ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the topic of warehousing and distribution. It describes the basic functions of a warehouse, including warehouse type. Although warehouses have a significant labor component, there is also equipment that is needed to support the operations. This equipment is typically categorized into four areas: moving product, storing product, sorting product, and tracking product. The chapter provides some basics of warehouse design and describes effective layouts for a warehouse and the equipment required to support the operations. It discusses three aspects of item retrieval in a warehouse, namely, order picking, slotting, and design of a forward picking area. This is followed by a discussion of line balancing and a self-organizing strategy called bucket brigades. A common method for prioritizing stock keeping unit (SKU) for dedicated storage is based on cube per order, which bases the location of an SKU based on the volume of the pick space required for the SKU and how frequently it is picked.
