Warehouse cage stacking is not a matter of finding an empty patch and piling cages there; it must be planned together with the overall warehouse layout. When the stacking-zone position, aisle width, and pickup routes are well designed, picking and handling efficiency can rise by more than 30%; if they are poorly designed, you face daily jams and collisions.
First fix the stacking-zone location. The stacking zone should be close to the main aisle used by forklifts, and as near as possible to the shipping area or production line for the most frequently used materials. Put heavy-goods zones near entrances and exits to reduce long-distance handling; put light goods and slow-moving materials deep inside the warehouse. Do not spread stacking zones around; centralized management is far more efficient than scattered piles here and there.
Aisle width must be calculated precisely. Main aisles are for two-way forklift traffic and should be no less than 3 m; secondary aisles are for one-way traffic and should be no less than 2 m; pedestrian aisles should be no less than 1.2 m. Cage stacks on either side of an aisle must not cross the yellow lines, and corners must leave the forklift's turning radius—generally 0.5–1 m wider than the aisle itself.
Pickup and put-away routes should be designed as loops so forklifts do not retrace their steps inside the warehouse. Inbound and outbound routes should be separated as much as possible and must not cross. Place frequently used materials near the picking mouths, and rarely used materials farthest inside. The ABC classification method can be used: A-class high-frequency materials go to the nearest positions, C-class low-frequency materials to the farthest positions.
Finally, floor markings. Stacking-zone boundaries, aisle lines, and entrances/exits must all be clearly painted in yellow, so forklift drivers and workers can tell at a glance what is where. Nanjing Tongnuo Warehouse Equipment Manufacturing Co., Ltd. recommends that before planning a new warehouse or renovating an old one, you first lay out sample cages on site, measure the actual aisle widths, and then paint the lines—do not rely on guesswork from drawings.