How Building Design Can Increase the Efficiency in Your Fulfillment Center

Fulfillment centers need to be designed to be as efficient as possible to keep up with the demands of customers and maximize customer satisfaction - and it's up to warehouse managers and staff to ensure that warehouse efficiency is optimized and that warehouse performance is performed at a high level. 

If you are designing your first fulfillment center, it can be difficult to know precisely which factors to consider for efficiency to be a main characteristic of the warehouse layout for efficient operations.

In this blog, we explain the six ways to maximize your fulfillment center efficiency with your building design.

These six tips consider how the flow of your center will go, how to utilize all the storage areas, and what to do with all the vertical space in your building.

Let's take a look at how to increase the efficiency of your fulfillment center.

1. Design with all systems in mind

In the dynamic landscape of fulfillment centers, the ongoing challenge revolves around optimizing warehouse space utilization and accounting for ever-changing supply chain operations. Various departments within these centers vie for valuable floor space and square footage.

It's crucial to proactively manage this competition to ensure a seamless operation. Avoid the congestion of departments by thoughtfully planning and allocating distinct spaces for each facet of your business within the center. This strategic approach not only enhances overall efficiency but also contributes to a harmonious and streamlined workflow for your current operations. 

It may seem redundant to say, but there needs to be coordination in your design to include adequate space and offices for every department.

With departments that work closely together in real time, or pass on work to one another, it is important to designate areas near each other for sufficient flow.

As you design your fulfillment center with all of your systems and departments in mind, you will get the most bang for your buck (and less hassle and inconvenience) out of your building design.

2. Make sure the building design supports your workflow

Ensuring that your building design helps your business's workflow should most definitely be the primary goal for the design phase.

To achieve a supported workflow and warehouse efficiency, keep in mind these deciding factors:

• How products flow through the fulfillment center (the path they take going from department to department)
• How products will depart from your building
• What (if any) elements of your workflow do you plan to designate for automation
• The type of transportation that you utilize bringing in products to the center
• Where transportation docks should be placed

Your building design should support heavy loads, and beyond that, the workflow of your business's operations.

With all of the right information and ensuring that all deciding factors are considered during the design phase, your fulfillment center will have a floor plan design that allows for maximum improvement to your workflow and storage situations.

Before your design gets passed along to manufacturing and then construction, make sure that you have a firm grasp on the sequence of operations and the flow of the design.

It is crucial to make sure of this before 100% committing to a design that does not allow for ease of workflow in your daily operations.

Understanding your business's flow of operations will allow you to see any points of possible inefficiency in the design, then you can make the necessary changes to increase the flow of your design plan.

Taking into consideration your workflow and making sure that your design allows for maximum efficiency will result in the best possible layout and structure of your fulfillment center.

3. Plan for future expansion from the start

When you are starting to create your building design, if you have any hopes or plans for future business growth, it is smart to prepare for the expansion during the initial design stage.

This early planning may result in substantial savings.

Planning for future expansions enables your fulfillment center to grow with you and allows you to avoid the hassle of searching for, or building, a new center when your business grows. 

Ensure that the fulfillment center you design can support additional structural and seismic loads (such as more conveyors or AS/RS systems).

When considering future expansion possibilities, be sure that your fulfillment center design plans for lower-cost materials for the areas where the walls would be torn down to make room for additions.

4. Use vertical space 

Often in fulfillment centers and storage facilities, there is unused vertical space. This is something you want to try to avoid to ensure optimized warehouse space utilization.

Utilize the vertical space in your building by investing in storage solutions that will make use of the overhead area. Just ensure that your storage units will not affect the sprinklers or violate the fire code.

Speaking of vertical space...

5. Match vertical space needs with the building's characteristics

It is good practice to space out and configure your fulfillment center so that space is used efficiently. You do not want to assign certain areas to tasks that do not require a lot of vertical space, instead, reserve the areas with high ceilings for the tasks that require more storage space.

In warehouses, there is often a lot of unused overhead space.

Try to maximize the utilization of vertical space, like using higher bays for the higher height allowances, and leave room for personnel and handling equipment, like forklifts.

6. Utilize full depth of storage areas

Now that we've covered making sure that you are taking full advantage of the vertical space in your fulfillment center, it is time to talk about utilizing the entire depth of storage in your design plans.

Choosing to opt for double deep racking pallets in your fulfillment center will allow for full use of storage areas.

Double-deep racking means that pallets are stored two deep instead of one. This technique helps to maximize warehouse space and increases storage density.

With this solution, you will eliminate unnecessary aisles and create more storage areas instead of dead space.

This is a space-efficient and cost-effective solution to maximizing the potential of your fulfillment center.

Utilizing this solution, or other space-saving options, can minimize the chances of your business outgrowing your fulfillment center.

Design Your Efficient Warehouse Building With CDMG!

Now that you know different techniques to make the most of your fulfillment center with the building design, it is time for you to take the next step and partner with one of the leading industrial design and construction firms to bring your facility to life.

Call today or click the button below to get in touch with one of CDMG's expert sales representatives today!

Original content was published here.