[3D Spherical Scanning] How Matterport Helps Plan Warehouses? Notes, Tips, and Examples from Real Companies!
Warehouse Planning: 5 Considerations, Tips, and Examples
Renovating or creating a new warehouse space is a daunting task. Planning the storage locations for equipment, materials, inventory, workstations, and even external vehicles all require careful design. It can feel like playing a game of Tetris in a warehouse, but following some basic principles of warehouse layout can guide you through this sometimes stressful design process with ease. With a little forethought and the right tools, such as the Matterport 3D environmental scanner, you can easily plan the layout of your facility to maximize its efficiency!
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What is Warehouse Planning?
Warehouse planning is the process of designing facility space with maximum efficiency in mind. The layout must consider the movement of materials, optimized equipment placement, and traffic flow. Once planners determine the layout, they will finalize comprehensive diagrams detailing the design.
Why is Warehouse Design Important?
Strategic warehouse design and layout offer owners and managers a wealth of advantages. This carefully planned approach to facility and external space yields multiple benefits, both now and in the future! Here are three of them:
First, Optimized Space Utilization
If facility owners don't consider the layout when expanding a warehouse, then all areas may not be utilized as efficiently as possible, and wasted space leads to monetary and productivity losses.
Strategically designing a warehouse layout can help owners and managers maximize every square inch based on their unique needs. Redesigning space to accommodate your traffic patterns, workstations, storage, and equipment needs means you can streamline processes at every stage to meet tight deadlines and respond to increasing demand, achieving a balance between supply and demand!
For example, when redesigning a facility for warehousing retail products, you can find additional space to increase the amount of inventory that can be held at any given time. Inventory can also be organized to make order picking and packing more efficient.
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Second, Increased Productivity
Whether you own or manage a distribution center, retail warehouse, or flexible space, optimizing your warehouse layout can make it easier to manage and increase productivity.
The layout of equipment, inventory, and workstations can determine a warehouse's productivity! When workers need to pick and pack inventory or handle materials and equipment, the way the space is designed matters. A well-organized space makes it easier for people to move around the facility and smoother traffic flow between different workstations and departments. For example, a layout that allows sufficient space for designated and separate pedestrian and vehicle traffic can reduce safety incidents, thereby increasing productivity. As a result, employees can create more efficient workflows, leading to higher productivity!
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Third, Reduced Costs
Planning the layout can reduce warehouse operating costs in multiple ways – from using less space to store goods and equipment to better inventory tracking.
Warehouse space is expensive, and every inch adds up. A study shows that the average cost per square foot in 2023 was $13.50-$13.75. When space is at a premium, maximizing efficiency is crucial!
For example, a more strategic warehouse design can reclaim the total area required for inventory, thereby reducing leasing costs. When your facility is optimized, you can also install more equipment or inventory in the same space, thus reducing the total cost of warehousing goods. Additionally, planning space for loading docks to quickly handle vehicle traffic can reduce waiting and waste from vehicle backing up. Just like a well-functioning port.
A well-planned space can also reduce operational costs in picking, packing, and shrinkage. A thoughtfully designed space allows workers to pick and pack orders more easily, meaning they can complete more orders faster. The correct storage system helps organize inventory better, reducing product loss and theft.
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4 Key Considerations When Designing a Warehouse Layout
Before diving into perfecting your warehouse design and layout, you first need to consider some key factors.
I. Available Space
First, do some homework. Analyze your space to get a basic understanding of the feasibility of your warehouse layout.
When evaluating your space, you'll need the following details:
• Building floor plans
• Building shape (found on the floor plan)
• Available warehouse space dimensions
• Measurements of any separate storage areas
• Any existing equipment
• Any permanent fixtures within the building (e.g., hot water tanks, existing restrooms, etc.)
• External loading areas, routes, and vehicle access space.
Your goal is to gather all important details about the warehouse to fully exploit the potential of every square inch. Many of the above measurements will determine part of the warehouse design and layout. For example, the location of entrances and exits will determine where you can set up shipping and receiving areas.
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II. Aisle Layout Planning
Aisles (and how they are configured) are the heart of a warehouse, and they are also one of the factors that determine the success or failure of a layout.
Aisles are where you store inventory or materials, whether using shelves, racks, pallets, or some combination. Make sure you organize products in a way that allows workers to easily find the right goods and quickly move them to the next stage of the supply chain.
Therefore, when choosing a warehouse layout, the first consideration is the number and configuration of aisles.
III. Quantity and Type of Products/Materials Processed
The quantity and type of goods flowing through a warehouse also narrow down the range of most efficient layouts for a facility.
Suppose your factory produces salsa. You may need refrigeration capacity to store perishable ingredients like tomatoes and bell peppers. You'll need a separate area to store dry goods and other essentials, such as spices, jars, and labels.
On the other hand, if you are an e-commerce company selling non-perishable products with high turnover, a layout that provides ample shelf clearance for busy pickers and plenty of packing stations for workers to fulfill customer orders will best suit your needs.
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IV. Order Fulfillment
Warehouse design alone can improve the speed and efficiency of order fulfillment. Suppose you sell a variety of kitchen appliances and home goods and store your own inventory. You'll need to set up your warehouse in a way that allows for easy picking, packing, and shipping of products to customers.
In this case, you'll need to address some specific areas in your warehouse layout, including:
• Receiving Area: This area is where new products can be received before they go onto shelves or pallet racks. This station is typically located near the receiving dock.
• Packing Area: A dedicated station where staff pack products and send them to customers. This workstation requires organizing a large amount of tape, boxes, plastic bags, and labels.
• Staging Area: Packed orders are moved from packing to carts or conveyors, then transported for outbound shipping.
Effectively placed stations allow workers to prepare orders for shipping faster, meaning they can complete more orders per shift.
V. Safety Measures and Worker Well-being
Every warehouse needs to comply with many necessary safety regulations, some of which will affect your layout.
Essential safety measures and equipment that should be present in a warehouse include:
• Proper ventilation
• Temperature control
• Adequate lighting for workers
• Defined escape routes in emergencies
• Designated locations for fire extinguishers
• Ample space in aisles and loading docks
To learn more about required warehouse safety standards, visit the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) website.
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How to Design a Warehouse Layout
Now that you know what factors to consider when designing your warehouse, it's time to begin the planning process! Following these steps will guide you through renovating a warehouse or building a facility from scratch:
Obtain the Warehouse Floor Plan
As mentioned above, the building's layout will greatly influence the type of design suitable for your space. To understand its possibilities, obtain a copy of the building's floor plan or create one from scratch.
A floor plan gives you a bird's-eye view of the building's layout, as well as the dimensions and total square footage of the space. This is the foundation of your final warehouse design.
Need a floor plan? Matterport can help you capture all the details of the space through a digital twin. With a virtual version of the space, you can quickly generate a schematic floor plan of the warehouse to visualize the layout, dimensions, and processes. From there, you can use the schematic floor plan as a starting point for design and layout discussions.
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Choose the Best Warehouse Layout Design
Although each warehouse owner and manager has unique needs for their layout, they generally start with the same initial layouts. Many warehouses are variations of one of four common layouts, chosen based on the advantages and disadvantages of each.
The four common warehouse layouts include:
U-shaped: Typically, a U-shaped warehouse has one side for shipping and the other for receiving incoming goods and materials. The remaining space in the middle is used for storage solutions and product preprocessing. U-shaped warehouses are versatile and suitable for warehouses of all sizes, supporting quick entry and exit of goods. However, if the U-shape is too narrow, the shipping and receiving areas can easily become congested on busier days.
L-shaped: This layout separates inbound and outbound goods at opposite ends of the L-shape. Goods or materials can flow in one direction within the warehouse, breaking potential bottlenecks. This layout is best suited for small to medium-sized warehouses.
I-shaped: Similar to the "L" shape, shipping and receiving are on opposite sides of the warehouse. Again, this type means products can move uninterrupted from one end of the warehouse to the other, and the rectangular shape makes it easier to maximize space. Ideal for businesses with high volumes of inbound and outbound products.
Herringbone: In this layout, the main aisle is the "spine," and diagonal aisles extending from the main aisle are the "ribs." This can shorten the time workers spend picking products for orders due to improved visibility of goods. However, because this layout requires more space and investment, it is best suited for large warehouses.
Create a Warehouse Floor Plan
Once you've selected a design that suits the building and your desired warehouse processes, create a floor plan to document the new layout.
However, fitting all equipment, workstations, and aisles into your layout and doing so accurately is not an easy task. Tracking all measurements individually can be a headache. Fortunately, you can use a digital twin to reference the dimensions and proximity of objects like fixtures or doorways in the actual facility (24/7).
With Matterport's facility management capabilities, capture your building in realistic 3D to create a virtual version of your warehouse. The digital twin includes precise measurements of all equipment's interior, exterior, and exact dimensions. From there, use virtual staging to make design modifications to your space. For example, you want to try a U-shaped design, but after arranging it, you find that the aisles don't have enough space for material handling equipment like forklifts. You can then leverage the convenience of the digital model to make changes, find a layout that better suits your space, and preview it instantly without manual arrangement, saving more time.
Because creating and adjusting warehouse floor plans is so simple, owners and managers can also use digital twins to optimize equipment installation, eliminating equipment conflicts and change orders caused by inaccurate site planning, which can save significant time and money. When using realistic digital replicas to determine the scope of changes, planning mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) work to accommodate new equipment will be more accurate.
Develop a Plan for Training Employees
Once the warehouse floor plan is finalized, communicate the changes to employees. They need to understand the details of the new layout – even if they are supporting operations from a remote location away from the site.
Again, this is where a Matterport digital twin can do the heavy lifting. New and visiting employees can quickly understand your space through a 3D walkthrough of the new warehouse layout. They will be able to quickly assess design modifications, and it will be easier to keep workers updated on particularly complex facilities. With comprehensive 3D models and floor plans, you can easily train employees on warehouse emergency procedures. Use floor plans to create and share emergency routes, response strategies, and safety standards.
This was the case for Northumbrian Water, a utility company in the UK. After partnering with Matterport to create 3D models of their facilities, they were able to significantly reduce site visits by engineers and project managers. Employees could understand the facility layout before visiting, thus reducing repeat visits, and virtual site meetings can now be held via Microsoft Teams.
Case Study Link: Northumbrian Water
Develop a Supplier Engagement Plan
Inevitably, you'll need to develop a strategy to keep your facilities and equipment running smoothly. You must regularly work with plumbers, electricians, and other suppliers to keep your warehouse operating smoothly.
Fortunately, Matterport's 3D environmental scanner makes it easy to plan for your facility's design and ongoing maintenance. The facility management solution creates a visual record of all your current equipment and assets, and then allows you to use digital tags to mark them with notes about repairs, maintenance, and training details.
From there, you can quickly share your equipment inventory and related notes with maintenance personnel for additional context. This visual inventory management capability also allows repair personnel and staff to easily locate specific machinery in your facility.
This is another area where Northumbrian University has benefited greatly. Northumbrian Water invests £250-300 million annually in renovating and creating new water management and delivery systems. With so many facilities and systems, tracking all these assets is a headache.
However, Matterport combined with Sitedesk enables Northumbrian to visualize and link all these systems. Because these facilities and systems are interconnected, managers can easily and quickly obtain key details such as equipment models, installation dates, purchase costs, and maintenance schedules.
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Real Warehouse Model Examples
A digital twin is a powerful tool that ensures facility managers and owners choose the correct layout and maximize their space. Now, you can draw inspiration from some of the possibilities of real-world warehouse model examples.
For example, a digital twin can give you a complete understanding of an empty space, such as this lower-level storage area.
Facility managers and owners can also rely on virtual staging to help configure equipment and workstations within the space. With a digital twin, you can capture the precise dimensions of a warehouse, making it easy to virtually experiment with different layouts and designs.
For warehouses with multiple rooms or alcoves, you can get a bird's-eye view of the floor plan to easily visualize the space when considering the layout. You can also manipulate the 3D model in a "dollhouse" view to explore it from any rotational angle.
Warehouse Design and Layout FAQ
What is the Goal of Warehouse Layout?
When analyzing a facility for optimal warehouse design and layout, the goal is to better utilize the space. This can mean optimizing flow patterns and traffic between workstations and departments, or using extra space to store additional inventory.
What is the Best Way to Communicate Warehouse Layout Changes?
For each new warehouse layout, we recommend occupying the space with a digital twin. This new virtual layout version can communicate design changes and how they will affect employees more comprehensively than simple photos or videos.
What is the Best Warehouse Layout Strategy?
The overall goal of choosing the right warehouse layout is to ensure the uninterrupted flow of goods and people within the space, but each business will use a warehouse differently depending on budget, workflow, equipment, personnel, and the amount of available space. When developing a strategy, evaluate all these factors and analyze your space to understand what works best for your warehouse and needs.
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