Moving a Warehouse

Moving a warehouse is a critical project as it must not impact the customer service level. If you have enough time before the moving, it can be a good occasion to reduce the obsolete inventory (see spec sheet free-logistics.com © “Obsolete inventory control”)

Dimension the future warehouse

• Shelves, storing material and logistics areas : see spec sheet Free-Logistics.com “Dimensioning a warehouse”
• Draw the warehouse map and define internal and external circulation alleys.
• Specify the shelves and storing material needed (storage cupboards for inflammable materials, baskets for small products storage, dynamic shelves.…).

Evaluate the time you will need for transportation operations

First of all evaluate how much time you will need to realize the moving, balancing capacity and shortest time:

• dimension the material flow : convert the logistics units number into trucks unit number
• identify the receiving (in the new warehouse) and shipping (in the old warehouse) capacities and constraints (platforms number, access…) in order to determine the maximum trucks number that can be simultaneously loaded – unloaded / hour
• determine the daily working time of transport
• evaluate the loading and unloading standard time
• measure the transfer lead time between the 2 sites
• calculate the lead time of a truck rotation
• calculate the number of trips / truck / day
• apply it to the maximum trucks number / hour previously determine to get the number of trucks needed in the boucle
• divide the number of trips needed by the daily maximum reception capacity to calculate the number of days you will need for transportation operation

• Example :

Define the moving strategy

According to the time needed for the moving, to product rotation and to the moving risk level you will opt for one or another strategy:

• Short time : concentrate the moving on few days (ideally warehouse days off) when 100% of the active SKUs is available in the new warehouse, then go live

• Long time (the warehouse service to customers must be maintained during the moving):
• Fast mover products : maintain the stock cover corresponding to the moving time in the old warehouse while you are transferring the residual inventory to the new one.
• Low movers products : transfer directly all the inventory

Complete the inventory with suppliers direct deliveries at the new warehouse

When 100% of active SKU s are available in the new warehouse then go live.

Then achieve the moving of residual inventory

• High risk on service level (the warehouse service to customers must be maintained during the moving):

Share the inventory on both sites to be able to go live in the new warehouse and go back in the old one in case of malfunctioning.

When 100% of active SKU s are available in the new warehouse then go live.

Then achieve the moving of residual inventory

Build the planning of the moving and launch the project

Dimension the resources required

• Transportation

See “Evaluate the time you will need for transportation operations”

• Teams

With the previous data you are able to dimension the shipment and reception teams applying your own productivity ratios.

For dimensioning the preparation and put away teams you will have to consider the number of product lines that will be transferred and apply your productivity ratio to that data.

In case of managing heterogeneous products logistics units, it is important to dimension using different productivity ratios. 

In case you are maintaining the warehouse service to customer during the moving, organize the working hours of the moving dedicated team so as no perturb normal operations.

• Forklift trucks 

Once you dispose of teams and warehouse area requirements and of shelves specifications you can dimension the forklift trucks needs (taking into account the specificities of each working area).

Ensure infrastructures and resources availability  

Ensure that the following points availability date is on line with the planning :

• building (conformity, legal and insurance, security, radiofrequency, platforms, accesses, alarm, office, air conditioning, sanitaries, changing room…)
• energy (light, forklift trucks loading local or gas oil deposit)
• communication means (computer, IT line, phone, fax…)
• addressed shelves and storage facilities,
• painted logistics areas and circulation alleys
• forklift trucks
• trucks
• palets, packaging…

Team availability 

Working hours had been determined during dimensioning phase. Before the moving, ensure the availability and productivity of teams:

• availability of the people
• training (forklifts trucks, warehouse areas, moving phases, processes …)
• security (security shoes and others mandatory equipments)

Prepare logistics units, schedule and address 

• Prepare logistics units

Make sure the articles you will have to move are compacted in the minimum logistics units possible.

Make sure the handling supports (palets…) will tolerate offloadings.

• Warehouse Addresses

Make certain that the warehouse is created in the IT.Elaborate the new warehouse address map.

Allocate each SKU to its future storing address taking into account physical characteristics. Integrate the database in the IT.

• Supply planning and inventory control

If needed and with the agreement of customers, organize anticipated deliveries before starting the moving. It is important to control this step in order not to stock out the warehouse SKUs. 

In case no solution exists to visualize the inventory correctly in the Supply Planning IT during the moving, it is wise to prohibit the access to supply planning until the end of the project. It is in this case necessary to anticipate the supply planning and reroute previously the planned orders to one site or another according to needs. 

To ensure the integrity of the inventory data during the moving , it is recommended to register the complete IT movements chain (picking, shipment, receiving, put away). At any moment you must be able to know what quantity of a SKU is in both sites.

• Preparation scheduling

Define how much of each SKU you will send in each phase of the moving and schedule the picking orders lines. 

Create the process to be able to identify on each logistics unit prepared its future warehouse destination address.

Communicate and Report

Follow up the project, planning and budget.

Communicate

• to suppliers (or plants) and transportation companies to inform them of the delivery conditions during the moving
• to clients and transportation companies to inform them on changes and how will be handled the orders during the moving phase
• to the Financial department and Cost Control to inform them of inventory movements that will occur
• to IT department to create the new warehouse, to test (radiofrequency, network…) and be able to integrate the new warehouse’s data