Generally inventory may be located using one of three basic systems:
1. Fixed Location is normally used for fast moving items and means that specific part identification is allocated to a specific location. This has the positive impact of people knowing exactly where the material or product is located, although it may mean that you have to give up some of the “Cube” (the cubic volume of the plant) in order to maintain this.
2. Random Location means that incoming stock is allocated to the next available area against specific criteria such as size, weight, and/or quantity. It is as the name suggests totally random. This therefore requires a computerised management system in order to ensure that benefits include optimisation of the “cube”.
However, the system would also need to direct pickers, and you may find that the picking route is not optimised with this system.
