What is slotting?
Slotting is the practice of assigning products to locations within a warehouse. While this is simple from a conceptual standpoint, doing it well is very difficult in practice. This is due to the complexities involved in evaluating multiple, often conflicting, and frequently changing objectives when determining the best location for individual items.
The two primary use cases for warehouse slotting are design and optimization.
• Design a facility for optimum performance using SKU data and operating rules
• Verify or validate new facilities can meet operational requirements and ensure optimum of storage equipment
• Gain significant operational efficiencies for current and future expansion plans
• Visualize the impact of potential changes before implementing
• Explore "what if" scenarios before making any physical changes
Optimize
• Reduce "stock outs" and optimize frequency of replenishment
• Re-optimize storage strategies to accommodate acquisitions and/or seasonal spikes
• Optimize multiple warehouses in a single instance of the software
• Improve timeliness of orders by moving products to a location that minimizes travel distance across all orders
Specific industries have specialized slotting needs.
Retail/E-commerce/B2B Distribution
For Retail/E-commerce/B2B Distribution warehouses, it’s important to maximize high throughput while minimizing direct labor costs. Key objectives include:
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Managing diverse and specialized equipment effectively.
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Managing seasonality.
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Moving product from manufacturing to store shelves.
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Proving investment in automation was worthwhile.
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Minimizing mistakes in picking to ensure order accuracy.
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Taking advantage of order affinity
Consultants & Integrators
For Consultants & Integrators, it’s important to maximize operating efficiency, while minimizing the capital cost required to implement, giving you:
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Credibility with simulated results
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Help with your client finding a preferred design
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The ability to identify specialized equipment needs
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The opportunity to showcase your competitive edge
Get started slotting today!