Bin Layout Setup in WMS

Overview: This article provides a step-by-step guide on how to set up Bin Layout in a Warehouse Management System (WMS).

1. Log in to SmartHub using your Admin credentials by visiting the following link: https://smarthub.amazon.in/

2. Navigate to Settings and select Layout.

3. Add your warehouse layout - This step is required for organising your warehouse into zones and bins for efficient operations.

4. Download Bin layout and template - Download the Excel template to create/update your warehouse layout and upload it below to complete the setup.

- Sample template file:

Warehouse operations setup

Organize your warehouse for success by creating strategic zones for your inventory. This guide will show you how to optimize picking efficiency with strategic zones and clearly labelled bins.

Note: Sellers who follow these recommendations report a productivity increase.

Create strategic zones

Strategic zones are a way to segregate inventory, virtually and physically, to focus a pick path to a certain location.

Consider a zone strategy based on:

A. Inventory size: Create zones based on the size of inventory - small, medium, or large.
B. Inventory type: Create zones based on the type of inventory - televisions, apparel, household goods, etc.
C. Location:If inventory fulfilled within the FBA Onsite node is similar in size and type, create zones based on the physical location of bins within the warehouse. It is recommended to have no more than 5 aisles of shelving or racking per zone.

An overhead illustration of zones:

ASIN placement

To increase picking productivity, we recommend that high selling (high velocity) inventory be placed at the beginning of aisles in order to decrease travel time. Slow moving inventory should be placed in the back bins that are furthest from pack stations since they are picked from less often.

Bin Sequence Index

Bin Sequence Index dictate the order bins are accessed within warehouse tasks, such as picking inventory.

Based on your current warehouse layout, you can choose from the following bin sequence index recommended options based on points of access for an optimal pick path:

Bin labeling

We recommend the following strategy for naming bins:

A. Be consistent when creating and labeling bins: Once you have identified how you will name bins, be consistent when adding more in the future. We recommend each aisle to have an identifier with a corresponding bin number. Create scannable IDs where all numbers less than 100 inclue a '00' (ex: 001, 002, 003, etc; assuming you have no more than 999 bins per zone).

B. Virtual bin location for every physical bin: It is required to have a virtual bin for every physical bin in order to maintain accurate inventory reports and avoid order cancellations. Assigning an
entire shelf, rack, or multiple floor locations to one virtual bin can lead to increased pick times and inventory discrepancies.

C. Add a scannable barcode to each bin label: When physically labeling bins, add a scannable barcode in addition to the bin name to assist with the storing and auditing of inventory.

Here are some websites that can be used to generate scannable barcodes:

https://www.barcodesinc.com/generator/index.php
http://www.barcode-generator.org/
http://online-barcode-generator.net/