Warehouse Layout and Location (Essay Sample)

Warehouse Layout and Location
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Warehouse Layout and Location
A warehouse is a commercial storage facility. It not only provides safe storage, but also ensures that the stored commodities are accessible. The goods, which are sourced from a manufacturer, are kept in the facility until required for use by consumers. For instance, corn that is produced in summer is stored in the warehouses and later distributed in winter when corn production is no longer possible. Warehouses typically have loading docks, which are used to transfer merchandise to and from transportation vessels such as trains and tracks. Also, they utilize information systems to facilitate inventory recording. Apart from acting as transition points, the packaging and displaying of goods takes place in some of the warehouses and hence they have a positive impact on supply chain efficiency (Bragg, 2004). Warehouses can be even more effective if they are designed appropriately.
The warehouses have been utilized for a long time. The facilities were introduced during the Industrial Revolution. At that time, the buildings were developed to store surplus merchandise; automation enabled mass production of goods and hence excess commodities were produced. Additionally, the warehouses were used for post-production processing of the stored goods. Since then, they have been an integral part of the supply chain process (Bragg, 2004). Given their significance, poorly designed warehouses can have a negative impact on business. For instance, an inappropriate layout can create safety hazards, increase transportation errors, make inventory tracking difficult, and decrease productivity. In this regard, modern warehouse design requires the use of new methodologies that lower costs and improve operations (Geraldine & Yves, 2010). If to take an example, information, process, and material flow is considered while planning the layout of the facilities.
Additionally, a well-organized warehouse has certain characteristics. It must be well spaced, strategically located, and accessible to personnel. All of these features enable the workers to carry out their functions efficiently. In other words, such facilities increase productivity and keep overhead costs at a minimum. As a result, the businesses that run the buildings realize considerable profits (Koumpourelou, 2008).
In relation to spacing, the facility should be designed in a manner that ensures the smooth flow of goods. Thus, factors related to capacity – size, shape, and more – and layout philosophies – local government guidelines, approved architectural designs, and so on – should be considered while determining the space requirements for the warehouse (Baker & Canessa, 2009). In this respect, the objective of warehouse layout design is to ensure that space is maximized, there is a balance between operation and service costs, merchandize is packaged into appropriate unit loads, the movement of goods and personnel is efficient, and the facility is secure, safe, and environmentally sound (UA College of Continuing Studies, 2014). In this regard, in a well planned facility, regularly accessed inventory is located near entry/exit points. Additionally, heavy goods are spaced in a manner that ensures that forklifts can easily be used to access individual units of the loads.
With respect to locating the warehouse, there are several factors to consider. Firstly, the facility should be situated in a site that is easily accessible and controllable. The appropriate location can be determined by using tools such as locator systems. Additionally, a favorable site can be identified while analyzing ways of improving inventory control, during goods mapping, by following inventory control guidelines, and during evaluation of physical inventory-taking techniques (UA College of Continuing Studies, 2014). For instance, the demand density supply chain mapping procedure can be used to determine favorable sites for setting up grain collection warehouses. In this case, the mapping technique may show that locating the facility along harbors will facilitate grain transfer between the storage sites and transportation vessels. In other words, the warehouse network should be near transportation hubs to take advantage of available vessels.
Already, some organizations, such as Kroger Company, have begun to modernize the design of their facilities. For instance, the company has optimized its warehouse designs, particularly for its grocery distribution centers. In this case, the organization has adopted the use of technology in the tracking and storage of its inventory. Particularly, wireless devices that can scan barcodes are used to monitor shipment of goods in and out of the facilities. Additionally, store managers use voice technologies to issue commands to subordinate personnel, which results in faster response times. As a resul...