Process Mapping and Material-Flow Design

Introduction

Warehouse performance is shaped less by the existence of individual activities than by the way those activities are connected. Receiving, inspection, put-away, storage, replenishment, picking, consolidation, packing, value-added services, returns and dispatch form an interconnected operating system. A poorly connected system creates travel, queuing, congestion, searching, double handling and avoidable risk. A well-designed system allows materials and information to move predictably, safely and economically.

Process mapping makes warehouse work visible. Material-flow design then converts that understanding into decisions about adjacency, routing, staging, equipment, aisle structure, information control and performance measurement. The central objective is not simply to minimize distance. It is to achieve the required service level with the least total cost, risk and complexity.

A warehouse process should therefore be evaluated as a flow system. A local improvement—for example, moving packing closer to dispatch—may worsen congestion if it intersects high-volume replenishment traffic. Similarly, reducing walking distance may increase picking errors if location density becomes excessive. Postgraduate-level warehouse design requires system-wide analysis rather than isolated activity optimization.

Learning objectives

By the end of this chapter, the reader should be able to:

1. Map the physical and information flows through a warehouse.
2. Explain the purpose, inputs, outputs and controls of major warehouse processes.
3. Select suitable process-mapping techniques for different design questions.
4. Analyse travel, handling, queues, congestion and non-value-adding activity.
5. Design alternative material-flow patterns and compare them quantitatively.
6. Integrate returns, value-added services, replenishment and dispatch into the main flow.
7. Apply lean, safety, technology and governance principles to warehouse-flow decisions.

1. The warehouse as a socio-technical flow system

A warehouse has at least four interacting flows:

• Material flow: goods, pallets, totes, cartons, components and waste.
• Information flow: advance shipping notices, purchase orders, scan confirmations, task instructions and inventory records.
• People flow: operators, drivers, supervisors, visitors and maintenance personnel.
• Equipment flow: forklifts, pallet trucks, automated vehicles, conveyors and charging assets.

A design is effective when these flows are coordinated. For example, a pallet cannot be put away merely because a physical location exists; the inventory system must identify the stock, the location must be authorized, the equipment must be available and the movement must be recorded. Thus, material flow and information flow are inseparable.

A useful distinction is between process, activity and operation. A process is an end-to-end transformation, such as receiving an inbound shipment. An activity is a component of that process, such as counting cartons. An operation is the physical or informational action performed, such as scanning a barcode or moving a pallet.

The basic process logic is:

Input → Activity → Decision or Control → Output

Inputs may include goods, orders, labour and information. Outputs may include available inventory, a completed customer order, an exception record or a returned product awaiting disposition.

Value-adding and non-value-adding work

A value-adding activity changes the product or service in a way the customer requires and would normally recognize as useful. Packing to customer specification may be value-adding; waiting for a picker, searching for stock, repeated counting caused by poor records and unnecessary movement are generally non-value-adding. Some non-value-adding activities are necessary under current conditions, such as regulatory inspection or security control. The design goal is to eliminate avoidable non-value-adding work and reduce the burden of necessary control activities.

The seven commonly cited forms of operational waste are transport, inventory, motion, waiting, overprocessing, defects and overproduction. In warehousing, overproduction often appears as premature kitting or processing that creates inventory before demand or order requirements are confirmed. A further concern is underused human capability: operators may possess process knowledge that is not captured in improvement decisions.

2. Mapping the warehouse process

2.1 Define the scope and unit of analysis

A map must have a defined start and end. Examples include:

• vehicle arrival to stock available;
• order release to packed order;
• returned parcel arrival to disposition decision;
• replenishment trigger to pick-face restoration.

The analyst should also specify the unit of analysis: pallet, carton, tote, order line, order, vehicle or value-added work order. A map at pallet level may conceal excessive travel at carton level. Conversely, a carton-level map may be unsuitable for analysing dock scheduling.

2.2 Establish the current-state map

A current-state map records what actually happens, not what procedures say should happen. It should include:

1. process steps and decision points;
2. physical locations and travel paths;
3. information systems and manual records;
4. queues, buffers and staging areas;
5. handoffs and ownership;
6. cycle times, quantities and frequencies;
7. exceptions, rework and failure loops;
8. safety, quality and regulatory controls.

Useful techniques include direct observation, interviews, time studies, spaghetti diagrams, swim-lane maps, value-stream maps, flow process charts and warehouse-management-system data analysis. Each has a different purpose. A spaghetti diagram reveals travel and crossing; a swim-lane map clarifies responsibility; a value-stream map distinguishes processing from waiting; and a system event log reveals timestamps and sequence variability.

2.3 Process mapping conventions

A practical map uses consistent symbols and labels. Rectangles represent activities, diamonds decisions, arrows movement or information transfer, and parallel lanes represent departments or roles. Every step should identify an actor, an input, an output and a control condition. Ambiguous labels such as “handle goods” should be replaced by specific descriptions such as “scan pallet ID,” “inspect packaging,” or “move pallet to reserve location.”

A map should distinguish push from pull. Push activity is initiated by a forecast, schedule or upstream release; pull activity is initiated by a downstream requirement. Replenishment based on a pick-face minimum is a pull signal, while pre-building promotional kits weeks before demand is a push decision. The distinction matters because push systems can create congestion and excess work when demand changes.

2.4 Future-state mapping

The future-state map should not merely remove steps. It should show how the redesigned system will operate, including controls and exception paths. Common design questions include:

• Can receiving appointments and unloading be separated from inspection queues?
• Can cross-dock candidates bypass reserve storage?
• Can fast-moving stock be stored near the relevant picking and dispatch zones?
• Can replenishment occur during planned low-demand windows?
• Can returns be isolated without creating a hidden inventory stream?
• Can a scan or system rule replace a paper handoff?

The future-state map should be tested against demand variability, peak conditions, equipment failure, labour absence, damaged goods and urgent orders. A design that works only at average volume is not robust.

3. Mapping the principal warehouse processes

Receiving

Receiving begins with appointment planning, gate entry and document verification. Activities may include unloading, quantity verification, identification, damage inspection, labelling, sampling, quarantine and system receipt. The output is either accepted inventory, rejected inventory or inventory under controlled hold.

Receiving design should separate vehicle waiting from unloading, provide safe pedestrian and vehicle interfaces, and avoid using dock doors as long-term storage. Advance shipping notices can reduce data entry and permit exception-focused checking, but they do not eliminate the need for physical verification where accuracy, safety or regulation requires it.

Inspection and quality control

Inspection may be full, sampling-based, condition-based or supplier-specific. Inspection criteria should be explicit: quantity, packaging integrity, lot or serial number, expiry date, temperature, documentation and product condition. A key design issue is the location of quarantine. Quarantine must be physically and electronically controlled so that unavailable stock cannot be allocated accidentally.

Inspection capacity can become a bottleneck. If arrivals exceed inspection capacity for a sustained period, the queue grows. A simple flow relationship is:

Here, WIP is work in process, throughput is the average completion rate, and lead time is the average time in the system. Units must be consistent—for example, cartons per hour multiplied by hours equals cartons. This relationship is a form of Little’s Law and applies to a stable system over an appropriate observation period. It does not by itself explain variability or guarantee that a process is stable.

Put-away

Put-away transfers accepted stock from receiving or inspection to a storage or forward-pick location. The decision may be based on fixed location, random location, class-based storage, compatibility, cube, weight, turnover, temperature or security requirements.

Put-away quality depends on location accuracy, slot availability, travel distance and task sequencing. A pallet sent to a technically available but operationally unsuitable location may increase future replenishment and picking cost. The warehouse-management system should prevent incompatible products from being co-located and should maintain a reliable record of location, quantity, lot and status.

Storage

Storage is not merely a space-allocation problem. It is a balance between capacity, accessibility, selectivity, safety and travel. Reserve storage generally provides density; forward-pick storage provides accessibility. The appropriate balance depends on demand profile, order structure, replenishment frequency and handling-unit configuration.

A common principle is class-based storage. High-activity stock is positioned to reduce travel, while low-activity stock occupies less accessible locations. ABC classification is useful but incomplete: demand variability, product affinity, cube, weight, hazard and order correlation must also be considered. Products frequently ordered together may be placed near one another even if their individual volumes differ.

Replenishment

Replenishment moves inventory from reserve to the forward-pick area. It may be scheduled, min–max controlled, demand triggered or wave based. Replenishment should occur before the pick face becomes empty but not so early that it obstructs aisles or creates excess handling.

A simplified reorder trigger can be expressed as:

where ROP is the reorder point in units, d is average demand per time unit, L is replenishment lead time in the same time unit, and SS is safety stock in units. The formula assumes that average demand and lead time are appropriate representations of the operating environment. When demand or lead time is variable, safety stock should reflect the desired service level and the relevant variability; using an arbitrary buffer can produce either stockouts or unnecessary congestion.

Replenishment routes should be designed to avoid conflict with peak picking. In some operations, night replenishment is effective; in others, continuous replenishment using smaller loads reduces disruption. The correct choice depends on labour cost, security, demand timing and equipment availability.

Picking

Picking converts inventory into order lines or handling units. Methods include discrete order picking, batch picking, zone picking, wave picking, cluster picking, goods-to-person and robotic picking. The method should match order profile, SKU characteristics, service requirements and investment capability.

Picking travel often dominates labour time. A simple travel estimate is:

where T is estimated travel-and-stop time, D is total travel distance, v is average travel speed, n is the number of stops, and τ is average time per stop. Distance and speed must use compatible units, and τ must use the same time unit as D/v. The estimate excludes search, handling, congestion, equipment interaction and error correction, so it is a planning approximation rather than a complete labour standard.

Batch picking can reduce repeated travel when orders share SKUs, but it introduces sorting or consolidation requirements. Zone picking can improve specialization and reduce zone travel, but it creates handoffs and balancing problems. Goods-to-person systems reduce operator travel but introduce capital cost, software dependence and potential system bottlenecks.

Consolidation and packing

Consolidation combines lines or units belonging to an order, shipment or route. It should provide clear order identity, exception control and adequate staging capacity. Poor consolidation creates searching, misallocation and rework.

Packing includes verification, selection of packaging, protective material, documentation, labelling and closure. Packaging design affects cube utilization, damage, transport cost and sustainability. Packing stations should be supplied ergonomically and replenished without interrupting operators. The separation of standard and special packing may be justified when value-added services or regulatory requirements differ substantially.

Value-added services

Value-added services include labelling, kitting, bundling, postponement, light assembly, ticketing, quality modification and promotional preparation. These activities should be mapped as controlled transformations, not informal additions to picking or packing. Their location depends on whether customization is best performed near receiving, storage, picking, packing or dispatch.

Postponement can reduce finished-goods variety by delaying final configuration until demand is clearer. However, it requires reliable component availability, skilled labour and quality controls. Work orders, bill-of-materials accuracy, traceability and completion confirmation are essential.

Returns

Returns are frequently designed as an afterthought even though they create complex reverse flows. A returns process may include authorization, receipt, identification, inspection, grading, repair, restock, quarantine, recycling, disposal, credit approval and customer communication.

Returns should not automatically re-enter sellable inventory. Product condition, safety, warranty, traceability and legal requirements must determine disposition. A dedicated returns area reduces contamination of forward flow, but excessive separation can increase travel. The design should distinguish customer returns, carrier damage, supplier returns and recall material because their controls and destinations differ.

Dispatch

Dispatch includes order staging, route or carrier assignment, loading verification, documentation and departure control. Staging should reflect dispatch sequence and vehicle capacity without becoming a long-term storage zone. A dispatch scan or load verification can prevent shipping errors, but controls should be designed so that they do not create a last-minute queue at the dock.

Cross-docking is a special dispatch strategy in which inbound goods are sorted or transferred with little or no storage. It is appropriate where demand, timing, identification and outbound capacity are sufficiently reliable. It is not a universal solution: variability, inspection requirements and incomplete orders can quickly convert a cross-dock into congested temporary storage.

4. Material-flow design principles

Directness and flow continuity

The preferred route is usually direct, understandable and free from unnecessary reversals. However, the shortest geometric route is not always the best route. A slightly longer one-way route may reduce intersections, improve safety and increase throughput. Flow continuity includes physical continuity, information continuity and status continuity.

Adjacency and affinity

Activities with high interaction should generally be close, subject to safety and process constraints. A quantitative starting point is the load–distance concept:

where LD is total load-distance, fᵢⱼ is the number of movements between areas i and j during the planning period, and dᵢⱼ is the travel distance per movement. The summation covers all relevant area pairs. If movements have different costs, a weighted version can use cᵢⱼ instead of distance alone. Load-distance is useful for comparing layouts, but it omits congestion, vertical movement, safety risk and handling difficulty.

A relationship or from-to chart can identify high-volume flows. Adjacency decisions should also consider hazardous-material segregation, temperature control, security, hygiene, fire protection and future expansion.

Separation of conflicting flows

Pedestrian, forklift, automated vehicle, waste and visitor routes may conflict. Separation can be achieved by physical barriers, marked crossings, one-way systems, time windows, speed control and access rules. Safety should not be treated as a post-design adjustment. A layout that saves metres but increases collision exposure is not optimized.

Managing buffers and queues

Buffers absorb variability but consume space and conceal problems. Every buffer should have a purpose, maximum quantity, ownership and replenishment or clearance rule. Queue locations should not block emergency exits, fire equipment, access to storage or safe sight lines.

Queue analysis may require more than average rates. If arrival and service times are highly variable, average capacity can be misleading. Peak-hour arrivals, batch releases and labour shift changes should be explicitly modelled or observed.

Designing for exceptions

A robust flow includes routes for damaged goods, short receipts, overages, stock discrepancies, system outages, urgent orders and failed quality checks. If exceptions have no designed path, they will occupy aisles, docks or workstations and disrupt the normal flow.

5. Quantitative evaluation of alternatives

A layout comparison may combine several measures rather than rely on distance alone. Typical measures include travel distance per order, touches per unit, throughput, lead time, dock-to-stock time, pick accuracy, replenishment interruptions, congestion events, space utilization and safety observations.

A basic productivity measure is:

For example, lines picked per labour hour is meaningful only if order complexity and quality are also reported. Increasing lines per hour while increasing errors is not a genuine improvement.

A total-cost comparison may be expressed conceptually as:

where TC is total relevant cost, Cₜ transport or travel cost, Cₕ handling cost, Cₗ labour cost, Cₛ space cost, Cᵣ risk, quality and failure cost, and Cₐ technology or asset cost. These terms must be defined consistently for the same planning horizon. Risk is often difficult to monetize; a multi-criteria evaluation may therefore be preferable to a purely financial calculation.

Worked layout example

Suppose two alternative layouts are being compared for three major flows. The expected daily movements and distances are:

For Layout A:

LD_A = (120×80) + (300×45) + (250×30) = 36,900 m/day

For Layout B:

LD_B = (120×55) + (300×35) + (250×42) = 34,800 m/day

Layout B reduces the calculated load-distance by 2,100 m per day, or approximately 5.7% relative to Layout A. However, this does not prove that Layout B is superior. The analyst must test whether the longer packing-to-dispatch route creates dock congestion, whether the route is shared with forklifts, and whether the changed adjacency affects order accuracy. Load-distance is evidence for a decision, not the decision itself.

6. Applied case: redesigning an omnichannel distribution centre

The following is an illustrative case based on common warehouse-design conditions.

Background

A regional distribution centre handles retail replenishment pallets, e-commerce each-picks and customer returns. It operates one building with receiving and dispatch docks on opposite sides. Fast-moving e-commerce SKUs are stored in a forward-pick area near the centre of the building. Returns are placed temporarily beside receiving.

Problem

During promotional peaks, three issues arise: pickers cross replenishment traffic, returns occupy receiving space, and packed e-commerce orders queue near dispatch. Management initially proposes adding more pickers, but observations show that operators spend substantial time waiting, searching and walking around temporary staging.

Analysis

A four-day study maps order, pallet and exception flows. The main findings are:

• replenishment is released in large batches during the same period as peak picking;
• fast-moving items are physically near packing but reserve pallets are far from the forward-pick area;
• returns lack a controlled disposition schedule;
• dispatch staging is organized by arrival time rather than carrier departure sequence;
• the warehouse system records movements, but several exception decisions are made on paper.

A spaghetti diagram shows repeated crossing between replenishment vehicles and pedestrian pickers. A from-to analysis shows that reserve-to-pick and packing-to-dispatch movements dominate distance. Interviews also reveal that supervisors use different informal rules for urgent orders.

Approach and solution

The redesign introduces:

1. a controlled replenishment window before the e-commerce peak, supplemented by small emergency replenishments;
2. a high-activity forward-pick zone with revised slotting based on demand, order affinity and ergonomic limits;
3. a segregated returns cell with daily grading and defined destinations;
4. dispatch lanes assigned by carrier and departure time;
5. a consolidation buffer with maximum quantities and visual status control;
6. marked pedestrian crossings and one-way equipment routes;
7. electronic exception codes for damage, shortage, overage and urgent release;
8. a daily review of congestion, replenishment failures and aged returns.

The design is piloted rather than implemented across the entire building. Performance is measured before and after the pilot using comparable order profiles and peak periods.

Outcome

The pilot reduces crossing events and late replenishments. Travel distance falls modestly, but the larger benefit is a reduction in waiting and searching. Returns no longer occupy receiving docks, and dispatch staging becomes more predictable. The case demonstrates that flow improvement may arise from timing, control and visibility—not only from moving racks.

Learning points

First, process mapping exposed interactions that individual departmental measures concealed. Second, a layout change without release-control changes would have produced limited benefit. Third, exceptions and reverse logistics must be included in the design boundary. Finally, improvements should be validated under peak and abnormal conditions, not only during average operations.

7. Technology, governance and contemporary developments

Warehouse-management systems, barcode and RFID identification, voice picking, pick-to-light, conveyors, automated storage and retrieval systems, autonomous mobile robots and digital twins can improve flow. Technology is valuable when it addresses a defined constraint. Automating a poorly designed process may accelerate the production of errors and congestion.

AI and analytics can support slotting, demand prediction, dynamic task assignment, congestion prediction, image-based damage detection and simulation. These applications require clean master data, representative training data, clear human override rules and monitoring for bias or systematic error. An algorithm that prioritizes speed may disadvantage safety, quality or less frequent but critical orders.

Governance includes inventory traceability, segregation of duties, audit trails, cybersecurity, privacy, worker consultation and compliance with occupational safety, dangerous-goods, food, pharmaceutical and environmental requirements as applicable. Data used for productivity monitoring should be transparent and proportionate. Individual metrics should not encourage unsafe speed or conceal teamwork.

Digital twins and discrete-event simulation are useful for comparing layouts, shift patterns and equipment policies under variability. Their conclusions are only as credible as their assumptions. Arrival distributions, service times, failure rates, travel speeds and human behaviour should be calibrated with operational evidence.

8. Implementation and continuous improvement

A practical implementation sequence is:

1. establish baseline performance and safety conditions;
2. map current-state material and information flows;
3. identify dominant constraints and failure loops;
4. generate several future-state alternatives;
5. test capacity, peak demand, exceptions and safety;
6. pilot the preferred design;
7. train users and update standard work and system rules;
8. measure results and adjust slotting, schedules and controls.

Standard work should specify sequence, quality checks, equipment, escalation and expected completion conditions. Visual management can show location status, queue limits, route priorities and abnormal conditions. Continuous improvement should use operator knowledge and should distinguish a true process change from temporary performance caused by extra supervision.

Challenges and limitations

Process maps can become outdated as product mix, order profiles and technology change. Observers may influence behaviour, and system timestamps may not capture informal waiting or work performed away from terminals. Average flow measures can conceal peak instability. Load-distance models ignore safety and congestion unless these are added explicitly. Automation may create new bottlenecks, technical dependence and maintenance requirements. Finally, local optimization remains a persistent risk: a department may improve its own productivity while increasing total system cost.

Chapter Summary

Warehouse process mapping makes material, information, people and equipment flows visible from receiving through dispatch and returns. A sound map defines scope, unit of analysis, activities, decisions, queues, handoffs, controls and exceptions. Core processes include receiving, inspection, put-away, storage, replenishment, picking, consolidation, packing, value-added services, returns and dispatch; each has distinct outputs and design risks.

Material-flow design seeks continuity, appropriate adjacency, safe separation, controlled buffers and effective exception routes. Load-distance, Little’s Law, reorder-point logic and productivity measures provide useful analytical foundations when their assumptions and units are respected. Layout alternatives must also be judged by congestion, quality, safety, flexibility and total cost. Technology and AI can improve flow, but only when supported by accurate data, governance, worker involvement and robust process design. The most reliable improvement method combines observation, quantitative analysis, pilot testing and continuous review under both normal and peak conditions.

Key Terms

Process map: A structured representation of activities, decisions, inputs, outputs and controls.

Material flow: Physical movement of goods and handling units through a facility.

Information flow: Movement of instructions, records, status data and transaction messages.

Current-state map: A representation of how work is actually performed before redesign.

Future-state map: A proposed representation of the redesigned process.

Value-adding activity: Work that transforms the product or service in a way required by the customer.

Non-value-adding activity: Work that consumes resources without creating required customer value.

Put-away: Movement of received stock to an authorized storage or picking location.

Replenishment: Transfer of stock from reserve storage to a forward-pick location.

Forward-pick area: Accessible location from which order picking is routinely performed.

Reserve storage: Higher-capacity storage used to support picking and inventory holding.

Consolidation: Combining picked items or order lines into an order or shipment.

Value-added service: Additional controlled work such as kitting, labelling or light assembly.

Quarantine: Controlled status and location for inventory awaiting a decision.

Load-distance: The sum of movement frequency multiplied by distance for relevant flows.

Spaghetti diagram: A map showing actual movement paths and repeated travel.

Cross-docking: Transfer of inbound goods toward outbound shipment with little or no storage.

Exception flow: A designed route for abnormal conditions such as damage, shortage or system failure.

Slotting: Assignment of products to storage or picking locations.

Little’s Law: The steady-state relationship between work in process, throughput and lead time.

Review Questions

Short Answer Questions

1. Distinguish material flow from information flow in a warehouse.
2. What is the purpose of a current-state process map?
3. Explain why quarantine requires both physical and electronic control.
4. State two advantages and one limitation of class-based storage.
5. Why should returns be included in warehouse-flow design?

Long Answer Questions

1. Explain how receiving, inspection and put-away should be designed as an integrated process.
2. Compare discrete, batch, zone and goods-to-person picking in terms of flow, control and resource requirements.
3. Discuss how buffers and queues can both stabilize and damage warehouse performance.
4. Explain the role of information systems, standard work and exception management in material-flow design.
5. Critically evaluate the use of load-distance analysis as a layout-design method.

Analytical / Application Questions

1. A warehouse has high pick productivity but frequent replenishment interruptions and aisle congestion. Use process-mapping logic to identify likely causes and propose a future-state design.
2. Using the worked-example data, calculate the load-distance for a third layout with distances of 65 m, 40 m and 36 m for the three listed flows. Compare it with Layouts A and B and identify additional qualitative checks required before selection.
3. Design a process map for customer returns from arrival through final disposition. Specify at least three decision points, the required information controls and the physical areas needed.

Multiple Choice Questions with Answers

Question 1

Which flow records scan confirmations, task instructions and inventory status?

A. Material flow

B. Information flow

C. Waste flow

D. Pedestrian flow

Correct Answer: B. Information flow

Question 2

What is the primary purpose of a spaghetti diagram?

A. To calculate safety stock

B. To classify products by value

C. To reveal actual movement paths and repeated travel

D. To authorize returned goods

Correct Answer: C. To reveal actual movement paths and repeated travel

Question 3

In the relationship WIP = Throughput × Lead time, throughput must be expressed in units compatible with:

A. Storage height only

B. Lead time

C. Product weight only

D. Aisle width only

Correct Answer: B. Lead time

Question 4

Which activity normally transfers accepted stock to an authorized storage location?

A. Put-away

B. Consolidation

C. Dispatch

D. Returns grading

Correct Answer: A. Put-away

Question 5

What is a major risk of releasing large replenishment batches during peak picking?

A. Reduced inventory traceability only

B. Increased interaction and congestion in picking areas

C. Elimination of all stockouts

D. Automatic reduction in handling

Correct Answer: B. Increased interaction and congestion in picking areas

Question 6

A load-distance calculation is obtained by summing:

A. Inventory value divided by labour hours

B. Movement frequency multiplied by distance

C. Throughput multiplied by safety stock

D. Order accuracy multiplied by cube

Correct Answer: B. Movement frequency multiplied by distance

Question 7

Which statement best describes cross-docking?

A. Long-term storage of slow-moving inventory

B. Transfer of inbound goods toward outbound shipment with little or no storage

C. Inspection of all returned products

D. A method for calculating reorder points

Correct Answer: B. Transfer of inbound goods toward outbound shipment with little or no storage

Question 8

Why should returns not automatically be placed into sellable inventory?

A. They always have zero value

B. Their condition, traceability and disposition may require assessment

C. They cannot be scanned

D. They must always be destroyed

Correct Answer: B. Their condition, traceability and disposition may require assessment

Question 9

In the worked layout example, which layout has the lower calculated load-distance?

A. Layout A

B. Layout B

C. Both are equal

D. Neither can be calculated

Correct Answer: B. Layout B

Question 10

What is the most appropriate reason to pilot a redesigned warehouse flow?

A. To avoid measuring performance

B. To validate assumptions under realistic operating conditions before full implementation

C. To eliminate the need for training

D. To guarantee that technology will solve all constraints

Correct Answer: B. To validate assumptions under realistic operating conditions before full implementation