| Course | MT437 Strategic Warehouse Management |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 10 |
| Paper type | Warehouse layout redesign |
| Length | About 1,100 words, 7 pages double-spaced |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Purdue University Global |
| Program | BS in Business Administration |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for MT437 Unit 10
Four Moves Inside One Building: An MT437 Unit 10 Warehouse Layout Redesign With Every Saving in Feet and Dollars
[Student Name]
Purdue University Global
MT437: Strategic Warehouse Management
Unit 10 Warehouse Layout Redesign
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
Lookout Parts Supply's floor plan, trip counts and costs are composite, carried from earlier units; travel speeds and wage rates are stated assumptions, and the sources cited are real.
The Present Layout
Two floor plans face each other at one scale: the present layout and the proposal. Receiving doors line the east wall and shipping doors the west, so product flows straight through the building, and the proposal keeps that flow. Within it, though, the present layout places activity where it happened to fit as the business grew. The fast-moving zone, which the Unit 4 slotting analysis concentrated into two aisles, still sits about 240 feet from packing. Batteries, heavy and moved by pallet jack, are stored at the back corner, a full 520 feet from where they leave the building. Reserve pallets for fast parts are stored in the general reserve rack 430 feet from their pick shelves. And the rush-order bench sits by the office, outside the zone where most rush lines are picked.
Move One: The Fast Zone Beside Packing
The fast zone moves to the shelving nearest the packing station, about 40 feet away. Each of the night's 182 picking tours starts and ends at packing, so each saves about 400 feet of walking, about 72,800 feet a night. At 175 feet a minute, that is about 6.9 labor hours a night; priced at the loaded wage across the year's 300 working nights, about $50,100.
Move Two: Batteries Near the Doors
Battery rack moves from the far corner to a bay about 90 feet from the shipping doors. Each night about 46 battery pallets move from rack to door, and each round trip shortens by about 860 feet, about 39,600 feet a night. At 150 feet a minute with a loaded pallet jack, that is about 4.4 hours a night, about $31,800 a year. It also removes the late battery pallets that held up Store 17's truck in Unit 1.
Move Three: Fast Reserve Behind the Shelves
Reserve pallets for the busiest parts move into pallet rack directly behind their pick shelves, cutting replenishment runs from 430 feet to about 60. With about 64 replenishment runs a night for these parts, each round trip saves about 740 feet, about 47,400 feet a night, about 5.3 hours, about $38,000 a year. Replenishment also becomes faster, which should cut the 7 percent of direct time Unit 7 found pickers spending waiting at empty locations.
Move Four: The Rush Bench Inside the Zone
The rush-order bench moves into the fast zone itself. About 280 rush orders a day each save about 240 feet of round-trip walking, about 67,200 feet, about 4.5 hours a day at a quicker 250 feet a minute without a cart, about $32,400 a year. It also shortens the time to fill each rush order, protecting the 45-minute promise from Unit 5.
The building keeps its straight flow from east to west; the four moves change only how far people walk inside it.
The Savings Table
Together the four moves save about 21 labor hours a night and about $152,300 a year, roughly the cost of three full-time pickers. The table converts each move into feet saved, hours saved and dollars, so that each can be judged on its own and implemented in order of value.
What the Redesign Gives Up
The moves cost space. Placing reserve rack behind the fast shelves converts one aisle of shelving to pallet rack, removing about 240 shelf locations; slow parts displaced from it go to the vertical lift modules proposed in Unit 9, or to upper shelf levels if the modules are not bought. Moving batteries near the doors takes two bays of the shipping staging area, which shrinks the lanes where totes wait. The wave picking recommended in Unit 5, by finishing each truck's totes just before loading, reduces how much lane space is needed, so the loss is manageable. Overall, the reserve rack loses about 96 pallet positions, which the company would cover by holding slightly less safety stock of slow parts or, in the peak season, renting about $14,000 a year of overflow storage.
Cost of the Moves
Relocating rack and shelving, moving battery charging equipment, re-running power and updating the warehouse system's locations cost about $86,000, including the charging station the pickers asked for, done over three weekends. Against the annual saving, the moves pay back in well under a year, even after the overflow storage.
What the Pickers Said
The proposal was walked through with the night shift before it was finalized. Pickers pointed out that the battery bay needs a charging station nearby for the pallet jacks, which added about $6,000 to the cost estimate, and that the rush bench should face the fast aisles so the rush picker can see when a teammate is in the way. Both changes are in the plans. Pickers also asked that the fast zone keep its aisle numbers, so that the labels they know by heart still match.
Measuring the Result
Each move will be measured the same way its saving was estimated: step counters on a sample of pickers for a week before and after, replenishment run logs and the timestamps on rush orders. If a move saves less than three quarters of its estimate, the cause will be found before the next move begins.
Sequence
The fast zone moves first, because it has the largest saving and supports the slotting already done in Unit 4. The rush bench follows, since it depends on the fast zone's new location. Battery rack and fast reserve move last, because they need the most physical work.
Why Not a Larger Redesign
A larger redesign could rebuild the building around a U-shaped flow with receiving and shipping on one wall, which Tompkins et al. (2010) note can shorten travel further by bringing both ends of the flow together. It would also require moving dock doors, a project far beyond the scope here. Gu et al. (2010) observe that layout decisions inside an existing building are constrained by its structure, and the proposal works within those constraints.
Recommendation
Approve the four moves over three weekends in the order above, measure travel again after each move and track the saving against this table. Frazelle (2016) and Richards (2018) both recommend re-measuring after each layout change, since actual savings depend on how people adapt their routes.
References
Frazelle, E. H. (2016). World-class warehousing and material handling (2nd ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.
Gu, J., Goetschalckx, M., & McGinnis, L. F. (2010). Research on warehouse design and performance evaluation: A comprehensive review. European Journal of Operational Research, 203(3), 539-549. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejor.2009.07.031
Richards, G. (2018). Warehouse management: A complete guide to improving efficiency and minimizing costs in the modern warehouse (3rd ed.). Kogan Page.
Tompkins, J. A., White, J. A., Bozer, Y. A., & Tanchoco, J. M. A. (2010). Facilities planning (4th ed.). Wiley.
The Purdue Global MT437 Unit 10 instructions
The final unit asks students to redesign a warehouse layout and prove the redesign pays. Instructors expect the present and proposed layouts drawn at one scale, with each move justified by the flows it shortens. Every saving should be converted from distance into hours and dollars using stated travel speeds and wage rates, so each move can be judged on its own. What the redesign gives up, such as storage positions or staging space, should be stated and priced. The cost of making the moves and their sequence should be set out. The redesign should build on earlier analyses of slotting, picking and productivity, respect the building's fixed constraints and include a plan to measure results after each move.
How the MT 437 Unit 10 example is put together
The redesign starts with the present layout and what is wrong with it. Each of the four moves then gets its own section with the trips affected, feet saved, hours and dollars, under a highlighted line on preserving the building's straight flow. A savings table brings them together. A section states what the moves cost in rack and staging space and how earlier units offset it. The cost of the moves and the pickers' suggestions follow. A measurement plan and a sequence by value come next. A section explains why a larger redesign is out of scope, citing Tompkins and colleagues and Gu and colleagues, and the recommendation, citing Frazelle and Richards, calls for re-measuring after each move.
Where the points sit in the MT437 Unit 10 rubric
Layout redesigns earn their credit through measured savings and honest accounting of what they give up. A redesign drawn to look tidier, without trips and distances behind each move, earns little. Rubrics reward converting every saving into hours and dollars with stated speeds and wages. Credit goes to stating the space each move costs and how it will be absorbed. Building on earlier analyses, such as slotting and pick methods, shows integration. Sequencing moves by value and dependency shows practical planning. Re-measuring after each move shows accountability. Two plans at one scale, a savings table and a cost estimate are the exhibits graders expect, with every figure traceable.
MT437 Unit 10 help from the desk
The most common weak layout redesign moves departments around a sketch and claims the new layout is more efficient without a single distance. Another frequent error counts travel saved but never converts it into hours or dollars. Students often forget what the moves cost in storage space, so the redesign looks free. Moves are rarely sequenced, though some depend on others. Many redesigns ignore fixed constraints such as dock doors, proposing changes the building cannot support. Before submitting, list every move with its feet saved, hours saved, dollars saved and space lost. If any column is empty for a move, that move has not yet been justified.
Get an MT437 Unit 10 example written to your instructions
Include the floor plan or dimensions from your Unit 10 case, whatever volume data comes with it, and your rubric. A composite redesign comes back that lists constraints first, prices each move in feet, trips, hours and dollars, and counts what the new layout gives up. First custom sample free; delivery in 24-48h. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.
More MT437 papers and BS in Business Administration samples
- MT437 Unit 1: Night Shift Picking Board Post
- MT437 Unit 2: Warehouse Flow Map
- MT437 Unit 3: Receiving Process Review
- MT437 Unit 4: Slotting Analysis
- MT437 Unit 5: Pick Method Comparison
- MT437 Unit 6: Warehouse Robots Seminar Reflection
- MT437 Unit 7: Labor Productivity Study
- MT437 Unit 8: Cycle Count Plan
- MT437 Unit 9: Automation Business Case
- MT436 Unit 10: Category Sourcing Strategy
- MT435 Unit 10: Operations Improvement Proposal
- MT434 Unit 10: Distribution Plan
- MT433 Unit 10: Global Sourcing Strategy
MT437 Unit 10 questions, answered
Do I need to draw both layouts?
Usually yes. A current and a proposed plan at the same scale let a reader see each move and check the distances you claim. Hand drawings scanned cleanly or simple spreadsheet grids are generally acceptable in coursework. Label doors, main aisles and the zones that move, and number each change so the text can refer to it.
How do I estimate travel savings for a redesign?
For each move, measure the distance a typical trip covers before and after, then multiply the difference by how many such trips happen in a shift or year. Convert feet to hours with a stated walking or equipment speed and hours to money with a labor rate. Summing move by move keeps the total traceable and easy to check.
Should the redesign include costs?
Yes, where the case gives or allows estimates. Racking changes, moving labor, downtime and any lost storage are real costs, and a redesign with savings but no costs reads as incomplete. A simple payback, cost divided by yearly savings, is often enough at this level unless your instructor asks for more. Mention how the changeover would keep the building running.
Where can I find a free MT437 Unit 10 sample paper?
The full MT437 Unit 10 redesign is here, pricing four moves inside one auto parts distribution center in feet, hours and dollars.
What does the MT437 Unit 10 redesign give up?
About 240 shelf locations and two bays of shipping staging, about 96 reserve pallet positions in all, absorbed by the lift modules and wave picking.