Which of the following would the best arrangement for this warehouse?

A logistics company has a 2-story warehouse in the suburban area. The goods receiving area and dispatch area are located on the ground floor only. There is a lift connecting the two floors. The daily operations of the warehouse are quite busy.

Which of the following would the best arrangement for this warehouse?
A . Small items in tote boxes will be stored on the ground floor with forklifts and other equipment, high-usage palletised items will be stored on the first floor
B . Medium- to low-usage palletised items will be stored on the ground floor, high-usage items will be stored on the first floor where the building administrative office is located
C . Forklifts and other warehouse equipment will park on the ground floor, all inventories will be stored on the first floor
D . Pallets, roller cages and other bulky items will be stored on the ground floor, smaller items in plastic tote boxes will be stored on the first floor

View Answer

Answer: D

Explanation:

The purposes of a warehouse are to keep the inventories in good condition and to ensure that the operations is smooth. In the scenario, the warehouse has 2 stories, with goods-in and goods-out areas located on the ground floor and a lift connecting the stories. The lift could become a bottleneck if the goods inside the warehouse are not well-arranged.

Since the lift is often small with limited load capacity, putting heavy bulk items on the first floor will cause bottleneck and increase the chance of accidents. Therefore, palletised items (even they have low-usage) should be placed on the ground floor. Smaller and lighter items should be stored on the first floor.

Reference: CIPS study guide page 11-13

LO 1, AC 1.1