How to Optimization Pallet Storage and Picking

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World-Class Warehousing and Material Handling

block stacking configuration with full, partially full, and empty lanes and stacks looks somewhat like a honeycomb—hence the term honeycombing references the loss of pallet storage capacity in block stacking (Figure 5.8). If lanes are too deep, the floor space in front of the back pallets is underutilized. If the lane depths are too short, too large a portion of the floor space is devoted to aisles. If the pallets are not easily stackable, too much of the available clear height is lost. Therefore, to maintain high utilization of the available storage posi tions, the lane depth (i.e., number of loads stored from the aisle) must be carefully determined. A lane-depth optimization analysis developed for a large consumer products company is shown in Figure 5.9. The lane depth yielding the lowest floor-space requirement for each item is recommended by the analysis.

Figure 5.8 Honeycombing at a large beverage distribution center

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