Warehouse and Distribution Center Product Slotting Analysis

Product Slotting is the process of using relevant data associated with each product stored in a warehouse and determining the best location to store the product based on the material handling storage equipment available.  TriFactor’s product slotting software and other time-tested processes are valuable tools used in the design of warehouses or distribution centers. 

Proper product slotting alone has been attributed with increased picker productivity in excess of 20%.  How is this accomplished?  Slotting will assign fast movers to the most ergonomic levels while at the same time balancing the fast movers across aisles in order to reduce congestion.  The heavier items will be strategically placed to reduce injury while simultaneously allowing greater productivity.  When we slot a forward order picking area, not only do we consider what type of storage equipment each SKU will be stored in, but also the amount of pick faces, or slots, required for each product in order to minimize replenishment labor requirements and prevent out of stock situations during the picking process. 

Performing a historical order analysis, known as a velocity analysis, often times results in revealing relationships between specific products. For example, we might find that one SKU is almost always ordered in conjunction with another SKU.  When that piece of information reveals itself during our velocity analysis, we would position them in close proximity to each other.  Performing a velocity analysis and subsequent slotting analysis also ensures that the highest moving items with similar physical dimensions are not stored too close to each other in order to control congestion of order pickers in one area.

The critical data gathered for each product consists of dimensional information (length, width, height, weight) and velocity for all units of sale.  A unit of sale can be either an item (broken or split case), full case or pallet.  For example, the same bottle of wine can be sold and distributed as an individual bottle, in a full case of 12 bottles or a full pallet of 400+ bottles.  This information helps determine where a product needs to be stored and in what order a product will be picked so that heavier items are placed on a pallet first in the lower layers. 

TriFactor uses a Cubiscan portable product dimensioning system that can easily and accurately capture a product’s physical dimensions and automatically store the information into a database or spreadsheet.  An additional benefit of having this type of information is recording and utilizing accurate shipping dim-weights which might possibly reduce your freight costs.

When and how often do you perform a slotting analysis?  Obviously this should be done when planning a new or re-engineering an existing warehouse or distribution center.  Additionally, product slotting should be done on a regular scheduled basis to monitor the activity of existing products that change due to demand or seasonality.  Performing a regularly scheduled slotting analysis is also a good opportunity to address slotting of any new products that have entered the inventory.  

TriFactor’s Paul Hansen and Kelvin Gibson wrote a white paper titled “Effectively Slotting a Warehouse or Distribution Center” which has been published in several trade magazines including: Supply & Demand Chain Executive, Industrial Distribution and Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery.

Acquire Needed Product Data to do a slotting analysis with a Cubiscan see the Demo