A new warehouse is to be constructed and you have been tasked to provide initial design. The warehouse is primarily used for pick/pack of grocery items with a small amount of frozen goods and some pharmaceuticals. Incoming goods are palletized and outgoing orders are as per the customers’ orders. The warehouse will contain some 8000 SKU’s with the majority considered, 80%, to be C class items. The building is only framed right now and is waiting on your design before completion.

1. Using the objectives of a good warehouse layout, and considering the location of fixed obstacles, draw out your warehouse specifications. (You can use graph paper and scan, or software of your choice to develop the drawing). Be sure to describe your rationale for each of the following steps:

2 • Define the location of the receiving and shipping function – high-activity area that must be located such that productivity is maximized, material flow is improved and space utilization is optimized. Consider the concept of FAST from the previous assignment

3 • Locate the storage areas and equipment, including required aisles – the types of storage areas and equipment use will indicate the extent of the overall configuration.

4 • Assign materials to be stored to their storage location – this ensures that storage allowances have been made for all items to be stored.

5. Identify strengths of your design and identify potential problem areas that you need to monitor (alternatives)