Warehouse Layout
Optimisation
Dissertation Report
Sujit N.Pawar
31183
Table of Contents
Executive Summary................................................................................................................................. 2
1. Introduction....................................................................................................................................... 3
Warehouse Operations In HCCBPL ............................................................................................ 3
Structure Of A Typical Warehouse ............................................................................................ 3
Activities Carried Out At A Warehouse .....................................................................................4
Warehouse Productivity ............................................................................................................5
2. Warehouse Layout Optimisation...................................................................................................... 6
Need............................................................................................................................................6
Current issues in the storage of goods ......................................................................................6
Consequences............................................................................................................................. 6
3. Methodology ..................................................................................................................................... 8
4. Alternate Layout Proposals.............................................................................................................11
Proposal A.................................................................................................................................11
Proposal B.................................................................................................................................12
Comparison of the two layouts ...............................................................................................13
Implications ..............................................................................................................................13
5. Recommendations ..........................................................................................................................14
6. Conclusions......................................................................................................................................15
7. Annexures........................................................................................................................................16
Executive Summary
Hindustan Coca Cola Beverages Pvt. Ltd. (HCCBPL) is the bottling arm of The Coca
Cola Company in India and is involved in the manufacture and distribution of its beverages
in India. The company buys the respective concentrates from Coca Cola India, manufactures
the various beverages in its factories across India and ensures availability at various outlets.
The distribution activity is the most important of all and a significant contributor to
the cost of the final product. For the distribution purpose, the company has its own
warehouses managed by franchisees across the country. The warehouses are responsible
for receiving the stock coming from the factory, storing it for some duration of time and
dispatching it to the customer. They are also responsible for performing break-bulk or cross-
docking operations if required. Thus a warehouse is an important component of the Supply
Chain network called Route-To-Market in HCCBPL.
1. Introduction
The country is divided into the following regions for distribution purposes:
1. North
2. Central
3. South
These regions are further divided into various units under which come the factories
and the warehouses. The warehouse is a hub of activity, especially during the peak season
with the various distribution managers, Areas Sales Managers and Regional Managers
performing their duties.
The factory dispatches the stock as per the forecast to the various warehouses under
its purview. The warehouse stock this till it is sent to the market. The various customers for
a warehouse are the small retailers, key accounts, distributors, etc. The warehouse has its
own fleet of vehicles for servicing the customers.
The warehouse operations are outsourced to a Carrying and Forwarding Agent (C &
FA) who is responsible for carrying out the various activities in the warehouse. The C & FA is
bound by a formal agreement between him and HCCBPL. C & FA provides the manpower
required for running the operations including casual labourers and the office staff. He is
responsible in Toto for them and is in-charge of supervising their activities, monitoring their
attendance, paying salaries and other such typical functions.
The RTM team also has an office at the warehouse. These are HCCBPL employees
and are responsible for the overall smooth functioning of the warehouse. They include a
Distribution Manager who is also the warehouse head and other people handling the
various types of accounts like Pre-Sell and DSD.
The activities carried out at a warehouse can be broadly classified into the following
five heads:
a. Collecting orders from Presell / Tel-Sell and key accounts executives and
preparing the order sheet for the day
b. Preparing load sheets for the Presell and key accounts
c. Handing over the collated orders to the shipping department
d. Preparing load sheets for the Ready Van Sales according to the orders of the
salesmen
e. Preparing pick sheets for Ready van Sales, Presell and key accounts Sales
f. Invoice processing of incoming and outgoing vehicles
3. Order Dispatch/Delivery: Includes the complete cycle of vehicles leaving with their
load and returning with the empties and/or unsold goods
4. Cash Processing: Includes the collection of cash from salesmen, accounting and
depositing the cash
Warehouse Productivity
1. Manpower Productivity: it is defined as the number of cases sold per manday and
the benchmark value is 60
2. Space Productivity: it is the number of cases sold per square feet and the number of
days in the period considered. The benchmark is .25
3. Vehicle Productivity: it is the number of cases sold per the available vehicle capacity
and is expressed as a percentage. The benchmark value is 120%.
Apart from these three, following two metrics are considered which impact the
safety of the warehouse. These are:
The warehouse productivity has a significant impact on the operating cost of the
company. And most of the parameters are dependent on the layout of the warehouse. An
efficient warehouse layout streamlines the operations, helps in easy movement of vehicles,
reduces turnaround time and makes it easier to keep track of the inventory. It also helps in
improving the safety of the personnel working in the warehouse.
HCCBPL has two warehouses catering to Delhi region-at Lawrence Road (LR) and
Dilshad Garden (DG). The entire Delhi region is covered between these two. The project was
based at Lawrence Road depot which is larger of the two.
Need
The existing depot at LR has about 17,000 square feet of covered warehouse area
which is used to stock the various SKUs. It has five bays for loading and unloading of goods.
The loading of route vehicles usually takes place in the night shift and the vehicles leave on
their routes by 9 am. Some vehicles make multiple trips depending on the routes.
The depot receives stock from factories at Dasna (U.P.), Nazeebabad (H.P.), Pune
(Maharashtra) and Goa. Cross –docking and break-bulk operations take place and the stock
is dispatched as per the requirements.
Consequences
1. High vehicle turnaround time
2. No streamlined flow of goods
3. High loading/unloading time
4. Safety hazards
This has a direct impact on the warehouse productivity. A better layout would not
only enable a streamlining of storage and handling but also help in increasing the
productivity by reducing the labour time and increasing the effectiveness. Hence, a need for
the project.
3. Methodology
This involved studying the complete operations of the warehouse in all the shifts. It
included a stay in the depot during the night shift also as a bulk portion of the loading takes
place at night. A list of activities (already covered in introduction) taking place at a
warehouse was prepared which proved to be helpful in the Manpower Planning module
also. It helped in clearing the understanding about the activities at the depot.
The LR depot does not have any layout as such. The incoming stock is placed
according to the need and the space available. However that does not mean it is completely
random. Slow moving SKUs like cans, for e.g., are placed at the back of the warehouse.
The situation becomes especially grim during the peak season as there is a mismatch
between demand and supply. Also, the stacking norms are not usually followed.
3. Preparing alternate layouts based on various SKUs, their sales and required inventory
levels
Peak month’s (May 09) sales were taken into account for calculating the space
requirements and design the warehouse layout to optimize the space for various SKUs.
The different SKUs were classified into 13 broad categories depending on their
volume, type (RGB or PET), brand, etc. the space requirement was then calculated based in
the inventory norms, percentage contribution to the sales, stacking height, and factors like
aisle factor and space utilization factor.
An ABC classification was done based on the sales of the various SKUs:
1. A Class: These constitute 70% of the sales and hence should be located closest to the
loading/unloading area
2. B Class: Constitute 10-20% of the sales and are placed between the A class and C class
items.
3. C Class: They constitute less than 10% of the total sales and are hence placed towards the
rear of the warehouse
The final floor pallet positions were then decided for each SKU coming under each of these
broad categories taking into account the following factors:
Inventory Norms
o Supply Lead time
o Batch Size
Stacking Height
Movement Space
o Staging Area
o Aisles
Calculations
Sample layouts were then prepared in Microsoft Excel from the data generated from
the above activity.
The sample layouts were prepared based on the calculations. After various iterations
and discussions with the concerned people, two proposals were finalized and accepted.
Proposal A
Proposal B
As can be easily seen from the comparison, layout B results in a storage capacity
improvement of 11% over Layout A.
Implications
5. Recommendations
6. Conclusions
The layout if implemented would go a long way in streamlining the operations of the
LR depot. However, due care has to be taken as people are resistant to change, especially if
the current scenario is apparently working well. The C & FA would have to be taken into
confidence as he is the one who is ultimately the executor of the plan. It is suggested to
implement the layout step-by-step during the lean season.
7. Annexures
1. Calculation of space required for different SKUs
Area Reqd
Peak Peak Peak Utilis Floor
% Inventory Pallet Stacki (Sq. m)
Sr. Month(M Month Cases/ Month ation Pallet
SKU Contri Norm Positions ng (including
No. ay 09) Inventory Pallet Inventory Fact Positio
bution (Days) Reqd Height aisle
Sales (Cases) (Pallets) or ns
factor)
1.5 Fanta Orange RGB 200 ml 1,143 0.36% 3 127 63 2 80% 3 3 1 1.60
2 RGB 300 ml 78,569 24.49% 2.5 7275 45 162 80% 202 3 68 108.80
2.1 Coca-Cola RGB 300 ml 26,794 8.35% 2.5 2481 45 55 80% 69 3 22 35.20
2.2 Limca RGB 300 ml 19,888 6.20% 2.5 1841 45 41 80% 51 3 17 27.20
2.3 Thums Up RGB 300 ml 17,441 5.44% 2.5 1615 45 36 80% 45 3 15 24.00
2.4 Fanta RGB 300 ml 7,372 2.30% 2.5 683 45 15 80% 19 3 7 11.20
2.5 Sprite RGB 300 ml 7,074 2.21% 2.5 655 45 15 80% 18 3 7 11.20
3.1 Maaza Juice RGB 19,023 5.93% 2.5 1761 45 39 80% 49 3 17 27.20
4.1 Maaza-250 ml Juice PET 6,449 2.01% 2.5 597 45 13 80% 17 1 16 25.60
4.4 Maaza-600 ml Juice PET 4,440 1.38% 2.5 411 45 9 80% 11 1 12 19.20
4.5 Maaza 1.2 L Juice PET 3,415 1.06% 2.5 316 45 7 80% 9 1 8 12.80
4.3 Minute Maid-400 ml Juice PET 2,292 0.71% 2.5 212 45 5 80% 6 1 6 9.60
4.2 Minute Maid-250 ml Juice PET 569 0.18% 2.5 53 45 1 80% 1 1 1 1.60
5 Small PET 96,479 30.08% 3 8459 45 188 80% 235 2 120 192.00
5.3 600 ml PET 78,466 24.46% 2.5 6337 45 141 80% 176 2 89 142.40
Area Reqd
Peak Peak Peak Utilis Floor
% Inventory Pallet Stacki (Sq. m)
Sr. Month(M Month Cases/ Month ation Pallet
SKU Contri Norm Positions ng (including
No. ay 09) Inventory Pallet Inventory Fact Positio
bution (Days) Reqd Height aisle
Sales (Cases) (Pallets) or ns
factor)
5.3.5 Sprite-600 ml PET 10,182 3.17% 2.5 943 45 21 80% 26 2 14 22.40
5.3.3 Fanta O-600 ml PET 9,214 2.87% 2.5 853 45 19 80% 24 2 11 17.60
5.3.6 Thums Up-600 ml PET 8,622 2.69% 2.5 798 45 18 80% 22 2 12 19.20
11.1 Diet Coke (5+1)330ml Can 5,122 1.60% 10 1897 110 17 80% 22 3 7
11.3 Diet Coke Can 3,029 0.94% 10 1122 110 10 80% 12 3 4 6.40
Cumulat Calculated
Peak % SKU Allotted
Sr. ive Floor Stacking No of Cases/ Cases
SKU Month(Ma Contrib Classificati Legend Pallet
No contribu Pallet Height Pallets Pallet Stored
y 09) Sales ution on positions
tion Positions
Lim
1 Limca-600 ml PET 30,189 9.38% 9.38% A 31 32 2 64 45 2880
600
Coke
2 Coca-Cola RGB 300 ml 26,794 8.32% 17.70% A 22 24 3 72 45 3240
300
Coke
3 Coca-Cola-2L/2.25L PET 20,593 6.40% 24.10% A 26 26 2 52 36 1872
2.25
Coke
4 Coca-Cola-600 ml PET 19,952 6.20% 30.30% A 20 24 2 48 45 2160
600
Lim
5 Limca RGB 300 ml 19,888 6.18% 36.48% A 17 16 3 48 45 2160
300
MZ
6 Maaza Juice RGB 19,023 5.91% 42.39% A 17 17 3 51 45 2295
250
7 Limca-2L/2.25L PET 17,609 5.47% 47.86% A 22 Lim 2.25 24 2 48 36 1728
TU
8 Thums Up RGB 300 ml 17,441 5.42% 53.27% A 15 16 3 48 45 2160
300
Wtr
9 Bonaqua-1L PET 11,154 3.47% 56.74% A 22 22 1 22 45 990
1L
Spr
10 Sprite-600 ml PET 10,182 3.16% 59.90% A 14 16 2 32 45 1440
600
Fnt O
11 Fanta-2L/2.25L PET 9,474 2.94% 62.85% A 12 12 2 24 36 864
2.25
Fnt O
12 Fanta O-600 ml PET 9,214 2.86% 65.71% A 11 11 2 22 45 990
600
TU
13 Thums Up-600 ml PET 8,622 2.68% 68.39% A 12 12 2 24 45 1080
600
Fnt O
14 Fanta RGB 300 ml 7,372 2.29% 70.68% B 7 8 3 24 45 1080
300
MZ
15 Maaza Tetra 7,264 2.26% 72.93% B 5 6 2 12 180 2160
200
Spr
16 Sprite RGB 300 ml 7,074 2.20% 75.13% B 7 8 3 24 45 1080
300
MZ
17 Maaza-250 ml Juice PET 6,449 2.00% 77.14% B 16 15 1 15 45 675
250P
Coke
18 Coca-Cola-500 ml PET 6,007 1.87% 79.00% B 9 9 2 18 45 810
500
Lim
19 Limca RGB 200 ml 5,487 1.70% 80.71% B 4 4 3 12 63 756
200
D.Co
20 Diet Coke (5+1)330ml Can 5,122 1.59% 82.30% B 7 7 3 21 110 2310
330
MZ
21 Maaza-600 ml Juice PET 4,440 1.38% 83.68% B 12 12 1 12 45 540
600
Coke
22 Coca-Cola Can 4,209 1.31% 84.98% B 5 5 3 15 110 1650
330
Soda
23 Kinley Soda-RGB 3,460 1.07% 86.06% B 4 4 3 12 45 540
300
MZ
24 Maaza 1.2 L Juice PET 3,415 1.06% 87.12% B 8 8 1 8 45 360
1.2 L
TU
25 Thums Up-2L/2.25L 3,353 1.04% 88.16% B 4 6 2 12 36 432
2.25
D.Co
26 Diet Coke-500 ml PET 3,102 0.96% 89.13% B 4 4 2 8 45 360
500
D.Co
27 Diet Coke Can 3,029 0.94% 90.07% C 4 4 3 12 110 1320
330
28 Sprite-2L/2.25L PET 2,940 0.91% 90.98% C 3 Spr 2.25 3 2 6 36 216
Coke
29 Coca-Cola RGB 200 ml 2,742 0.85% 91.83% C 2 2 3 6 63 378
200
Lim
30 Limca-500 ml PET 2,730 0.85% 92.68% C 4 5 2 10 45 450
500
Pulpy
31 Minute Maid-400 ml Juice PET 2,292 0.71% 93.39% C 6 6 1 6 45 270
400
TU
32 Thums Up RGB 200 ml 2,207 0.69% 94.08% C 2 2 3 6 63 378
200
Spr
33 Sprite Can 1,519 0.47% 94.55% C 2 2 3 6 110 660
330
Fnt O
34 Fanta O-500 ml PET 1,513 0.47% 95.02% C 2 2 2 4 45 180
500
Schw
35 Schweppes Tonic Water 1,414 0.44% 95.46% C 1 1 3 3 45 135
Tonic
Spr
36 Sprite RGB 200 ml 1,273 0.40% 95.85% C 1 1 3 3 63 189
200
Cumulat Calculated
Peak % SKU Allotted
Sr. ive Floor Stacking No of Cases/ Cases
SKU Month(Ma Contrib Classificati Legend Pallet
No contribu Pallet Height Pallets Pallet Stored
y 09) Sales ution on positions
tion Positions
Fnt O
37 Fanta Orange RGB 200 ml 1,143 0.36% 96.21% C 1 1 3 3 63 189
200
Lim
38 Limca-1L PET 1,138 0.35% 96.56% C 2 2 2 4 36 144
1L
Coke
39 Coca-Cola-350 ml PET 1,049 0.33% 96.89% C 2 2 2 4 45 180
350
Fnt O
40 Fanta Can 1,033 0.32% 97.21% C 2 2 3 6 110 660
330
TU
41 Thums Up-500 ml PET 950 0.30% 97.50% C 2 2 2 4 45 180
500
Coke
42 Coca-Cola-1L PET 749 0.23% 97.74% C 2 2 2 4 36 144
1L
Lim
43 Limca-350 ml PET 724 0.22% 97.96% C 1 1 2 2 45 90
350
Wtr
44 Bonaqua-500 ml PET 707 0.22% 98.18% C 2 2 1 2 45 90
500
Soda
45 Kinley Soda-600 ml PET 700 0.22% 98.40% C 2 3 2 6 45 270
600
Fnt O
46 Fanta O-350 ml PET 575 0.18% 98.58% C 2 2 2 4 45 180
350
Pulpy
47 Minute Maid-250 ml Juice PET 569 0.18% 98.75% C 1 1 1 1 45 45
250
Fnt O
48 Fanta-1L PET 545 0.17% 98.92% C 2 2 2 4 36 144
1L
Spr
49 Sprite-350 ml PET 535 0.17% 99.09% C 2 2 2 4 45 180
350
Spr
50 Sprite-500 ml PET 454 0.14% 99.23% C 1 2 2 4 45 180
500
Coca-Cola CnstrPOS18 Postmix
51 434 0.13% 99.37% C 8 Coke 8 2 16 6 96
18L
TU
52 Thums Up Can 363 0.11% 99.48% C 1 1 3 3 110 330
330
Fnt A
53 Fanta A-600 ml PET 307 0.10% 99.57% C 1 1 2 2 45 90
600
TU
54 Thums Up-1L PET 302 0.09% 99.67% C 1 2 2 4 36 144
1L
Fnt A
55 Fanta A-350 ml PET 269 0.08% 99.75% C 1 2 2 4 45 180
350
Spr
56 Sprite-1L PET 145 0.05% 99.80% C 1 1 2 2 36 72
1L
Schw
57 Schweppes Gingerale 144 0.04% 99.84% C 1 1 3 3 45 135
Ginge
Fanta O CnstrPOS18 Postmix
58 135 0.04% 99.88% C 3 Fnt O 4 2 8 6 48
18L
59 Sprite CnstrPOS18 Postmix 18L 113 0.04% 99.92% C 2 Spr 4 2 8 6 48
TU
60 Thums Up-350 ml PET 105 0.03% 99.95% C 1 1 2 2 45 90
350
61 Limca CnstrPOS18 Postmix 18L 71 0.02% 99.97% C 2 Lim 2 2 4 6 24
Schw
62 Schweppes Soda 36 0.01% 99.98% C 0 1 3 3 45 135
Soda
Pulpy
63 Minute Maid 1L Juice PET 31 0.01% 99.99% C 1 1 1 1 45 45
1L
Schw
64 Schweppes Bitter Lemon 21 0.01% 100.00% C 0 1 3 3 45 135
Bt L
Fnt A
65 Fanta Apple RGB 200 ml 0 0.00% 100.00% C 0 1 3 3 63 189
200
TOTAL 3,21,895 100% 407 433 928 45225