Dynamic slotting is often used for businesses that want to track SKU inventory counts in each bin location or add new bin locations as required. Typically, this business needs to accommodate variability in product turnover rates or add new bin locations with a known SKU count in each bin location.
The Advantages of Dynamic Slotting Include:
- The ability to use lots and expirations.
- The ability to designate bins as non-pickable so you can track faulty or broken items.
- ShipHero will guide the picker to the location with enough stock instead of needing to check the main bin before being routed to the overstock bin.
- The ability to conduct cycle counts.
- The ability to place multiple SKUs in the same bin. This helps to cut down on the number of bin locations needed and is often important for warehouses with a lot of SKUs.
- Users will have access to the Replenishment Report (app.shiphero.com > Reports > Replenishment), so they can restock bins.
Why Use Dynamic Slotting?
Dynamic Slotting optimization is crucial for warehouses that are handling many SKUs with changing turnover rates. Typically, this is used to keep the highest-selling SKUs near the packing area to reduce the effort required to fetch and ship, with the flexibility to accommodate changing the SKUs as sales trends change. Most crucially, knowing the SKU inventory counts in each location. The advantages of Dynamic Slotting are:
- SKU bin locations can be added at any time, with a known SKU count.
- SKU inventory counts are tracked (put back and pick) for each bin location.
- The process guarantees more accuracy for inventory tracking and control.
Typical Dynamic Slotting Use Case
You have a particularly high turnover SKU, so it makes sense to place it in a primary bin near the packing area of the warehouse to cut down on pick and pack time.
However, you notice that after a period of time (maybe after a sale or promotional period) this original SKU is no longer moving at the same velocity. It would now make more sense to use the primary bin near the packing area for a new SKU that is also moving quickly.
With dynamic slotting, you can easily re-assign the first SKU to a bin location farther away from the pack stations and put the new faster moving SKU into the closer bin.
Additionally, because SKU counts are tracked in each location, pickers will be routed to the primary, or the overflow locations depending on how many SKUs need to be picked and what SKU counts exist in the SKU bin locations.