The Ultimate Guide to Optimizing Space in Your Commercial Warehouse
Businesses must have efficient warehouse operations. Warehouses that aren’t optimized for space can result in delays and bottlenecks, ultimately costing the business money.
Fortunately, there are many ways to optimize warehouse space without incurring the expense of moving or expanding the building. The following tips will help you find and utilize more warehouse space:
Determine Your Storage Needs
First, you’ll need to determine your storage needs or ask for help with WarehousingIT. This will help you plan for future demand and know when to expand.
Calculating warehouse storage capacity can be a tricky task. You need to consider various factors, including the type of inventory being stored and its turnover rate. This will help you understand how much space you need for fast-moving items, safety stock, and dead inventory.
The next step is to calculate the building’s clear height, which is the distance between the floor and the steel shell of the facility or, in the case of a high-rise facility, the lowest object on the ceiling (like a hanging light fixture). Once you have this number, subtract any areas that won’t hold inventory (bathrooms, offices, etc.) to get your total usable square footage.
Lastly, consider the geographic location of your customers. This can affect your warehousing requirements significantly since COVID-19 may have shifted the customer base for many companies.
Evaluate Your Warehouse Layout
When it comes to optimizing storage space, every inch counts. Look closely at your warehouse layout, including racking locations and shelving systems. Make notes of unused or under-used spaces. This can help you better utilize warehouse storage space for future shipments.
For example, if you have a lot of space between the top of a product and the rack beam above it, consider adding additional racking tiers upward to increase this space. You can use a size-based sorting system to gain more vertical storage space by storing similar products together. This minimizes the chances of misplacing inventory and makes it easier to retrieve items when needed.
Another area to focus on is aisle widths. Using narrow aisle racking can reduce the space needed for a standard aisle by up to 20% while providing unrestricted access to each pallet. This can save significant floor space and maximize warehouse storage capacity.
Optimize Your Storage Capacity
While the importance of warehouse space optimization is well-known, not all distribution centers utilize their space effectively. Wasted space can lead to missed sales, increased storage costs, and lower worker productivity. However, it is possible to reduce wasted space by making strategic changes in how your facility stores inventory.
Start by determining how much your warehouse is used for non-storage purposes, such as offices and restrooms. Then, subtract that amount from the total area of your facility to determine how much usable space is left.
To optimize your storage capacity, consider using size-based sorting strategies to improve the efficiency of your warehouse. For example, you can store similar-sized products together to make it easier for workers to locate and retrieve items from the warehouse. You can also use slotting software to assign items to specific spaces based on their demand rate and other factors. This helps you maximize storage capacity without investing in a significant renovation.
Utilize Storage Space Effectively
When you optimize your warehouse storage process, it will make it easier to handle your inventory needs and avoid overcrowding. It’s also a way to save money on rent, mortgage, and utility bills.
Start by determining the warehouse’s clear height and the distance from the finished floor to any overhead object. Then, subtract out office space, restrooms, and other non-storage areas to get the total square footage of your warehouse. Then, divide that by the full capacity to determine your warehouse space utilization percentage.
A straightforward way to increase warehouse capacity is by using vertical space. For example, by adding a mezzanine above a floor-level process like shipping or receiving, you can nearly double your space without the cost of moving or expanding your facility. Similarly, using narrow aisles for racking can save space, provided you have suitable forklifts to maneuver in these tight spaces. Finally, regularly clean up your warehouse to remove debris and other unused materials that take up valuable space.
