Purpose of the lesson

Use transport-route plans, stock availability, sources of supply and available warehouse resources to prepare feasible picking, stock-ordering and receiving schedules.

Practical outcome

By the end of this lesson, you must be able to:

• Translate a transport-route plan into a picking plan.
• Optimise the sequence and timing of picking activities.
• Determine human-resource and equipment requirements.
• Identify picking constraints and revise the plan.
• Develop a stock-order schedule for each supplier.
• Prepare a stock-receiving plan.
• Determine inbound transport requirements.
• Identify receiving and inbound transport constraints.
• Produce complete and feasible warehouse schedules.

1. Gather the required information

Obtain:

• Approved transport-route plan
• Customer-order schedule
• Dispatch and vehicle-departure times
• Stock-on-hand report
• SKU location and storage information
• Stock-replenishment requirements
• Supplier list and lead times
• Existing purchase orders
• Expected inbound deliveries
• Employee availability and shift patterns
• Picking productivity standards
• Available warehouse equipment
• Loading-bay and receiving capacity
• Storage-space availability
• Product-handling requirements
• Warehouse operating calendar

Confirm that the information is current and covers the same planning period.

2. Convert the route plan into picking requirements

Review every route and identify:

• Route number
• Vehicle-departure time
• Customers on the route
• Delivery sequence
• Customer-order numbers
• SKUs and quantities
• Weight, volume or pallets
• Packaging requirements
• Loading sequence
• Special handling requirements

Work backwards from the vehicle-departure time to determine when picking must begin.

Vehicle departure time
          ↑
Loading completion
          ↑
Staging completion
          ↑
Quality and quantity checks
          ↑
Picking completion
          ↑
Picking start time

For example, if a vehicle departs at 08:00 and loading, checking and staging require two hours, complete picking before 06:00.

3. Prepare the picking plan

Schedule picking by:

• Date
• Shift
• Route
• Customer order
• SKU
• Storage location
• Required quantity
• Picker or picking team
• Required equipment
• Start and completion time
• Staging area

Picking-plan template

Group orders logically while preserving customer, route and loading requirements.

4. Optimise the picking plan

Improve the plan by:

• Grouping orders with nearby storage locations.
• Reducing repeated travel through the warehouse.
• Prioritising routes with early departure times.
• Separating incompatible or hazardous products.
• Picking heavy products before fragile products where appropriate.
• Coordinating picking with staging and loading capacity.
• Using suitable batch, zone or wave-picking methods.
• Avoiding congestion in aisles and staging areas.
• Balancing work between teams.
• Confirming stock before releasing the picking task.

Picking methods

Select the method that supports the product, order volume, warehouse layout and dispatch schedule.

5. Determine human-resource requirements

Calculate the workload and compare it with available labour.

Use:

Required labour hours = Total units to pick ÷ Units picked per labour hour

If 2,400 units must be picked and the productivity rate is 120 units per labour hour:

Required labour hours = 2,400 ÷ 120 = 20 labour hours

If the work must be completed within a four-hour period:

Employees required = 20 labour hours ÷ 4 hours = 5 employees

Also allow time for:

• Travel
• Equipment collection
• Scanning
• Quality checks
• Staging
• Breaks
• Replenishment delays
• Special handling

Labour plan

6. Determine equipment requirements

Identify equipment required for:

• Picking
• Moving stock
• Replenishing locations
• Weighing
• Scanning
• Packing
• Staging
• Loading and unloading

Equipment may include:

• Forklifts
• Reach trucks
• Pallet jacks
• Trolleys
• Conveyor systems
• Barcode scanners
• Weighing equipment
• Packaging equipment
• Dock levellers

Check:

• Availability
• Capacity
• Operational condition
• Inspection status
• Operator authorisation
• Battery or fuel requirements
• Product compatibility

7. Identify and resolve picking constraints

Typical constraints include:

• Insufficient employees
• Unavailable equipment
• Stock shortages
• Blocked storage locations
• Incorrect inventory records
• Congested picking areas
• Insufficient staging space
• Late order changes
• Conflicting route departure times
• Picking rates below plan

Possible revisions include:

• Reallocate employees.
• Use an alternative authorised shift.
• Change the picking sequence.
• Assign substitute equipment.
• Replenish picking locations earlier.
• Split picking into waves.
• Reallocate staging areas.
• Revise the dispatch sequence.
• Escalate stock shortages.

Record the reason for every material revision.

8. Develop the stock-order schedule

Use forecast demand, customer orders, stock balances and lead times to determine what must be ordered from each supplier.

Use:

Order requirement = Forecast or scheduled demand + Safety stock − Available stock − Confirmed incoming stock

Example:

• Scheduled demand: 1,000 units
• Safety stock: 200 units
• Available stock: 450 units
• Confirmed incoming stock: 250 units

Order requirement = 1,000 + 200 − 450 − 250 = 500 units

Apply approved order quantities, pack sizes and minimum-order rules.

Supplier-order schedule

The schedule must be complete and feasible for each supplier.

9. Prepare the receiving plan

Use the supplier-order schedule and confirmed delivery information to prepare the inbound receiving plan.

Record:

• Supplier
• Purchase-order number
• Delivery date
• Booking time
• Vehicle details
• SKUs and quantities
• Number of pallets
• Required receiving bay
• Unloading equipment
• Receiving employees
• Inspection requirements
• Expected storage locations

Receiving-plan template

Allow sufficient time for unloading, checking, recording, labelling and put-away.

10. Determine receiving capacity

Calculate how many deliveries can be processed using available bays, employees and equipment.

Use:

Required receiving hours = Number of loads × Average processing time per load

If six loads each require 1.5 hours:

Required receiving hours = 6 × 1.5 = 9 hours

Compare this requirement with:

• Available dock hours
• Employee hours
• Equipment hours
• Inspection capacity
• Storage and staging capacity

Avoid scheduling more vehicles than the facility can receive safely.

11. Identify receiving constraints

Possible constraints include:

• Insufficient loading bays
• Overlapping delivery appointments
• Limited receiving employees
• Unavailable unloading equipment
• Insufficient inspection capacity
• Congested receiving areas
• Limited storage space
• Late supplier deliveries
• Incorrect documentation
• Products requiring quarantine
• Inbound and outbound traffic conflicts

Revise the receiving plan by:

• Changing booking times
• Allocating another bay
• Rescheduling non-priority deliveries
• Adjusting employee shifts
• Assigning alternative equipment
• Arranging temporary staging space
• Coordinating directly with suppliers
• Prioritising critical stock

12. Determine inbound transport requirements

For each supplier order, establish:

• Collection or delivery responsibility
• Origin and destination
• Collection and delivery dates
• Product quantity
• Weight, volume and pallets
• Vehicle type
• Special handling requirements
• Transport lead time
• Route and access restrictions
• Required transport documentation
• Tracking requirements

Where the organisation collects stock from suppliers, combine compatible loads where this improves capacity utilisation without delaying critical stock.

13. Identify inbound transport constraints

Assess constraints such as:

• Insufficient vehicle capacity
• Supplier stock not ready
• Vehicle or driver unavailability
• Port or border delays
• Long-distance routes
• Road restrictions
• Product incompatibility
• Temperature-control requirements
• Delivery-booking conflicts
• Transport cost limitations

Revise the plan by changing routes, vehicles, collection times, delivery bookings or approved transport providers.

14. Coordinate inbound and outbound activities

Inbound and outbound operations often compete for:

• Dock space
• Employees
• Forklifts
• Staging areas
• Yard capacity
• System-processing capacity

Prepare an integrated dock schedule.

Separate vehicle movements where required to protect safety and prevent congestion.

15. Validate and approve the schedules

Before releasing the schedules:

1. Reconcile picking quantities with customer orders.
2. Confirm stock availability.
3. Check route departure deadlines.
4. Verify employee and equipment availability.
5. Confirm supplier order quantities and dates.
6. Verify inbound bookings.
7. Check dock, staging and storage capacity.
8. Resolve identified constraints.
9. Record approved revisions.
10. Obtain the required authorisation.

Practical task

You are provided with a case study containing a transport-routing plan, stock availability, supply sources and warehouse-resource information.

Complete the following:

1. Translate the route plan into a picking plan.
2. Optimise the picking sequence.
3. Calculate the required picking labour.
4. Determine equipment requirements.
5. Identify picking-resource constraints.
6. Revise the picking plan where necessary.
7. Develop a stock-order schedule for each supplier.
8. Prepare a stock-receiving plan.
9. Identify receiving-resource constraints and revise the plan.
10. Determine inbound transport requirements.
11. Identify inbound transport constraints.
12. Submit the final integrated warehouse schedule.

Required evidence

Include the following in your Portfolio of Evidence:

• Source transport-route plan
• Customer-order and stock reports
• Initial and optimised picking plans
• Labour calculations
• Equipment-allocation schedule
• Picking-constraint register
• Supplier stock-order schedule
• Stock-receiving plan
• Receiving-capacity calculations
• Inbound transport schedule
• Revised plans showing resolved constraints
• Approved final warehouse schedule
• Completed observation checklist
• Learner declaration of authenticity

Competence checklist

Lesson Summary

To prepare warehouse and facility schedules, translate the transport-route plan into timed picking, staging and loading requirements. Allocate sufficient employees and equipment, optimise the picking sequence and revise the plan when resource constraints arise. Use demand, stock and supplier information to prepare a complete order schedule by supplier. Coordinate expected deliveries with receiving bays, employees, equipment and storage capacity, and align inbound activity with outbound operations. Verify, approve and retain the schedules, calculations and revisions as practical evidence.