Warehouse slotting optimization

When Your Pick Paths Start Looking Like Scenic Tours

Warehouse slotting optimization becomes a pressing topic the moment your pickers start treating each order like a walking tour of the entire building. At low volume, long pick paths hide in the background. Workers chat, collect items, and eventually bring orders to pack stations. As volume increases, those same paths become a liability. Every extra step steals time away from other orders. Every awkwardly placed SKU adds seconds that pile into hours over the course of a week.

Search interest around slotting has grown as ecommerce order profiles shift toward more lines per order, more SKUs per catalog, and more demanding delivery commitments. If inventory sits where it is convenient for storage instead of where it is efficient for picking, the warehouse works against itself.

Why “Where Things Live” Matters So Much

Slotting is about deciding where things live inside your warehouse. That decision shapes how work feels for pickers, how fast orders move, and how often mistakes occur. When high-velocity SKUs sit far from pack stations, pickers waste time walking. When similar-looking SKUs are stored side by side without clear labeling, error risk spikes. When heavy items live on high shelves or in awkward positions, safety risks increase along with fatigue.

Maureen Milligan, Director of Operations and Projects at G10, sees the operational drag this creates. She explains that "most of the customers who come to us from another 3PL, their challenges have always been access to their data, order accuracy and efficiency, and meeting the committed requirements." Poor slotting undermines all three.

Data-Driven Slotting Instead of Tribal Knowledge

In many warehouses, slotting decisions grow out of habit. A product stays where it was first stored. New SKUs get dropped in the nearest open space. Over time, the layout becomes a physical history of decisions rather than a reflection of current demand. Slotting optimization replaces that habit with data. Velocity, order composition, and seasonality drive where SKUs belong.

G10 uses ChannelPoint to analyze which SKUs move fastest, which SKUs appear together frequently, and which SKUs drive the most labor. Those insights inform reslotting efforts that make the building match the business instead of its past.

ABC Classification and Zone Design

A common approach to warehouse slotting optimization is ABC classification. A-items move most frequently and deserve prime real estate close to pack stations. B-items move regularly but not constantly. C-items move rarely and can live farther away. The key is not just classifying SKUs, but designing zones to match those classifications in ways that make sense for your order profile.

G10 designs zones so that A-items cluster into high-density pick areas accessible by both humans and Zebra autonomous robots, while slower movers live in more remote locations that do not clog high-traffic aisles.

Reducing Walking Without Creating Congestion

There is a temptation to push every popular SKU as close as possible to the same pack station. That can backfire by creating congested aisles and pickers competing for the same space. Slotting optimization balances shorter travel distances with wider paths, alternate routes, and the ability to distribute volume across multiple zones.

Zebra robots help by carrying totes to and from workers, allowing people to pick from tighter zones without needing to leave the area constantly. Holly Woods, Director of Operations at G10, notes that the robots "are allowing efficiency with pick paths. They are lowering fatigue on employees." Combining smart slotting with robotic support multiplies the effect.

Slotting for Kitting, Bundles, and Special Programs

Not all picking is single-line, single-SKU work. Subscription programs, kits, and promotional bundles add complexity. Slotting for these programs means storing components in ways that minimize crisscrossing the floor. In some cases, pre-kitting or staging bundle components together at specific workstations makes more sense than scattering them across standard locations.

G10 evaluates how often SKUs appear together and uses that data to decide when to slot items as neighbors and when to handle them through separate kitting processes.

Returns and Their Impact on Slotting

Returned inventory can quietly disrupt slotting if it reenters storage haphazardly. A pile of mixed-SKU returns shoved onto a convenient shelf throws off both counts and flow. Slotting optimization includes clear rules about where restocked returns belong and how they rejoin regular inventory.

Joel Malmquist, VP of Customer Experience at G10, describes the initial classification. "It looks good, we are going to restock this, or it looks damaged, we are going to either dispose of it or put it in a quarantine area." Restockable items reenter their designated slots rather than forming a shadow inventory in random locations.

Multi-Node Networks and Slotting Consistency

For brands using multiple warehouses, slotting optimization must extend across the network. Customers should experience consistent service levels regardless of which node fulfills their order. That means each facility needs a slotting strategy aligned with its regional demand and product mix, not a completely improvised layout.

G10 maintains slotting plans that reflect both local realities and network-wide standards, making it easier to train staff, move inventory between nodes, and replicate successful practices.

Safety, Ergonomics, and Worker Satisfaction

Slotting decisions have a direct effect on safety and morale. Heavy or bulky items should live at waist height where possible. Fragile goods should avoid high-traffic end caps. Frequently picked SKUs should not require constant bending, stretching, or ladder use. When slotting respects the human body, workers last longer, perform better, and make fewer errors.

Holly’s comment that robots "are allowing efficiency with pick paths. They are lowering fatigue on employees" applies equally to thoughtful slotting. Less fatigue is not just a comfort goal. It is a performance goal.

Revisiting Slotting Regularly, Not Just Once

Warehouse slotting optimization is not a one-time project. Product lines evolve. Promotions change demand patterns. Retail partnerships introduce new requirements. If slotting stays static while the business changes, the layout drifts out of alignment again. Regular reviews keep the floor plan current.

ChannelPoint’s data makes it easier for G10 to see when SKU velocity shifts enough to warrant reslotting. Instead of massive, disruptive overhauls, the team can make incremental changes that keep the operation in tune with reality.

Measuring the Payoff

Slotting optimization should show up in concrete metrics. Average pick time should fall. Picks per hour should rise. Error rates should decline. Overtime should become less frequent. These improvements may seem incremental day to day, but over weeks and months they translate into meaningful cost savings and better customer service.

G10 tracks these outcomes to refine slotting efforts and demonstrate their impact to clients who want to see how layout changes translate into performance.

Making Your Warehouse Feel Smaller Without Moving Walls

At its core, warehouse slotting optimization is about making your building feel smaller and smarter without expanding its footprint. When the right products live in the right places, workers spend more time picking and less time walking. Orders flow faster. Errors decrease. The whole operation breathes a little easier.

Mark Becker, CEO and founder of G10, connects this to the broader promise. "We are going to grow with them." Smart slotting is one of the quiet ways G10 makes that growth sustainable, turning the warehouse from an obstacle into an asset.

When You Are Ready to Redraw the Map Inside Your Four Walls

If your picking process feels slow, if your workers seem exhausted by midday, or if your expansion has turned the warehouse into a maze, slotting optimization may be the most impactful project you have not tackled yet. You do not need a new building to get a new experience. You need a new plan.

When your team is ready to turn your current layout into a faster, safer, and more accurate operation, G10 can help you design warehouse slotting optimization that matches how your customers actually buy, not just where your shelves happened to land.