What is a warehouse layout?

A warehouse layout is the floor plan of your work. It determines how much an employee walks, how quickly an order is made ready and how safely people and vehicles work alongside each other. You do not notice a poor layout all at once, but every day, in extra steps and waiting.

A layout consists of three things. First the zones: receiving, storage, a zone for items that are ordered often, packing, dispatch and returns. Second the routes: the paths that people and vehicles follow. Third the places: every storage place has a code of its own, so that both the employee and the system know where something is.

When designing, you start with the process, not with the rack. Where do goods arrive, where do they wait and how do they leave the building? The items ordered most often belong closest to where orders are packed. Placing items based on how often they are ordered is called slotting, and the place at eye level is the golden zone. A one-way route prevents people and vehicles from crossing.

The layout also determines how well the flow runs. A warehouse that has grown without the layout being adjusted often has routes that double back and zones that run into each other. A tidy workplace, 5S, then keeps a good layout in order. How much of the space is in use you can follow with space utilisation.

A layout is not for ever. When the range changes or the number of orders grows, the layout should change with it. Read how we lay out a warehouse at warehouse design.