F. Curtis Barry & Company Blog

Once viewed as a cost center and a necessary evil, warehousing and fulfillment are now being seen as a potential competitive advantage. The enhanced overall view of the supply chain is placing increased emphasis on the importance on the warehouse and operations.

A well thought out material handling solutions plan can improve the bottom line of many businesses, but a poorly thought out or implemented project can put the entire business at risk. We see many cases where warehouses are misapplying the available technology to their specific problems or issues.

Consideration has to be given to the reason for considering the technology or material handling solutions to determine what desired results or objectives are needed. This information will help determine if the proposed solution is appropriate and will deliver the results needed.

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Most small to moderate operations have what we call conventional warehouse operations. They have applied limited material handling solutions and rely heavily on manual processes and manual labor to get product in and through the center and the customer orders out the door. So, it’s not uncommon for the owner or senior management to seek out how automation can be employed in their distribution center to improve efficiency, cut labor costs and reduce errors.  But there isn’t a silver bullet.  There isn’t a one size fits all solution to improving your distribution center with automation. Material handling solutions are a means to the end. Because of the capital expense you have to find the practical application that has a return on investment (ROI).

This article discusses a successful methodology for identifying where automation can be practically applied.  Then, we give examples of how other multichannel companies we have worked with in our operations & fulfillment consulting practice gained an ROI through automation.

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One of the basics of operating a well-run warehouse is the foundation of a well thought out warehouse layout. A layout that provides a solid base can lead to improved productivity and control of the accuracy of the overall operation. Conversely, a poor layout can lead to a myriad of issues and concerns. 

There are as many opinions as to the best way to develop a warehouse layout or the actual final layout design. We will address one simple approach that should lead to an effective layout for your warehouse. The word “warehouse” means different things to different people. For the purpose of this post, we mean a building that stores inventory and processes order requirements for retail, catalog, e-commerce, or manufacturing business segments. 

Regardless of whether you have an existing building and want to change the layout, expand what you have, contract what you have, or move to a new facility, all of the same steps in the process apply. 

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