How Slotting Can Boost Warehouse Efficiency
In this week’s WMS Wednesday, we’re focusing on a simple strategy that can make a big impact in your warehouse: slotting. It’s all about organizing your inventory to reduce travel time and improve picking speed.
What Is Slotting?
Slotting is the process of placing your most frequently picked items in the most accessible locations. This helps reduce how far your team needs to walk to retrieve products, saving time and effort.
Why It Matters
Most warehouses spend 25–35% of their labor time on travel. By using a basic slotting method—called ABC slotting—you can cut that travel time. That means faster operations and lower costs.
In the real-world example Mark shared in the video, the improvement from basic slotting could be around 50%. For a warehouse with 30–40 employees, that could translate to up to $250,000 in annual savings.
The 80/20 Rule
Slotting works because of the Pareto Principle—also known as the 80/20 rule. In most warehouses, 80% of the volume comes from just 20% of the products. By placing those high-volume items near the front, you reduce unnecessary movement and make picking more efficient.
What’s Next
Redwood is heading to the 2025 OTM User Conference in Minneapolis this week. We’ll be sharing how we’ve applied these strategies in our own operations and the results we’ve seen. If you’re in the area and want to connect, reach out on LinkedIn.
Watch the full video.
