Post on 26-Jan-2023
The Warehouse 2020 survey conducted by Cirrus Logistics Ltd. was completed by 59 warehousing professionals. It was designed to gain a better understanding of the current approaches towards warehouse design and to learn what warehouse challenges will need to be taken into consideration in the future. Respondents were mainly based in Europe, primarily the U.K., but a significant number of responses and valuable opinions were shared from the rest of the world.
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Warehouse 2020 Survey Analysis
01WAREHOUSE 2020 SURVEY RESULTS
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The majority of respondents, more than
46%, were Warehouse Solutions Designers,
followed by Consultants (19.2%), Operations
Managers (9.6%) and Architects (1.9%).
‘Other’ category included Project Managers,
Process Specialists, etc.
Depending on the size of the company,
scale of the operations, or the characteristics
of the industry, warehousing professionals
design from 0 to 11+ new warehouses each
year. A large proportion (40%) design 2-5
warehouses, followed by 0-1 (21%), 11+
(19%), and 6-10 (17%) each year.
02WAREHOUSE 2020 SURVEY RESULTS
Results
WH Designer46%
Consultant19%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
None 0-1 2-5 6-10 11+
Architect2%
Op Manager10%
Other23%
What best describes your role?
How many Warehouses do you design each year?
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03WAREHOUSE 2020 SURVEY RESULTS
9.62% of respondents always use a common
template for the design and 53.85% use a
template sometimes. Templates may speed up
the design process but risk compromising the
opportunity to identify the optimal solution. It is
therefore good to see that 36.54% of
designers always start from a clean sheet of
paper.
Only 3.85% of respondents have all the data
they need to design a warehouse, the majority
78.85% use their own judgement to fill in the
missing information. Some designers rely
purely on their own experience, with 17.31%
claiming to create all the data they need from
experience. Some missing information such as
time and travel distances can be overcome
where the designer is using a spatially aware
modelling tool.
80.77% of the respondents use Spreadsheets
for warehouse design either partly or entirely.
Spreadsheets are useful tools for preparing
data to be imported into a computer modelling
application but cannot be used for a detailed
design project on their own. Nearly half of the
respondents currently use CAD software,
followed by 44% of all users using computer
modelling software. A few of the respondents
have stated that they do not use any software
for the design, which may reflect the nature of
their jobs. Several professionals have answered
that they currently use CLASS Warehouse
Layout Simulation Software provided by
Cirrus Logistics.
Always 9.62%
Sometimes
Spreadsheets
53.85%
36.54%
17.31%
78.85%
80.77%
48.08%44.23%
3.85%
3.85%
No
I create my own data,based on my previous
experience
Do you have a common template that is the basis for all your designs?
When you design a warehouse do you usuallyhave access to all the data you need?
Which of the following applications doyou use when designing a warehouse?
I have most of the data and use my judgement
on what is missing
I always have all the data I need
CAD Software
Computer modellingsoftware
I don’t use any software
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04WAREHOUSE 2020 SURVEY RESULTS
According to our survey, only a quarter of
respondents create the design on their own,
whereas the majority work as a team with
external consultancy, Sales & Operational
Planning, or other team members. Some of
them have indicated that whether they work
on their own or collaboratively depends on
the type of the project.
Testing the warehouse design is crucial in ensuring that the final design can support the Supply Chain at the
operational level. Spreadsheet is the most widely used tool for this purpose (71.15%), whereas less than half of the
respondents test their designs by simulation. Since simulation is the only thorough way of testing the design, the
results may suggest that larger than needed design margins are used to compensate for the use of data. aggregation
and averaging. Two-thirds of the professionals have answered that they have the designs checked by an operations
team, and 30% of all the respondents will consult an experienced designer.
I work in consultationwith the sales and
operational planning27%
I work with an external agency
6% I create the design on my own
21%
Do you create the design working as part of a team?
The design work is shared as a team
46%
Checked by operations team 67.31%
Checked by an experienced designer 30.77%
46.15%Computer simulation
Spreadsheet calculation
How do you test your design, select all that apply?
71.15%
I work in consultationwith the sales and
operational planning27%
I work with an external agency
6% I create the design on my own
21%
Do you create the design working as part of a team?
The design work is shared as a team
46%
Checked by operations team 67.31%
Checked by an experienced designer 30.77%
46.15%Computer simulation
Spreadsheet calculation
How do you test your design, select all that apply?
71.15%
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05WAREHOUSE 2020 SURVEY RESULTS
To our question regarding the expected review frequency of the warehouse design,
77% of the respondents answered that the design will be reviewed continually, and
improvements made. A few of the respondents will review the design once a year,
whereas 15% of all users do not plan to update the design upon implementation. This
question may also reflect that a lack of thoroughness in testing results in the designer
revisiting the designer once it is operational. In Cirrus’ experience even the best
design should be revisited at least annually, to ensure the warehouse is capable of
meeting projected strategic requirements.
The design will continually be reviewed and improvements made
The design will be reviewedonce a year
The design is unlikely to change
15%
77%
8%
How frequently will you review the design after it has been implemented?
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06WAREHOUSE 2020 SURVEY RESULTS
Future of Warehousing
With constantly evolving demands, supply chains and their warehouses are put under
greater pressure to be more agile and resilient. In this section, we have collected
some interesting opinions from the professionals on how the warehouses will or
should change to absorb market needs.
A majority of warehousing professionals agree, to a certain extent, that warehouses
‘will need to increase performance efficiency’, ‘will require more flexible storage
solutions’ and ‘will perform more processing functions’. Some of them believe that
warehouses ‘will get smaller’ (13.6%) or ‘will get bigger’ (38.56%). Moreover, some
commented that ‘the differentiator will be added value service (non standard
warehouse operations)’, which highlights the increasing role warehouse design can
play to make companies stand out in the market.
Requirements will stay the same 0.00%
Which of the following warehouse trends do you agree with?
Other (please specify) 11.54%
Will get smaller 13.46%
Will get bigger 38.46%
Will perform more processing functionsie. configuration or finishing of products
65.38%
Will require more flexible storage solutions 71.15%
Will need to increase performance efficiency 75.00%
07WAREHOUSE 2020 SURVEY RESULTS
Innovations and technological advancements in warehouses are indisputably key
themes regarding the future of warehouses. Whilst most respondents (85%) agree
that ‘automation of picking and sorting’ will increase in the coming years, some are
sceptical about the likelihood of the increased usage of ‘automated guided vehicles’
or ‘wearable technologies’. Some interesting comments included: ‘In the next 3
years, traditional warehouses shall convert to semi-automatic (50% automation) and
semi-automatic to at least 80% automation of storage and handling’ and
‘autonomous moving robots will be working in parallel with humans’.
How will technology change within the warehouse?
Staff will have more wearable technology 67.31%
Warehouses will use more automationof picking and sorting 84.62%
Warehouses will use more automatedguided vehicles 65.38%
Other (please specify)
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What challenges will warehouses face in the future?
Professionals have further identified some of
the challenges warehouses may face in the
future:
Warehouses are constantly under pressure to
achieve more with less resource
Keeping costs down
Providing the shortest possible (market
- acceptable) lead times
Achieving better service levels
Minimising their environmental footprints
These objectives are challenged by:
The slow ROI (Return on Investment) of
technology improvements
Constraints in physical space and personnel
Visibility in demand as a consequence of
rapidly evolving customer expectations,
increased product ranges or product
returns, etc.
Staying up-to-date with the latest
technology, ensuring seamless integration of
the technologies and stretching the
capabilities of automation will be the key in
brining success
Network security
08WAREHOUSE 2020 SURVEY RESULTS
09WAREHOUSE 2020 SURVEY RESULTS
Conclusion What does this survey tell us?Warehouse design requires a combination of tools for layout drawing, data manipulation, and simulation. It also necessitates smooth collaboration for the team members to exchange ideas and contribute to the design. We have seen that the warehouse design process tends to be a team activity, involving logistics professionals, designers and consultants from outside the organisations. Lastly, data is inevitably missing in the process, which can lead to over simplification of the model. However, it was good to see the adoption of design tools which utilise inbuilt warehousing standards and warehousing datasets that reduce the amount of data needed without compromising the result.
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US Office286 South Main Street, Suite 100Alpharetta, GA 30009 USA
Cirrus Logistics
Cirrus Logistics is a highly innovative leader
in the application of simulation techniques in
warehouses and the wider supply chain.
CLASS is the leading ‘off the shelf’ software
product, written exclusively for warehouse design
and simulation modelling. It is used by the top
logistics companies as the “tool of choice” to
identify cost efficiencies in the warehouse and
as a test-platform for introducing operational
innovation. It is used for new builds, to test the
design before the building process begins, and for
operational improvements at an existing site.
CLASS allows users to design, test and re-
design complex warehousing solutions in a virtual
computer environment by changing many different
parameters and measuring their impact:
Assess warehouse layout changes and their
effect on productivity
Identify throughput capacities and bottlenecks
Review the impact of different pick-face profiling
or different picking methods
Estimate resource requirements, shift patterns
and equipment availability
Quantify costs and service levels by simulating
daily receipts and despatch profiles
CLASS is pre-loaded with all the tasks needed in
a warehouse – from unloading vehicles, putting
away product, through to order picking, pallet
building, vehicle loading and despatch, and all
the processes in between. It models both manual
warehouses and automated warehouses.
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