Nothing is better than starting from scratch.
Signing a lease for your first warehouse provides an opportunity to build your fulfillment engine from the ground up.
It’s an exciting step towards business growth, but now comes the hard part.
Just like furnishing a new home, renting a warehouse takes time and planning to make the most of the space to meet your logistics operation needs.
But where do you start? In this guide, we’ll explore what it takes to design and set up your warehouse, the essential processes you need to understand during the design phase, best practices for warehouse optimization, and more.
The Importance of Warehouse Design and Setup
Setting up a warehouse is not just about stacking products on shelves. The warehouse should be designed to optimize storage and streamline fulfillment processes.
Investing in a warehouse is a significant undertaking that involves supply chain planning, budgeting, financing, and executing in-house fulfillment operations.
A large part of your warehouse’s efficiency depends on how it’s set up, so it’s crucial to design it appropriately to ensure success.
Your Warehouse Needs to Work for You
First of all, your warehouse should allow you and your team to fulfill orders efficiently and accurately. Consider your products and the customer experience as you search for and design the warehouse.
During your search for a new warehouse, look for a space that fully meets your needs, from loading docks to optimal storage space. This ensures a seamless flow of goods and maximizes warehouse efficiency.
When you design your warehouse based on your brand’s needs, you gain control over how products are stored, picked, and packed, ensuring maximum efficiency.
Unnecessary Equipment May Hinder Operations
While equipment can help improve efficiency, having more equipment than necessary can take up space and complicate processes if not used correctly. Excess equipment means wasted warehouse space (limiting space for inventory) and may overcomplicate fulfillment processes and employee training.
Additionally, having too much equipment could pose safety risks to employees if space becomes cramped, or if equipment is not properly maintained.
Warehouse and Inventory Audits Require Organization
For you and your team to complete warehouse and inventory audits, the warehouse must be organized and orderly. If SKUs are scattered randomly around the warehouse, tracking inventory will be difficult, impacting both warehouse efficiency and accuracy.
Stay organized by creating warehouse storage solutions like shelving racks, pallet racks, storing inventory in bins, and labeling products clearly and accurately.
The First Step to Designing Your Warehouse
Once you find the right warehouse, planning and designing its layout is crucial, as it will affect supply chain efficiency.
Four Key Processes to Consider When Designing Warehouse Layout
When building a proper warehouse layout, you need to focus on functionality and efficiency.
Think beyond just fitting all the inventory in the available space. Consider ways to optimize the space to reduce costs and increase productivity.
Before you begin designing the warehouse layout, here are four essential processes to keep in mind:
- Receiving and Storing Inventory:
A poor receiving process can lead to inventory control issues and high operational costs. Upon receiving new inventory, your team should check each shipment thoroughly to ensure quantities match, and products are intact. - Inventory Tracking:
After receiving inventory, you need a system to track what’s available for sale. Manually tracking inventory becomes inefficient and costly as order volume increases. Use inventory management software that provides real-time insights into current stock levels to ensure you meet demand and replenish inventory accordingly. - Order Picking:
The process of picking inventory requires an effective warehouse setup and design. Consider how picking lists are generated, the walking distance for your team, and the ease of locating items. - Shipping Process:
Once orders are ready, the shipping process begins. Ensure all orders are loaded accurately and choose between domestic, international, or a mix of carriers based on the warehouse and customer locations.
Best Practices for Warehouse Layout Design
Warehouse layout design depends on the type of business, but some common best practices apply across industries:
- Map Out the Internal Workflow of the Warehouse
- Define Workstations
- Optimize Storage
- Implement a Warehouse Management System (WMS)
- Improve Picking and Packing Areas
- Gather Employee Feedback to Enhance Operations
When it comes to designing and optimizing warehouses, Diggipacks has extensive experience, having designed and implemented hundreds of warehouses across various sectors. With advanced strategies and accumulated expertise in logistics management, Diggipacks has successfully built warehouses that meet the needs of their clients and ensure the efficiency of fulfillment and shipping operations. If you’re looking for a reliable partner to help design your new warehouse and maximize its potential, Diggipacks is the perfect choice to ensure the growth of your business and the expansion of your operations.
