Demand and Sequence-Based Linear Slotting for Cart Picking and Kitting: A Case Study in a High Volume Production Warehouse

Authors: Sai Prasad Ravulapally

DOI: https://doi.org/10.37082/IJIRMPS.v14.i2.233027

Short DOI: https://doi.org/

Country: United States

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Abstract: Order picking is one of the largest drivers of warehouse labor cost, and travel between pick faces typically consumes a substantial share of picker time. In facilities that feed production lines via kitting and cart picking, misalignment between standard pick lists and storage locations exacerbates travel, increases picking time, and contributes to production downtime. This paper presents a case study of a 15,000 sq.ft. warehouse supplying leaf vacuums, blowers, and generators to production lines, where a one time demand and sequence based linear slotting project was implemented. Approximately 550–600 stock keeping units (SKUs) used in kitting were assigned dedicated pick faces along a serpentine path designed to mirror the standard pick list sequence for each production cart. Simple analytical models are used to contrast non linear “spaghetti” paths with a linear serpentine path and to estimate changes in travel time and walking distance per cart. Observed performance indicates that average cart fill time decreased from about 40–45 minutes to 15–18 minutes, with the share of travel time dropping from roughly 55% to 15%, and production line downtime due to material unavailability decreasing from approximately 30% to 5%. These findings are interpreted through the lenses of lean manufacturing, just in time (JIT) delivery, ergonomics, and sustainability, in line with prior work on lean warehousing, kitting, and line feeding.

Keywords: Warehouse slotting optimization; Order picking efficiency; Serpentine picking path; Kitting operations; Lean warehousing; Demand-based storage assignment; Warehouse layout design; Production line feeding; Travel time reduction; Operational productivity.

Paper Id: 233027

Published On: 2026-03-26

Published In: Volume 14, Issue 2, March-April 2026

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