spaces equals the sum
of maximum inventory for each individual item.

With randomized storage the no. of required the required amount

of spaces equals the maximum aggregate inventory level.

Here is an example of 6 items in which

No. of spaces with randomized storage = 105 pallets

No. of spaces with dedicated storage = 140 pallets

Average inventory

Here one third more pallet position is required in dedicated storage as

compared to randomized storage.

= 77.5

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Example 5

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Impact of aisle space on storage space utilization.

Honeycombing is the wasted space that results when a stack cannot be utilized because
adding other materials would result in blocked storage.

Honeycombing determines losses in cube utilization due to use of aisles.

When the losses in cube utilization have been determined space standards for unit loads
may be calculated.

Vertical
honeycombin
g

Horizontal
Honeycombi
ng

Example 6
Determining optimum storage location based on item popularity

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Continued

The location of item along the main aisle depends on receiving/shipping

ratio.

If the ratio is equal to 1 then the no. trips for both operations are equal

If the ratio is less than 1 then the trips for receiving are less than
shipping and items are placed near the shipping end.

If the ratio is greater than 1 then the trips for receiving are more than
shipping and items are placed near the receiving end.

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Principles of Order Picking

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Regardless of size, mission, volume, inventory, customer

requirements or type of control system of a warehouse
operation the principles apply equally to the order picking
function.
1.

Apply Paretos law

2.

Use a clear, easy-to-read picking document

3.

Use a pre-routed pre-posted picking document

4.

Maintain an effective stock location system

5.

Eliminate ad combine order picking tasks when