The Satellite Review Magazine The Satellite Review Magazine Vol 1 | Page 30

5. How many hours or shifts is the
warehousing operation active?
Knowing this information and ensuring
its accuracy are crucial to form an initial
idea of whether or not warehouse
automation is a good fit. Let’s put this
information to work.
1. The capacity of the system will define
the cube of the warehouse. Most
automated systems storing finished
goods tend to have more than 500 pallet
positions of storage. Systems smaller
than that tend not to be candidates for
automation.
2. The number of SKUs will define how
selective the inventory will have to be,
thus, enabling the potential use of
multiple-deep systems, which reduces
the building footprint.

breakdown groups can be used as a
guideline:
• Inventory levels per SKU of less than
seven pallets – use single-deep storage
• Inventory levels per SKU of 8-to-14
pallets – use double-deep storage
• Inventory levels per SKU of 15 and
greater – use multiple-deep storage
By defining these conditions, it is
possible to gauge whether the operation
is best suited for single-deep or multiple
-deep storage. With multiple-deep
storage, considerable space savings are
achieved, but selectivity is reduced.
Therefore, you generally want to store
the same SKU in a multiple-deep storage
lane. Automated systems have an
advantage in that they can automatically
re-warehouse pallets, as long as this
work is not performed during peak
shipping hours.

If you’re a candidate for multiple-deep
storage, it’s time to determine how deep
(storage lane depth) you should store
your inventory. Again, this depends on
the inventory levels per SKU. Generally,
“high inventory item SKUs,” or items
4. The throughput will determine the
with more than 30 pallets per SKU, are
number of Storage/Retrieval Machines
assigned to a storage block which is
(S/RMs) needed. Throughputs less than anywhere from seven to 12 pallets deep.
2