Your floor
The dock (or packing bench) is at one corner. A pick is a round trip from there. Measure a real route and adjust the speed until the feet match.
Rows of shelving, counted from the one nearest the dock.
A bay is one shelf section or pallet position. Bay 1 is the end nearest the front cross-aisle.
Centre to centre, including the aisle you walk in.
Along the aisle.
Along the front cross-aisle.
Usually the width of the cross-aisle.
Carrying and stopping, not a stroll. 150 to 250 is typical.
Wage plus the burden you pay.
Pick up, carry, put away, update the system.
The pasted orders are treated as a sample of this many. Blank means the pasted orders are the month.
SKUs (up to 40)
Picks per month is order lines picked, not units. A SKU that takes several bays runs on along its aisle from the bay you give. Leave Aisle and Bay blank if you do not know where something is; those SKUs are put in the first free space in the order listed. Type yes under Locked for anything that must not move (heavy, hazardous, cold, fixed racking).
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| 40 |
Orders (optional, but better)
One order per line, SKU names exactly as above separated by commas. A few hundred recent orders is plenty. With orders, the tool measures the walk of each whole order and ignores the picks column except to say which SKUs are busiest.
Needs at least two named SKUs and a picks figure (or orders).
Result
Questions warehouse teams ask
How do I decide where to put each SKU in a small warehouse?
Put the SKUs that are picked most often in the bays nearest the dock or packing area, and the slow ones furthest away. This is called slotting. Enter your grid, each SKU's picks per month and how many bays it takes, and the tool shows where every SKU should live and how many feet of walking that removes. When every SKU is one bay and orders are one line, the ranking by picks is provably the best possible.
Why paste orders as well as picks per month?
Picks per month treats every pick as a separate trip. Real orders often have several lines, and SKUs that are ordered together should sit in the same aisle so one trip covers them. Paste a sample of real orders (one per line, SKUs separated by commas) and the tool measures the walk of each whole order and moves SKUs together when that shortens the routes.
What are quick wins?
A full re-slot can mean moving most of the stockroom. Quick wins start from where things are today and list the single swaps or moves that save the most, in order, with the labor to make them and the weeks to pay that back. Often a handful of moves capture most of the saving.
How accurate is the saving?
It is the walking only, on the distances and speed you enter, assuming the dock is at one corner and pickers return to it after each trip. It does not include picking, handling, replenishment, safety or ergonomics, and the time saved is only worth money if it is used for other work. Measure a real route with a tape or a wheel and enter that.
Is this business advice?
No. It is arithmetic on figures you type. Weight, reach height, hazardous or temperature-controlled goods, product families and putaway rules are yours to decide, which is why you can lock any SKU in place.
Not decided
Whether to add racking, move the dock, batch or zone picking, replenishment from reserve, product weight and reach height, hazardous or temperature rules, seasonal swings in demand, and what the saved time is worth to you. The walk is a single dock at one corner with return-to-dock routing, and a SKU is picked from its nearest bay.
Related tools: the container load planner and the shipping box size optimizer.