This article discusses Putaway Strategies in regards to warehouse management and warehouse management systems (WMS).

When considering a Putaway Strategy, there are key factors that should be consider; these being Velocity, Seasonality, Dimensions and Kitting/Assembly. We will consider each of these in providing a general overview in how these four areas should drive your overall Putaway strategy.

Velocity
This area is usually very easy to understand. In a warehouse environment, the time to "pick" (i.e. the time that it takes to identify what items need to be picked for a given order(s) and then physically obtaining those items from a location), should be considered when determining where to store said items. If an item in the warehouse has a high velocity rate (usually tracked by inventory turnover), then these items should be placed nearest to the area of the warehouse where the packing and fulfillment happens. In other words, if something tends to sell well, put those items closest to where you ship out, thereby shortening the time it takes to pick those items. Obviously, velocity is something that should be tracked immediately and then looked at over short and long time periods, to determine optimal location in a warehouse.