Workforce can not be fully productive
As picking and replenishment trips account for most of their work time
Smarter inventory management for today’s warehouses
Slotting Solution
Our Slotting Solution optimizes inventory placements in warehouse storage areas to increase the efficiency of order picking and replenishment processes. Operational benefits include improved staff productivity, higher order throughput and more efficient use of limited storage space.
Challenges
What are the challenges?
Many enterprise warehouses have to manage large, fast-turning and seasonally changing inventories. Targeted inventory slotting is key for efficient order picking and processing. However, these inventories have become too dynamic and complex to optimize item placements manually. Traditional rule-based slotting approaches also have their limitations. This creates the following challenges:
Longer order processing times
Cause late or partial shipments
Inefficient or incorrect item placement
Increases picking errors and impacts customer satisfaction
Changing assortment‘s ABC classifications
It is a challenge to keep track of the changing assortment‘s ABC classifications and know what products should be positioned closest to the outbound processing areas
Picking incorrectly placed items
That are too heavy or too large can cause workforce injuries
These challenges lead to longer order cycles and constrained throughput, reduce employee productivity and can impact morale.
A fresh look at slotting
Benefits
What are the benefits?
Our Slotting Solution can help warehouse managers address these issues. It applies data science techniques and advanced analytics to optimize inventory placements based on product velocity, slot constraints and item characteristics. This significantly shortens the times required for order picking, thereby increasing the rate of on-time shipments, while the system-driven, accurate slotting helps reduce picking errors.
Boost workforce productivity
Accelerate order processing
Enhance customer satisfaction
Maximize storage efficiency
It also reduces replenishment efforts and helps to right-size storage slots, to enable more efficient use of limited storage space. Our solution also supports different slotting strategies and allows customers to select the best option for their needs.
Product movements required for re-slotting of inventory items are fed back into the Warehouse Management System (WMS) to enable integrated task planning.
Capabilities
Our WMS capabilities
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Optimized Placement
Optimized item placement, based on product velocity, slot constraints and item characteristics
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Flexible Re-slotting
Re-slotting for the whole warehouse or for individual zones
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Multiple Strategies
Supports multiple slotting strategies (e.g. pick distance vs replenishment frequency)
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Scenario Comparison
Before and after comparisons of multiple slotting scenarios
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Best Moves
“Best Moves” end-of-day analysis increases picking efficiency over subsequent days
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New Products
Effective placement of newly introduced products/ product lines
Difference
The Infios difference
Next-generation slotting solution that employs data science to optimize the management of increasingly complex inventories
Slotting improvements derived from rich, customer-specific data to tailor results for each warehouse
Extensive experience in optimizing warehouse performance with innovative software solutions
Integrated ecosystem of solutions ready to elevate each of your software solutions
FAQs
Got a question?
A Slotting Solution is a software tool used in warehouse management to optimize the placement of inventory within the warehouse. It analyzes various factors such as SKU velocity, dimensions and storage requirements to determine the most efficient storage locations for each item.
A Slotting Solution helps maximize warehouse efficiency by organizing inventory in a way that minimizes travel time, reduces picking errors and increases throughput. By optimizing storage locations based on factors like demand patterns and SKU characteristics, slotting solutions improve overall warehouse productivity and accuracy.
Slotting Solutions consider various factors, including SKU velocity (how fast items sell), dimensions, weight, storage requirements (e.g., temperature or special handling) and picking frequency. By analyzing these factors, the solution determines the optimal storage locations for each item to minimize travel time and maximize efficiency.
Most Slotting Solutions are designed to seamlessly integrate with existing Warehouse Management platforms. They can exchange data with the WMS via APIs to access information about SKU attributes and storage locations and picking history. This integration ensures that slotting decisions are based on current data.
Yes, Slotting Solutions are designed to be dynamic and adaptable. They can be adapted to reflect promotional or seasonal SKUs, changing velocities and storage requirements. This flexibility allows warehouses to adjust slotting strategies based on evolving business needs.
Implementing a Slotting Solution can have a significant impact on your bottom line by improving warehouse efficiency and labor productivity and reducing late shipments and inventory damage. By optimizing inventory placement and streamlining picking processes, slotting solutions help warehouses operate more efficiently, leading to cost savings and increased profitability.
Slotting Solutions are best suited for medium to enterprise warehouses, with larger inventories. As inventories expand in size and complexity, the advantages of automated, efficient slotting become more pronounced.
Insights
Explore this topic further
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Whitepaper
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