Lean Warehouse + Automation Catania Oils

Results Case Studies

Case Study Snapshot

Results At A Glance

Warehouse Staff

22 to 12 (−45%)

Storage Capacity

12K to 19.5K Pallets (+62%)

Non-Value-Added Time

~2/3 of Picking Time

Key Takeaways

  • Time-and-motion studies revealed two-thirds of pick time spent on non-value-added FIFO rotation.
  • Flow-through racking design eliminated manual floor-stock rotation.
  • Velocity-code SKU classification optimized slotting for high-mix product line.
  • Complete automation bid package with baseline data prepared for provider evaluation.

Where This Approach Fits

Best for food/beverage or high-mix warehouses evaluating automation while needing immediate capacity and labor improvements.

Lean Warehousing Facility Layout

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Problem / Challenge

Catania Oils is an edible oils producer, blending and packaging oils that are sold to grocery, food service and food manufacturers. Their 220K sq ft. warehouse was designed to fit 12K pallets, but planned growth would increase the finished goods inventory to 18K pallets.

They evaluated automating the finished goods warehouse but were not comfortable the solution would work with their high-mix product line and numerous partial pallets due to the end of a production run never rounding up to a full pallet.

They wanted to evaluate non-automated solutions to support their growth in the current footprint and prepare for automation.

Implementation Details:

Warehouse Layout with Racking Only and/or Automation

  • Created racking-only (no automation) layout, which exceeded storage requirements
  • Did limited time-and-motion studies to calculated expected productivity improvements (next page)
  • Worked with Planning Team on 5 year forecast for all finished goods SKUs
  • Taught the Planning Team target inventory calculations including safety stock and forecast stock based on production lead-time
  • Calculated expected inventory levels by SKU in 2030 based on product categories growing or shrinking
  • Provided warehouse automation providers complete data package to quote a fully automated warehouse

Current state used floor stock with pallets, stacked no more than two-high

This Is An Example Time-and-motion Study With Non-value-added Steps Highlighted In Orange

This time study of order-picking identified that about 2/3rd of the time to pick is non-value-added and can be eliminated in the new racking-only layout. This was due to a requirement to rotate floor stock to get to the oldest inventory. Improvement idea 102 (left column) was to use flow-thru racking that always presents the oldest item first, enabling easy FIFO picking.

The time study matrix indicates how many time studies are needed to profile all labor tasks.

Calculation To Confirm 4 Level High Flow-thru Racking Will Fit From Floor To Ceiling

A critical issue in the new layout and use of flow-thru racking (with or without automation) is if 4 levels can fit with a ceiling height of 33 feet and 27 feet maximum racking height. This was achieved with 20 inches of surplus.

Instead Of Abc Sku Classification We Used Velocity Codes Based On Inventory Levels By Sku

This analysis ensured the updated layout would support the planned growth.

Layout Of Flow-thru Racking With Standard Forklift Aisles

The 5-year growth requirement was 18,000 pallets. The new layout of 4 level high, mostly flow-thru racking enabled storage of 19,400 pallets.

The Center of Gravity is located by the inbound and outbound dock doors.

This became the baseline design for the automated warehouse vendors.

The Importance Of Designing For Partial Pallets

  • The reason the fully automated design was never adopted is an issue we discovered in our time studies – partial pallets.
  • The WMS fills orders FIFO, causing a partial pallet with as little as 1 case to be on a pick-ticket. A 1 case pallet will not work in flow-thru racking or an automated warehouse designed for full pallets.
  • Our design separated partial pallets onto standard (single-stack) racking that are consolidated into full pallets.

Results

  • Reduced warehouse staff from 22 to 12 with the Lean Warehouse racking-only design.
  • Increased storage capacity from 12,000 to 19,500 with the Lean Warehouse racking-only design.
  • Created a warehouse automation bid package that provided all data and baseline design that considered partial pallets.

Learn more about Plant and Warehouse layout.

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