Warehouse layout alternatives for varying demand situations

Many supply chains strive to shorten the time between a customer's order and the actual delivery of the ordered goods, i.e. the response time. However, a shorter response time may induce a higher volatility in goods flows. We present practical methods to determine layouts for the material handling facilities (warehouses, cross-docking centres and container terminals) which take these inherent variations into account. Advantages and disadvantages of the methods are treated. As an example, a comparative analysis of the methods is presented for the cross-docking centre of the "Royal Horticultural Company Lemkes" in The Netherlands.