4. How can optimized warehouse designs reduce OpEx and CapEx?
Right-Sizing
The big idea: The most effective way to design sustainability into a warehouse is to right-size that warehouse in the design phase—or, for existing buildings, to assess and optimize the way space is allocated for both current and future activities.
- Too large, and the warehouse uses unnecessary energy to heat and cool its interior; too small and it cannot effectively support production, causing a bottleneck in the system.
- Designing warehouses that can quickly adapt to future needs and challenges will become an increasingly important part of long-term sustainability. This is about “right-sizing for an unknown future,” which means designing as much flexibility as possible into the warehouse space.
Flow simulation
The big idea: Using computer models to simulate the flow of people and materials through the warehouse environment is already an important tool for forward-thinking operators and managers, and it will become even more vital as enterprises push for ever more efficient and sustainable operations.
- A flow simulation exercise can identify a warehouse’s operational bottlenecks, safety concerns, and quality issues—all of which impact business outcomes.
- Flow simulations are useful for both new and existing facilities. They are key to expanding and pressure-testing operational strategies in a variety of hypothetical scenarios, helping warehouses to ready themselves for a fast and flexible response to shifting demands.
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Climate change, geopolitical unrest, a global pandemic: as we’ve all experienced, supply disruption can be sudden, extensive, and potentially disastrous. This makes it all the more essential for companies in every sector to closely examine inefficiencies in warehouse layout and operations.
This isn’t only about facing the daunting challenges of tomorrow, though. It’s also about seizing on today’s tremendous opportunities to design warehouse layouts that are part of a resilient, energy-efficient, safe, and optimized enterprise ecosystem—that is, a fully sustainable warehouse, prepared and ready for a productive and thriving future.
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