[3D Surround View Scan] How Matterport Helps with Warehouse Planning? Considerations, Tips, and Examples from Real Companies!

[3D Surround View Scan] How Matterport Helps with Warehouse Planning? Considerations, Tips, and Examples from Real Companies!

Warehouse Planning: 5 Considerations, Tips, and Examples

Renovating or building new warehouse space is a daunting task. Planning the placement of equipment, materials, inventory, workstations, and even external vehicle storage all requires a comprehensive design process, which can feel like playing Tetris in a warehouse. However, following some basic warehouse layout principles can guide you through this sometimes stressful design process with greater ease. With a little thought and the right tools, such as the Matterport 3D Environment 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 take into account the movement of materials , optimized equipment placement, and traffic flow. Once the planners have determined the layout, they will finalize comprehensive drawings that detail the design.

Why is warehouse design important?

Strategic warehouse design and layout offer numerous advantages to owners and managers. This approach to carefully planning facilities and external space provides benefits both now and in the future! Three of these are outlined below:

First, optimize space utilization.
If facility owners do not consider layout when expanding warehouses, all the space may not be used as effectively as possible, and wasted space will result in financial and productivity losses.

Strategically designing warehouse layouts helps owners and managers maximize every square inch to meet their unique needs. Redesigning the space to suit your traffic patterns, workstations, storage, and equipment requirements means you can streamline processes at every stage to meet tight schedules and cope with increasing demand, achieving a balance between supply and demand!

For example, when a facility needs to be redesigned to store retail products, you can find additional space to increase the amount of inventory that can be accommodated at any given time. Furthermore, inventory can be organized to make order picking and packing more efficient .

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Second, improve productivity
Whether you own or manage a distribution center, retail warehouse, or flexible space, optimizing your warehouse layout can make management easier and improve productivity .

The layout of equipment, inventory, and workstations can determine warehouse productivity! The way the space is designed is crucial when workers need to sort and pack inventory or handle materials and equipment. A well-organized space allows for easier movement within 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 vehicular traffic can reduce safety incidents and thus increase productivity. Therefore, employees can create more efficient workflows, thereby increasing productivity!

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Third, reduce costs
Planning and layout can reduce warehouse operating costs in a variety of ways – from using less space to store goods and equipment to better inventory tracking.

Warehouse space is expensive , and every inch counts. One study showed that the average cost per square foot in 2023 was $13.50-$13.75. When space is so precious, maximizing efficiency is crucial!

For example, a more strategic warehouse design can reclaim the total area needed for inventory, thus reducing rental costs. When your facility is optimized, you can also install more equipment or inventory in the same space, thus lowering the overall cost of warehousing goods. Furthermore, planning loading and unloading dock space to handle vehicle traffic quickly reduces waiting times and waste caused by vehicles backing up. Just like a well-functioning port.

A well-planned space can also reduce operating costs related to picking, packing, and shrinking. A well-designed space allows workers to pick and pack orders more easily, meaning they can complete more orders faster. A proper storage system helps to better organize inventory, thereby reducing product loss and theft.

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Four key considerations when designing a warehouse layout
Before you delve into refining the warehouse design and layout, you first need to consider some key factors.

I. Available Space
First, do some research. Analyze your space and gain a basic understanding of the feasibility of your warehouse layout.

When assessing your space, you will need the following details:

• Building floor plan

• The shape of the building (find it in the floor plan)

• Warehouse available space dimensions

• Measurement of any individual storage area

• Any existing equipment

• Any permanent fixtures or fittings 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 the important details about the warehouse to fully utilize the potential of every square inch. Many of the measurements mentioned above will determine parts of the warehouse design and layout. For example, the location of the entrance and exit will determine where you can set up shipping and receiving areas.

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II. Corridor Layout Planning
The passageways (and how they are configured) are the heart of the warehouse, and they are one of the factors that determine the success or failure of the layout.

Aisles are where you store inventory or materials . Whether you use shelves, racks, pallets, or some combination thereof, make sure you organize your 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 number and configuration of aisles should be considered first.


III. Quantity and type of processed products/materials
The quantity and type of goods flowing through a warehouse also reduce the area of ​​the facility's most effective layout.

Let's say your factory produces salsa. You might need refrigeration capacity to store perishable ingredients like tomatoes and bell peppers. You'll need a separate area to store dry goods and other essential items such as spices, jars, and labels.

On the other hand, if you are an e-commerce company that sells non-perishable products and has a high product turnover rate, then a layout that provides enough shelf space for busy pickers and a large number of packing stations for workers to fulfill customer orders will be best suited to your needs.

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IV. Order Completion Rate
Warehouse design alone can improve the speed and efficiency of order fulfillment . If you sell various kitchen utensils and household 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 need to address certain areas in the warehouse layout, including:

• Receiving area: Goods can be received in this area before new products are placed on shelves or pallet racks. This station is usually located near the receiving dock.

• Packaging Area: A dedicated station where staff pack products and ship them to customers. This workstation requires handling large quantities of tape, boxes, plastic bags, and labels.

• Temporary storage area: Packaged orders are transferred from packaging to trolleys or conveyor belts and then transported to outbound shipping.

Effectively placed stations allow workers to prepare shipping orders more quickly, meaning they can complete more orders per shift.


V. Safety Measures and Worker Welfare
Every warehouse needs to comply with many necessary security regulations, some of which will affect your layout.

The basic safety measures and equipment that should be available in a warehouse include:

• Proper ventilation

• Temperature control

• Provide workers with sufficient light

• Escape routes defined in emergency situations

• Designated location for fire extinguishers

• Ample space is available in the passageways and loading/unloading docks.

For more information on required warehouse safety standards, please visit the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) website .

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How to design warehouse layout
Now that you know what factors to consider when designing and laying out a 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 significantly influence the type of design that suits your space. To understand the possibilities, you can purchase a copy of the building's floor plan or build 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 feet of the spaces. This forms the basis of your final warehouse design.

Need a floor plan? Matterport can help you capture every detail of your space through a digital twin. With a virtual version of your space, you can quickly generate schematic floor plans of your warehouse to visualize its layout, dimensions, and workflow. From there, you can use these schematic floor plans 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 its layout, they often use the same initial layout. Many warehouses are variations of one of four common layouts, chosen based on the advantages and disadvantages of each.

Four common warehouse layouts include:

U-shaped: Typically, one side of a U-shaped warehouse serves as the shipping area, while the other side receives incoming goods and materials. The remaining space in the middle is used for storing solutions and product pre-processing. U-shaped warehouses are versatile and suitable for warehouses of all sizes, supporting rapid inbound and outbound movement of goods. However, if the U-shape is too narrow, traffic congestion can easily occur in the shipping and receiving areas on busy days.

L-shaped: This layout separates inbound and outbound shipments at opposite ends of the L-shape. Goods or materials can flow unidirectionally within the warehouse, thus breaking potential bottlenecks. This layout is best suited for small to medium-sized warehouses.

Type I: Similar to the "L" type, shipping and receiving are located on opposite sides of the warehouse. This type also means products can move undisturbed from one end of the warehouse to the other, and the rectangular shape makes it easier to maximize space utilization. Ideal for businesses with high product turnover .

Fishbone: In this layout, the main aisle is the "spine," while the diagonal aisles extending from it are the "ribs." This increases visibility of goods, reducing the time workers spend selecting products for orders. However, because this layout requires more space and investment, it is best suited for large warehouses .

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