Set of golden principles in warehouse design

---

---

According to an analysis of Won and Olafsson in 2015: "In the process of optimizing the Supply Chain, Warehouse is an important node that can significantly improve performance." The productivity of the entire Supply Chain is directly linked to the design and layout of the Warehouse. A perfect design can optimize warehouse operations and help Supply Chain achieve maximum efficiency. Therefore, we need to learn about the golden rules for optimal warehouse design.

1. Determining the objective of the warehouse

To identify the right goals, businesses need to answer the following questions:

• Why does that warehouse exist?

• Which market does it serve?

• Is it part of a warehouse network?

• What types of goods will be stored in the warehouse?

• What is the expected lifetime of the warehouse?

• Will it be a green site or an existing warehouse?

The purpose of use will govern the efficiency, operating costs, and the working environment of the warehouse. This becomes even more important when the distribution and implementation processes change in accordance with the direction of multi-channel sales.

The goals the business sets for its warehouse will affect the size, design, and ratio of the indoor warehouse to outside yard space, location, size, and structural composition, along with the rules. This is done for the installation and division of specialized equipment between warehouse and workspace.

2. Select a location

When choosing a warehouse location, we should rely on Outbound Logistics - Output logistics flows related to the movement of goods from the end of the production line to the customer. One of the important and highly competitive factors is customer service, which is characterized by delivery time. According to current needs, businesses often adopt a fast delivery strategy, so locating your warehouse near customers or partner shipping companies is a perfect decision. However, it will also affect other decisions about the number of warehouses needed and the size of the warehouses.

Figure

In addition to considering customer service aspects, such as lead time and supply chain speed, the importance of inbound logistics (logistic input) when starting the job of selecting warehouse locations is also an aspect of concern. Businesses need to understand the position of the supplier and set a time limit with them when ordering and find out the reputation of the supplier because these are important information in planning. dimensions and placement of the warehouse.

In short, the most optimal warehouse location is when the company, although emphasizing on positioning the warehouse close enough to customers to help improve service quality, does not cause difficulties for the supplier.

3. Design plan for each separate warehouse

If you have decided on the number of warehouses needed and determine the appropriate warehouse locations, the next thing that the business must think about is the design of the structure and size of each warehouse. There are many factors that can influence this planning, so we need to list some questions before we start designing. Here are some suggested questions that can identify your business needs.

What activities will take place in the warehouse?

Will warehouse operations include receiving, storing, selecting, packaging and shipping, or need dedicated areas to implement value-added services?

The characteristics of the product?

This factor will have a significant impact on warehouse design, which means that it is important to determine your needs carefully. Please pay attention to the following questions:

• What types of products will be stored in the warehouse?

• Is it easy to store goods on the floor or shelves?

• In addition to hazardous, fragile products, are there any other reasons for special treatment?

• How will the goods be stored? Put on pallets (shelves), in cartons or independently?

• Besides storage, the goods also need to go through any more process?

• Do goods need to be stored in compliance with any special rules or regulations?

• Do the goods need any form of control in the storage environment (frozen goods, temperature control)?

Does the product comply with the season?

Will inventory volume fluctuate greatly due to seasonality, or just a little? Try to allow enough space for peak storage during peak times and avoid redundancy during quieter months.

The warehouse will have to handle returned goods?

As more and more companies emerge, especially e-commerce companies, managing reverse logistics as a separate process will be more effective than trying to integrate return processing with the forward flow. often. If the warehouse needs to handle multiple returns from the customer, the business needs to design more space dedicated to storing and processing those orders.

4. Apply the fast method when designing the ground

After adhering to the above golden rules, we will move towards designing the warehouse space. The four important factors that always arise when designing or arranging any storage or distribution facility are FAST - an acronym on behalf of the following four elements:

• F - Flow

• A - Accessibility

• S - Space

• T - Throughput

The importance of the four factors is the same and they are closely related. In order to achieve a balance, when one factor is considered and changed, others need to be reviewed and reevaluated for the overall impact of that change.

a) F - Flow

The flow here can be interpreted as a logical sequence of activities planned in the warehouse. Each activity should be placed as close to the previous activity as possible and the same for the functions. The flow requires controlled and unbroken movement of materials, people and goods.

It is important to capture the position of the material in the system, the state and the location in the warehouse. The main purpose here is to set out different warehouse operations so that each activity contributes to the Joint Operating Flow with a minimal amount of movement and disruption.

b) A - Accessibility

Accessibility means not only how to access the product, but also how to access it. From goods to the tools needed everything needs to be approached as quickly as possible to optimize efficiency. In addition, we need to know whether the packaging unit requires the level of appropriate approach.

For example, in the case of bottled water, from regional or national FMC distribution centers, businesses may consider the possibility of receiving and distributing products by pallets or even by trucks. When needed to reach by pallet, because bottled water moves very fast and has a long shelf life, there is no need to follow the strict first in first out (FIFO) policy for each pallet level. Therefore, at the wholesaler or distributor level, enterprises can access the lower inventory to each package and to the small stores in the store, each individual bottle of water.

For pharmaceuticals, the approach should extend beyond the individual product level to specific quantities and batch numbers. Access requirements are essential, especially in the Pick face area and fast-moving stock holding areas, but it does not affect the next element in the FAST model is space utilization.

c) S - Space

This is the most intuitive element because when space is exploited wisely, it will create a premise for the activities taking place in the warehouse to be smoothly and effectively. Use the maximum storage space for the purpose of storage, operation and handling of the warehouse, and the minimum space required for related functions such as offices, work areas, ... Thanks to many storage facilities. Available on the market today (shelves, pallets, mezzanines, ...), businesses can make optimal use of warehouse space, not only using the floor area but also expanding to the upper space of the warehouse. line.

Most modern storage devices are self-standing and do not need structural support from the warehouse itself, so the warehouse can be designed as a "Big Box" with the simplest structure and lowest cost... Because of this, businesses gain operational flexibility by choosing the storage device that best fits the existing goods and then changing it as the business grows to meet new needs. Future. For example, use mezzanines to increase the amount of usable space on the premises and consider modular offices if you need to use some of your space for administrative purposes.

The space optimization can be easily done without the need for expensive warehouse repairs and upgrades. However, it is still necessary to consider the above factors such as Flow, Accessibility, and the final element, Throughput.

d) T - Throughput

Throughput is the process of goods interacting with warehouse space. When designing a warehouse, businesses must always take into account the periods of highest demand so that production can always be maximized.

In discovering warehouse throughput, we not only consider the types of goods passing through the warehouse, but also the nature of the goods and its velocity through the flow. In essence, it is the processing characteristics, size and any other factors that will affect the way it moves through, such as danger, large numbers, fragility, security requirements. and compatibility with other products.

The velocity of the cargo will indicate the amount of cargo that moves through the warehouse each day. The high availability of accurate throughput data will greatly help with the results.

5. "Green" warehouse

A "green" warehouse is a place that not only optimizes performance but also contributes to protecting the environment and maximizing the enterprise's resources. These warehouses often use insulating materials that save energy and materials with lower pollutant properties such as specialized paints, adhesives, wood products, fillings, and carpets, etc. can improve the air quality of the warehouse. In addition, the warehouse is also equipped with an economical LED lighting system and monitoring sensors that not only meet lighting needs and adjust warehouse capacity but can also be used for all types of resource management. other, like gas and water.

In terms of structure, the "green" warehouse also ensures resources-saving for businesses thanks to the roof's ability to reduce the warehouse temperature using bright reflective materials, or even just white paint. Reflecting sunlight back. In addition, the roof incorporates solar panels that produce 186 megawatts of capacity simultaneously with the design of rainwater harvesting systems and plumbing systems to reduce the amount of water used in warehouses and sensors. to monitor water usage helps minimize costs for businesses in a warehouse operation.

CONCLUDE

In summary, when considering warehouse layout or design, we need to consider the purpose of the warehouse as well as based on the internal and external logistics factors of the business to be able to make decisions about the number and location of the warehouse...

In addition, regarding the design requirements of the structure and size of each individual warehouse, some of the most important things to note are the service delivery strategy of the business, the characteristics of the product and the Types of activities expected to conduct in stock.

Next, when designing the warehouse space, the elements of Flow, Accessibility, and Space must be balanced to allow the Throughput (throughput) demand, that is, The volume of goods passing and time parameters must be met. Ultimately, it is about designing a "green" warehouse that is environmentally friendly and fully responsive to optimize the performance of your supply chain.

According to logisticsbureau.com, supplychaindive.com, swbetz.com

Source: vilas.edu.vn/nguyen-tac-vang-khi-thiet-ke-kho-hang.html

LEC GROUP

Head Office: Road 4, Phu My 1 Industrial Zone, Phu My Ward, Phu My Town, Ba Ria - Vung Tau, Vietnam.

Add: No. 28 Thao Dien Street, Thao Dien ward, District 2, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam.

Hotline: (+84) 909 800 136 & (+84) 909 455 136.

Email: info@lecvietnam.com & thao.nguyen@lecvietnam.com

Website: https://lecvietnam.com/

---

---