When designing a DC, what interior layout objectives and slotting principles must be considered? Why?

The main objective of slotting is to minimize product handling and employee travel in the building. This is important because travel and other nonproductive tasks can account for up to 60 percent of distribution labor hours.

Three criteria are commonly used to slot product within a distribution facility: (1) popularity, (2) unit size, and (3) cube. The popularity criterion locates high volume (popular) items near the shipping area and the low volume (unpopular) items away from the shipping area. Reduced order-picking time and effort are achieved.
 Proper product slotting can improve labor productivity and generate other advantages for the organization and its customers. Several benefits will be generated by effective product slotting:
 Picking productivityTravel time is a significant portion of a picker's daily activity. A good product slotting strategy can reduce travel time, thereby reducing picking labor.
 Efficient replenishmentBy sizing the pick face location based upon a standard unit of measure (case, pallet) for the product in question, you can significantly reduce the labor required to replenish the location.
 Work balancingBy balancing activity across multiple pick zones you reduce congestion in the zones, improve material flow, and reduce the total response time for a given order or batch of orders.
 Load buildingTo minimize product damage, heavy product is located at the beginning of the pick path ahead of crushable product. Product may also be located based on case size to facilitate pallet building.
 AccuracySimilar products are separated to minimize the opportunity for picking errors.
 ErgonomicsHigh velocity products are placed in easy to reach locations which reduce bending and reaching. Heavy or oversized items are placed on lower levels or in a separate area where material handling equipment can be utilized.
 Pre-consolidationStoring and picking product by family group can reduce downstream sorting and consolidation activity. For example, grocery DCs may slot products according to store aisle location to facilitate rapid restocking.