How chaos is helping logistics companies and warehouses grow from strength to strength
Category Industrial News
A well-organised and productive warehouse is one in which items are organised logically and sequentially, stacked neatly along rows of shelves...right? As it turns out, possibly not. Companies like Amazon have discovered - thanks to technological developments - that chaotic storage actually works better for them. 3Cube Property Solutions introduces the concept of chaotic storage and how it can make your warehouse management more effective.
Chaotic storage defined
In a nutshell, chaotic storage means storing goods in a warehouse wherever there is space. This means that, at face value, there is no organisation or sequence to how items are stored.
In a chaotic storage system, different products which have nothing to do with each other end up (at least temporarily) adjacent in a warehouse. Described as "organised confusion", chaotic storage implements an organic shelving system in which things can look completely different from one week to the next.
How does it work?
At face value, it would seem like placing new stock wherever you happen to find space available will lead to - as the name implies - chaos. However, thanks to automated inventory systems, powered by simple barcodes and barcode scanners, items can be located and added to shipments at the push of a button. This makes product picking and order fulfilment incredibly simple.
Every product that arrives in the warehouse is assigned a specific barcode that matches the specific shelf where it will be stored. A sophisticated database then monitors every product entering and leaving the warehouse - and every free space that becomes available.
While companies that still use manual processes like Excel spreadsheets to control their stock will not be able to reap the benefits of chaotic storage, those who have moved over to smarter systems can save surprising amounts of time.
The advantages of chaotic storage
If it's correctly implemented, chaotic storage brings with it a wide range of advantages. For starters, it optimises your storage capacity and uses space in the most efficient way possible. Since the system will allocate a location at random based on what is available, members of your team don't need to spend time finding or allocating space. Another huge benefit from a staffing perspective is that new team members don't have to memorise the warehouse's layout.
Traditionally, we associate the word "chaos" with mistakes and mayhem. Chaotic storage flips this idea on its head. The unordered arrangement of goods typically lowers the number of mistakes made. In a traditional warehouse, similar products are stored in the same area, which can lead to the wrong size or colour being picked up. The specific instructions issued by the software in a chaotic storage environment lead to improved accuracy.
Chaotic storage systems also save time. Since the database knows where every product that needs to be picked is located, the system can create an optimised route for fulfilment employees to follow. Random storage also makes it far more likely that a picker will be close to the item that he or she needs to find. For example, if a picker is looking for a pack of batteries, chances are there will be one close by because packs of batteries are not only found in one section of the gargantuan warehouse in which they may be working.
The Amazon example
Step into one of Amazon's warehouses and you'll discover what researchers have referred to as "organised confusion". In an article titled Amazon: This company built one of the world's most efficient warehouses by embracing chaos, Quartz deputy editor Sarah Kessler refers to Amazon warehouses as resembling "live-action games of Chutes and Ladders". In these facilities, warehouse efficiency has been completely redefined. To showcase just how seemingly random chaotic storage is, Kessler refers to a visit she made to an Amazon warehouse in New Jersey, where she saw a box of Irish breakfast tea, which was placed next to a board game and a juicer. Amazon has been using chaotic storage for more than a decade, and its global success speaks for itself.
The first step to optimising your warehouse management is ensuring that you have the right warehouse. If you're based in Gauteng, then 3Cube Property Solutions are standing by to match your operations with a warehouse that meets your needs. Contact us today for more information.
Author: 3Cube Property Solutions
