How to design a new warehouse that can handle company growth even 5 years from now

When planning a new warehouse, it is easy to calculate pallet spaces and square footage. However, for future operations, it is just as important to know how much goods your warehouse can receive, pick, and ship during a single shift. Having enough space for inventory does not guarantee sufficient capacity for processing orders.

Once you know why your current warehouse is no longer enough, you need to translate your growth plans into specific requirements for the new warehouse operation. These requirements then determine the size of individual zones, their sequence, equipment, and how work is managed. So, what should you focus on?

Account for peaks and order composition

The number of orders per day alone is not enough. Single-item shipments place a different load on the system than the same number of orders with multiple items and more complex packaging. Furthermore, an expanding product range can increase the demand for storage locations, even if the total volume of inventory does not grow significantly.

When planning, therefore, base your decisions on operational data provided by your warehouse management system and your business plan. Specifically, clarify:

• the expected number of orders on a typical day and during peak season,
• the number of items per order and their handling requirements,
• planned product range expansion and changes in inventory volume,
• the size and frequency of incoming shipments,
• the time available for picking and packing before carrier pickup.

Tip: In addition to daily operations, prepare a scenario for seasonal peaks and faster growth. For each, verify the performance required for receiving, picking, packing, and shipping, and determine how many people are needed to handle it.

Make room for the entire flow of goods

Map out the path of goods on the floor plan, from receiving through storage and picking to packing and dispatch. For each step, assess the required area, handling space, and the capacity of the subsequent workstation.

For example, if you speed up picking but packing cannot handle the increased volume of orders, crates will start to pile up between the two workstations. Adding more racks will not solve this problem. You need to balance the performance of individual warehouse sections so that goods can move forward smoothly.

Do not forget space for returns, packaging materials, and finished shipments waiting for the carrier. During the design phase, also address the replenishment of picking locations: where will the goods come from, and how will replenishment affect the work of warehouse staff who are currently preparing orders?

Prepare both the space and the system for changes

Already during the design phase, determine where it will be possible to add a packing table, expand the picking zone, or add more racks. The reserve space should have a specific purpose based on expected growth. Simply having open space at the opposite end of the warehouse may not help a workstation that is running out of capacity.

Equipment and the Warehouse Management System (WMS) must also account for future workflows. For example, when multipicking in LOKiA WMS a warehouse operator can pick multiple orders in a single trip and place items into separate bins on a cart. This setup influences the choice of carts, the aisle space required, and the handover of orders for packing.

Therefore, review specific orders and future operational scenarios with your WMS provider while looking at the warehouse layout. Verify how they will perform under higher volumes and what adjustments will be needed when adding staff or workstations.

Are you planning to move or build a new warehouse? Schedule a consultation with us and we will discuss how to set up management for your new operation with the ideal warehouse system LOKiA WMS.