Warehouse Operations Case Study

Feraidoon Raafat, Robert Showghi
Warehouse and Distribution Operations Improvements: A Case Study
Warehouse and Distribution Operations

Improvements: A Case Study

Feraidoon Raafat*
Fowler College of Business
San Diego State University, San Diego, California, USA
Robert Showghi
San Diego State University, San Diego, California, USA
This paper describes how warehouse and distribution operations of a small company in Southern
California were reorganized to enhance its opportunities for growth and expansion using
traditional operations management techniques. By focusing on a few key areas, such as layout and
workflow, quality assurance, and managing inventory levels, it was shown how this company can
effectively scale up and maintain profit margins and quality of service. By reorganizing the
physical space based on prioritized usage metrics (the so-called ABC analysis), and adoption of
additional tools and technology the overall productivity of the warehouse were shown to increase
by reduced cycle time for inbound products.
* Corresponding Author. E-mail address: fred.raafat@sdsu.edu
I. INTRODUCTION in single units, which serves small and

medium sized distributors that incur high
This paper is about an initiative to inventory costs. High variance in
improve the operations of a small, but a customers’ order quantity and frequency
growing company in Southern California. requires MST to carry higher inventories to
This company that we shall call MST, maintain the desired service level. The
purchases and distributes electrical newly launched business venture, which
component parts such as switches and requires adding an extra new SKUs to the
circuits to small and medium sized product offerings, requires further
distributors. These parts are sourced from increases of inventory levels and working
about a dozen of international and domestic capital commitments. Given the current
suppliers and are stored and distributed warehouse space and labor force
from the company’s headquarters and configurations, this increase will further
warehouses. MST has been growing strain MST’s warehousing operations.
rapidly in part because of its distributor- MST competes in an industry with
friendly ordering policies and customer competitors that have revenues of well over
service. It differentiates itself by allowing $1B. MST’s sales were approximately
customers to purchase items in bulk or even $10M in 2018 with expected annual growth
Journal of Supply Chain and Operations Management, Volume 18, Number 1, March 2020
69
of 20% for the next few years. Being a  Methods of counting items
smaller company, MST cannot rely on  How items were packaged for shipping
price to compete with the larger  Equipment used
competitors and depends on establishing Using this information, process
good customer relationships to expand its flow charts of warehouse operations and
business. Due to price pressure, MST schematic layouts of the warehouse spaces
continuously strives to reduce its cost were created, which included all shelving
structure to maintain its customer base in and office equipment. These layouts were
the industry. opportunities within its used to support time and distance
business. observations, warehouse layout
The project described in this paper improvements and examining how the
was undertaken for MST and focused on inventory flows were within the
improving warehouse and distribution warehouses.
operations by enlisting a team of SDSU For objective 1, regarding inventory
MBA students and faculty to develop management, sales order and inventory
feasible solutions for its current efforts data from MST’s ERP system were
(Consulting Report, 2019). extracted into reports which provided
information that included data on historical
II. PROJECT OBJECTIVES AND sales transactions, inventory levels over
METHODOLOGY time, average cost, average price, margin,
and order sizes. The data was cross-
MST’s overall objective was to use referenced with other data sources
process improvement along with capital including data at customer level,
equipment acquisition to update and transaction level, and SKU level. The
streamline its operations for scalability and SKUs were classified into three categories,
efficiency toward meeting its expected “Category A-most important”, “Category B:
growth projections. moderately important”, and “Category C-
Two objectives were identified for least important” using the ABC analysis
this project: based on the transaction frequency of
1. Investigate warehouse and distribution on-hand inventory. Data analysis was
operations and inventory management conducted using Microsoft Excel’s
practices. statistical functions for creating charts and
2. Conduct research on operational regression analysis.
improvements and benchmarking. For Objective 2, a combination of
For objective 1, regarding primary and secondary research were used
warehousing and distribution, we to gather industry benchmarking
employed work sampling on warehouse information, industry trends, and
personnel during visits to the company and information on warehouse equipment. The
shadowed them to capture and document team conducted in-depth interviews with
existing processes while also taking various key personnel to identify, concerns
measurements of the physical spaces. Our about inefficient processes, challenges and
team observed the warehouse staff as they process bottlenecks, and obtaining ideas for
fulfilled orders noting the following: developing opportunities for improvement.
 Item locations Additionally, various academic and trade
 How items were picked journals, industry association references
70
such as articles from Georgia Tech’s warehouse 1 and warehouse 2 can be found
Logistics Institute, and a number of in Figures 6 and 7, Appendix A.
warehouse trade organizations were The main warehouse has nine pallet
accessed to identify industry benchmarking racks which are capable of each holding
data regarding warehouse management and eight pallets of parts. These pallet racks
lean supply chain operations. For currently house a combination of unopened
warehouse equipment recommendations, pallets, piece parts, scrapped parts and
industry organization websites, catalogs, empty pallets. Some parts are also stored
and companies specializing in warehouse above floor level requiring employees to
and inventory management were use a ladder to access these parts.
referenced. A local company that recently Accessing these parts in this manner is
had implemented warehouse inefficient and also represents a potential
improvements, with a similar size safety issue for employees. The pallet racks
operation as MST, was visited and its in warehouse 1 are 96 inches wide with four
warehouse operations was surveyed. That levels of storage that are each 61 inches
survey provided a blueprint and a roadmap high. The height of these racks did not
for the recommendation to MST’s appear to be “right sized” to the height of
warehouse operations. The inputs from this incoming pallets leading to unused storage
company’s employees provided valuable space. The pallet racks consist of movable
insight of their experiences during their shelves that can be adjusted to any height.
warehouse upgrade. See Figure 1 for pallet rack setup in
warehouse 1. The majority of the pallet
III. KEY FINDINGS racks were inaccessible by forklift due to
pallets being stored on the floors and in
Warehouse Space and Layout - clutters in adjacent spaces. Figure 2 shows
MST operates out of two warehouses. The an example of pallets being stored on the
main warehouse is connected to its office floors in front of pallet racks that are empty
space and storefront where approximately and inaccessible by forklift.
20 sales and marketing employees work. The main warehouse has 61-part
This warehouse is the larger of the two storage racks that house a variety of small
warehouses at approximately 6,000 square parts available for part picking. The part
feet and is the main area for order storage racks are approximately 7 feet tall,
fulfillment and shipping, though pallets of 36 inches deep and are either 36 or 48
parts are also stored there. Incoming pallets inches in width with 5-6 levels for storage.
and shipments are received in this Much of these part storage racks are
warehouse through a roll-up door that faces aligned in 3 aisles near the order fulfillment
an alleyway in the back of the business park. area on one side of the warehouse. Parts are
This roll-up door also acts as the main accessible from both sides of the storage
pathway for outgoing shipments and for racks allowing warehouse staff to stock
employees to access the second warehouse. more small parts per storage rack. Figure 3
The main warehouse is an “L shaped” shows an example of a part storage rack in
space with ceilings of approximately 30 Warehouse 1.
feet in height. The current layout of
71

FIGURE 1. WAREHOUSE 1 PALLET RACKS FIGURE 2. EXAMPLE OF
CLUTTER & WASTED RACK
SPACE
fulfillment. Unfortunately, during our

onsite visits, many parts were incorrectly
located, and warehouse employees spent a
great deal of their time searching for the
correct parts.
The second warehouse is located
approximately 200 feet from the main
warehouse. It is a rectangular shaped space
with approximately 20-foot ceilings,
totaling 2,500 sq ft. There is no office space
connected to this warehouse and it is
mainly used for storage of incoming pallets
or rarely ordered parts.
Inventory Management - MST
occupies a niche market in its industry. Its
FIGURE 3. PART business model relies on offering a large
STORAGE IN and diverse selection of products and
WAREHOUSE 1 selling with no minimum order quantity
(MOQ). As a result, MST lists over 10,000
SKUs for its customers ranging from rolls
Aisles where part storage racks are of electrical cables to small electrical
located measured 3 feet in width making it switches. Of all these SKUs, MST holds
difficult for employees to maneuver and about 1,200 in stock. The remaining SKUs
find parts. Part storage racks were all are not held on hand but are ordered from
marked with location stickers which are suppliers when MST gets an order from a
used to stock incoming parts as well as customer. Among the SKUs that are held in
helping to locate parts during order stock, inventory turnover varies widely.
72
Certain SKUs sell rapidly and are re- Order Fulfillment Process - As
ordered frequently, while others have had MST receives customer orders, a picking
zero sales over the past several years. The ticket is generated in the warehouse and left
team extracted and analyzed a wide range on the printer until an available staff
of data points, drawn from MST’s ERP collects the ticket to begin picking. After
system and identified a set of risks and gathering the ticket, staff walks to the area
issues that present significant opportunities where the part is located and generally
to improve MST’s operations. collect the entire bag of parts and return to
1. Risk of selling obsolete or the order fulfillment table where the correct
defective/damaged parts quantity of parts is counted. A scale was
2. Inefficient allocation of working capital used, about half the time, mainly for orders
3. Sub-optimal placement of frequently with a higher quantity of parts otherwise
ordered items they are hand counted. After parts were
During on-site visits, it was counted and packaged, the excess
apparent that many parts had been aging on inventory was taken back to the respective
the shelf with some boxes showing shelf location. Warehouse employees were
receiving dates more than 10 years old. observed to handle order picks one-part
These older parts are prone to quality issues, number at a time and did not identify any
both through sheer age and through the other items in the nearby vicinity that were
effects of sitting on a shelf in a warehouse on the same picking ticket and often
gathering dust, subject to temperature returned to the same area to collect another
fluctuations and other environmental part on the ticket. Once an order was
factors. Shipping defective or damaged completed, it underwent a final QA check,
products can impact the brand image of was placed in a shipping container and the
MST should customers receive bad quality inventory system was updated. During on-
products. Additionally, stale and excess site observations, product labeling was
inventory results in excessive holding costs found to be small, faded, or not present on
and over-allocation of capital to inventory. boxes to be shipped.
As MST seeks to launch a new product line, Parts picked from Warehouse 2
and grows its business, it will need occurred at a much higher rate than
additional cash to fund such growth. Every originally expected. During a two-hours
dollar of excess inventory on the shelf that observation of the picking process, 10
is not needed to support current or orders were completed, and 5 trips were
projected sales represents a dollar that MST made to Warehouse 2. Picking tickets
will need to find via other means. include parts from both warehouses and
Order Frequency is a critical metric were not organized for efficient routing or
for MST's warehouse operation. It purposeful trips to Warehouse 2.
measures how often particular SKUs are A sample of a documented Order
ordered by customers and how often each Fulfillment Process, observed during site
SKU is picked, packed, and shipped. These surveys, is depicted in Figure 4.
activities are the primary drivers of Benchmarking - Measuring
warehouse operational costs. Twelve Performance - Key Performance
months of sales records data was analyzed Indicators (KPIs) of Interest:
to determine the Order Frequency for After identification of the main
MST's catalog of products. process steps and sub activities of MST’s
warehouse and distribution operations
73
(Figure 5), and in considerations of both the  Customer - time-related activities that
financial and the process performance impact customer receipt
related to industry and the size, Key  Outbound - Order fulfillment
Performance Indicators for MST were  Inbound - Dock to stock
identified.  Capacity/quality - inventory and order
Initially, the process steps followed accuracy
within the MST warehouse were mapped  Employee - labor hours
out before considering any process metrics.  Perfect Order - 100% complete and
We then considered 5 categories with 5 accurate scenarios
specific metrics within each category (see KPI Values - Referencing the
Table 1). KPI’s identified as being most important
g Taking these 5 categories into to MST, specific metrics were sought out
consideration in combination with our that could be used for both internal and
observations of MST activities, we external benchmarking. Based on our
determined that the most relevant KPIs research, it is recommended that MST
were productivity, quality and cycle time. start with a set of external benchmarking
Following selection of the KPI categories data. From there, internal benchmarking
of most interest, we then moved to can be set to drive continuous
determine specific measurable metrics that improvement. Table 3 contains external
would reflect performance within these benchmarking data, compiled by a product
categories. vendor. Metrics in Table 3 have
To determine these specific metrics, performance categories ranging from
we referenced industry warehouse companies that are best in class.
performance metrics which can be seen in In addition to the metrics outlined,
Table 2. It is important to note that these are our research indicated that a best-in-class
highly variable based on warehouse size, dock to stock time is less than 2 hours.
purpose, technology and number of Inventory days on hand should be based
locations. Referencing the research on both company’s need and order
outlined above and observations of the forecasting, with safety stock requirements
warehouse activities, the KPI categories and reorder points identified.
and measurables below were identified as
most relevant to MST:
74
FIGURE 4 - FLOW CHART OF THE SALES OPERATIONS

FULFILLMENT PROCESS
75
FIGURE 5: TOOL TO IDENTIFY KEY PROCESS STEPS

(Adapted from “Determining key performance indicators for warehouse performance measure -
a case study in construction materials warehouse” by E. Kusrini, MATEC Web of Conferences
154.)
76
TABLE 1. PROCESS KPI'S

Financial Productivity Utilization Quality Cycle Time
Receiving Receipts per man- % Dock % Receipts Receipt
cost per line hour door processed processing
Receiving
utilization accurately time per
receipts
Putaway Putaway per man- % % Perfect Putaways
cost per line hour Utilization putaways cycle time
Putaway of putaway (per
labor and putaway)
equipment
Storage Inventory per % locations % Locations Inventory
space cost square foot and cube without days on
Storage per item occupied inventory hand
discrepancie
s
Picking cost Order lines picked % % Perfect Order
per order per man-hour Utilization picking picking
Order
line of picking lines cycle time
picking
labor and (per order)
equipment
Shipping Orders prepared for % % Perfect Warehouse
cost per shipment per man- Utilization shipments order cycle
Shipping
customer hour of shipping time
order docks
(Adapted from “Determining key performance indicators for warehouse performance measure - a
case study in construction materials warehouse” by E. Kusrini, MATEC Web of Conferences 154.)
TABLE 2. TOP 10 KPI METRICS USED FOR WAREHOUSE PROCESS

IMPROVEMENTS
Adapted from “Warehouse and Distribution Centres: 2018 Best Practice by Campbell” (2018).
77
TABLE 3. PERFORMANCE METRIC VALUES FOR IDENTIFYING WAREHOUSE

OPPORTUNITIES
Adapted from “Warehouse and Distribution Centres: 2018 Best Practice by Campbell” (2018).
IV. RECOMMENDATIONS magnitude of improvement on KPI’s 1-10

of Table 2, it is expected that all would
Warehouse Layout improve to some extent or other.
Recommendation 2: Modify
Recommendation 1: Unclutter and Warehouse 1 layout and locate parts based
scrap unneeded parts and move pallets on ABC analysis. MST was provided with
housed on the floor to pallet racks. Clean three warehouse layout options for
warehouse and reprint visual indicators. Warehouse 1 (Warehouse 2 was not a focus
This is a first step in any implementation for this project).
process. Although difficult to estimate the
78
Warehouse Option 1: We viewed this  Allow to move all order fulfillment to

option as the long-term solution for MST single warehouse and eliminate the
requirements. This option requires a sizeable need to house piece parts in warehouse
amount of effort to implement and utilizes a 2
mixture of pallet racks and part storage and is  Will promote proper process flow
laid out in such a way that each business  5 pallet racks add additional storage,
process is separate from one another. minimize clutter and allow for more
Warehouse Option 2: This option was pallet storage
an alternate layout for long term application  Part storage closer to fulfillment table
with focus on maximizing vertical storage would allow for less travel time to
space. The use of vertical space is viable collect parts
when growing the footprint of the warehouse o Average distance (current): 360”
may not be a possibility. (pure straight-line distance)
Warehouse Option 3: This option was o Average distance (optimized):
considered a short-term solution that would 240”
allow MST to implement quickly and  Receiving/storage area sized to
marginally improve operational efficiency. accommodate current forklift +
All these options would impact KPI’s additional room
1-3, 10 of Table 2. KPI 1, which is average  Scale moved to fulfillment table
warehouse capacity utilization, is of critical  Propose to buy additional computer for
impotence for MST as it is contemplating its placement on fulfillment table
growth strategy. Below are the specifics with
 More storage to corner for
respect to each option.
miscellaneous items (office, shipping,
misc.)
Warehouse 1 (Optimized Floor plan
Improving part flow and
Option 1)
organization within the warehouse is one of
the major benefits of option #1. The
The most preferable alternative for
warehouse was configured with separate
MST is Option 1 optimized floor plan,
areas in mind to allow for a more focused
which is shown in Figure 9 and contains a
operation. Figure 10 is our proposed layout
combination of pallet racks and part storage
on how the warehouse could be divided
racks. The main advantage of this layout is
under option 1.
the increase in storage space and ability to
Figure 11is depiction of the
promote proper part flow in the warehouse
expected process flow within the optimized
which will improve the operational
warehouse. The number of process steps
efficiency in the warehouse. More
has been reduced.
specifically, the benefits that MST can
realize by reconfiguring Warehouse 1 are:
Process Steps
 Isolated areas specified for
1. Parts dropped off by shipping company
Departments allow for more lean on pallets
approach to operations 2. Parts on pallets moved to staging area
 Order fulfillment aisles widened to 4+ for receiving
feet wide 3. Once parts checked in, parts on pallets
 12-part racks are added for order moved to pallet rack for storage
fulfillment part storage (20% increase)
79
4. When quantity on shelf low, parts pulled Option 2 utilizes pallet racks to
off pallet rack to staging area for maximize storage space with the
distribution to part storage racks recommendation that the floor level storage
5. Parts placed on part storage racks area of the pallet rack be set up to house
6. Parts picked from shelves and brought to individual items for picking, see Figure 12.
scale and bagged to fulfill order An example of how this would look when
7. Parts moved to shipping table- final implement is shown in Figure 13. Another
check and boxing of parts option would be to put the existing part
8. Boxed order moved to final shipping storage racks underneath the pallet racks.
area where it is picked up by shipping This layout becomes most beneficial when
company it is implemented with a pull system in
which pallets are stored above their picking
Warehouse 1 (Optimized Floor plan- location and pulled down to picking level
Option 2) when inventory gets low at the floor level
picking locations.
FIGURE 9. WAREHOUSE 1 LAYOUT - OPTION 1
80
FIGURE 10. WAREHOUSE 1 LAYOUT OPTION 1 - DISCIPLINE LOCATIONS
81
FIGURE 11. PROPOSED PART FLOW WITHIN WAREHOUSE 1 - OPTION 1
82
FIGURE 12. WAREHOUSE 1 FLOOR LAYOUT - OPTION 2
FIGURE 13. LOWER LEVEL PALLET RACK SETUP FOR LAYOUT OPTION 2
83
Warehouse 1 (Optimized Floor plan - picking procedure, especially if some of the

Option 3) other recommendations above are followed.
Within this layout, aisles in the picking area
The first two options require have been widened, unused furniture was
significant amount of time and labor input removed, and the part fulfillment table
to implement which may not immediately would be placed in the center of the part
work with MST’s schedule. As a result, we fulfillment area to improve proximity to
suggested a third proposal that required less parts. This layout could likely be
labor and time to implement and should configured during a weekend so that
improve the warehouse layout (See Figure normal business operations are not
14). While the results may not be earth impacted. This layout is similar to the ideal
shattering, this layout will facilitate better layout (option #1) and could be handled in
process flows and drive a more efficient a phased approach.
FIGURE 14. WAREHOUSE 1 LAYOUT - OPTION 3
84
Following implementation of the This would improve the KPI 2 on Table 2

new floor warehouse, inventory would be for Warehouse 2.
located to appropriate storage locations
based on ABC analysis. “A level” parts ERP and Inventory Control System
should be located in storage racks closest to
the order fulfillment table while “C level” Recommendation 1: Reduce excess
parts should be located further away. This inventory. Data drawn from the ERP system
should improve overall efficiency of the show significant quantity and dollar value of
order fulfillment process. It was on-hand inventory for items with very small
anticipated that there would be some cost quantities sold over the prior 12-month
savings (~ 5%), even though it would be period, including parts with zero sales in that
rather challenging to quantify the amount timeframe. The data focused on the top 125
as the value of these layout improvements items by dollar value as they it represented
also are impacted due to changing demand about the 50% of the dollar value of all on-
patterns. hand inventory. Based on Average Daily
Recommendation 3: Implement Sales for each of these items, it was
quarterly reviews of the warehouse layout determined that many parts had Days Sales
with management and employees to on Hand values in excess of 2 years. We
continuously improve. Due to changing recommend pruning this inventory through a
demand pattern, which would impact KPI’s combination of discounted sales and
4, 6, 9 and 10, it necessary to evaluate the scrapping. Cash recovered through sales or
location and flow of new products and parts scrap (via tax write off) of such item then
within the warehouse and the fulfillment could be used to fund inventory expansion for
operation. products with greater turnover or used to fund
technology and tool improvements.
Processes Recommendation #2: Implement a
reorder point system for high volume SKUs.
Recommendation 1: Establish a Reorder point systems specify a quantity of
set of metrics (e.g., cycle time, on-time inventory on hand that triggers a restocking
shipment) to track performance and hold order. The quantity that triggers reorder and
weekly meetings with management and the amount to be ordered are determined for
employees to review operations. each SKU and these values are based on the
Recommendation 2: Automate lead time for each part and the sales history
label printing process. Automating printing for each part. MST’s current no minimum
process would improve overall efficiency order quantity policy and its legacy approach
and reduce the chance of errors. By to reordering has had the effect over time of
automating this process, it is estimated that inflating value of inventory on hand and
MST could save approximately 1.5 hours depressing inventory turnover. This
per 1,000-part numbers processed. recommendation was aimed to redress this
Recommendation 3: Minimize situation and making the inventory leaner and
usage of Warehouse 2 by relocating as less costly.
much inventory as possible to Warehouse 1. Through the use of basic operations
The orders for remain products and parts in tools and techniques we were able to
Warehouse 2 would benefit by being provide a tangible roadmap guide the future
combined and picked as a single batch. warehousing and fulfillment activities of
this firm. We hope to be able to follow up
85
in the future and report on its evolution as Consulting Report. (2019). Unpublished
it ramps up for its growth. report, Fowler College of Business,
San Diego State University.
V. ACKNOWLEDGMENT Forklifts. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://www.crown.com/en-
We would like to recognize the us/forklifts.html
dedicated work Jeff Lyman, Allen Meserve, Heizer, J., Render, B., & Munson, C.
Kevin Moore, Thomas Raskopf, Wei-Chen (2017). Operations management:
Wu, who participated in the data gathering, Sustainability and supply chain
analysis and earlier drafts of this study Management. Boston: Pearson.
under the supervision of the authors Honeywell Scanning Solutions. (n.d.).
(Consulting Report, 2019). Retrieved from
https://www.honeywell.com/productivi
ty/scanning
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87
APPENDIX A: WAREHOUSE FLOOR LAYOUT
Figures 6 and 7 depict current layouts of the two MST warehouses created using
Microsoft Visio.
FIGURE 6. CURRENT WAREHOUSE 1 LAYOUT
FIGURE 7. CURRENT WAREHOUSE 2 LAYOUT
Item process flows in relation with warehouse space were also documented to identify
opportunities in MST’s operation. See Figure 8 for documented current state process flow within
MST’s warehouse 1. Individual process steps corresponding to each process number are
documented below the layout.
88
FIGURE 8. CURRENT FLOW OF PARTS WITHIN WAREHOUSE 1
Process Steps:
1. Parts dropped off by shipping company on pallets
2. Parts on pallets moved to staging area for receiving
3. Once parts checked in, parts on pallets moved to pallet rack (or floor) for storage
4. When quantity on shelf low, parts pulled off pallet rack to staging area for distribution
to part storage racks
5. Parts placed on part storage racks
6. Parts picked from shelves and brought to scale to measure quantity
7. Parts bagged at fulfillment table
8. Parts moved to shipping table- final check and boxing of parts
9. Boxed order moved to final shipping area
10. Parts picked up by shipping company
89
APPENDIX B: TIME & DISTANCE OBSERVATIONS
During on-site visits the following data were gathered by shadowing warehouse
employees during the order fulfillment process. We observed 10 orders being fulfilled during a
3-hours of observations. Table 4 provides the summary of those observations which includes the
total distance travelled and time to complete each activity.
TABLE 4. SUMMARY OF TIME AND DISTANCE OBSERVATIONS
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Feraidoon Raafat, Robert Showghi

Warehouse and Distribution Operations Improvements: A Case Study

Warehouse and Distribution Operations

* Corresponding Author. E-mail address: fred.raafat@sdsu.edu

I. INTRODUCTION in single units, which serves small and

fulfillment. Unfortunately, during our

FIGURE 4 - FLOW CHART OF THE SALES OPERATIONS

FIGURE 5: TOOL TO IDENTIFY KEY PROCESS STEPS

TABLE 1. PROCESS KPI'S

TABLE 2. TOP 10 KPI METRICS USED FOR WAREHOUSE PROCESS

TABLE 3. PERFORMANCE METRIC VALUES FOR IDENTIFYING WAREHOUSE

IV. RECOMMENDATIONS magnitude of improvement on KPI’s 1-10

Warehouse Option 1: We viewed this  Allow to move all order fulfillment to

FIGURE 9. WAREHOUSE 1 LAYOUT - OPTION 1

FIGURE 10. WAREHOUSE 1 LAYOUT OPTION 1 - DISCIPLINE LOCATIONS

FIGURE 11. PROPOSED PART FLOW WITHIN WAREHOUSE 1 - OPTION 1

FIGURE 12. WAREHOUSE 1 FLOOR LAYOUT - OPTION 2

Warehouse 1 (Optimized Floor plan - picking procedure, especially if some of the

FIGURE 14. WAREHOUSE 1 LAYOUT - OPTION 3

Following implementation of the This would improve the KPI 2 on Table 2

Improving Efficiency And Minimizing Warehouse Equipment Solutions, Inc.

APPENDIX A: WAREHOUSE FLOOR LAYOUT

FIGURE 6. CURRENT WAREHOUSE 1 LAYOUT

FIGURE 7. CURRENT WAREHOUSE 2 LAYOUT

FIGURE 8. CURRENT FLOW OF PARTS WITHIN WAREHOUSE 1

APPENDIX B: TIME & DISTANCE OBSERVATIONS

TABLE 4. SUMMARY OF TIME AND DISTANCE OBSERVATIONS

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