Warehouse Design & Layout
Designing a warehouse goes beyond simply placing pallet rack on a floor plan. An effective layout captures how your team truly works—how products are transported, orders are picked, and how your operation can grow in the future. Prestige provides warehouse layout and design services that combine storage systems, material handling equipment, and workflow into a cohesive plan you can confidently execute. As a family-owned company in Chattanooga, TN, we have been helping clients across the Southeast and nationwide since 1970 create warehouse spaces that are functional, safe, and ready for expansion.
What a Thoughtful Warehouse Layout Can Do for You
A well-designed layout maximizes the use of your existing building. Instead of dealing with congestion, long travel routes, and overflow pallets, your team works in a space that supports their daily tasks of picking, packing, and shipping. The design of your warehouse directly impacts labor efficiency, safety, and how quickly you can adapt to shifts in demand.
By choosing the right layout, you can postpone or even prevent major expansions while still increasing capacity and maintaining control. It also makes it easier to add new storage systems, enhance safety practices, and eventually implement automation without having to start from scratch.
- Use more of your existing building instead of rushing to expand.
- Shorten travel paths between receiving, storage, picking, packing, and shipping.
- Reduce congestion at dock doors, staging areas, and main travel aisles.
- Improve safety with better line-of-sight and separation between people and equipment.
- Prepare your facility for future automation such as vertical lift modules (VLMs) or pallet shuttle systems where appropriate.
Unlock the potential of your storage space – Contact our team for a consultation!
Our Process for Warehouse Layout & Design
Every layout project we undertake is built on the same foundation as The Prestige Promise. When you choose Prestige, you’re not just getting a warehouse layout—you’re working with a team committed to understanding how your facility operates, managing every detail with care, and supporting your storage systems as your business grows. Our Warehouse Layout & Design work follows that same three-part approach:
- Discovery: We begin by understanding your facility’s operations, exploring every angle of each challenge, and delivering both proven and bespoke solutions precisely aligned with your strategic goals.
- Execution: From engineering and procurement through installation and final walkthrough, every detail is managed with safety, precision, and transparency, ensuring a smooth process and robust system.
- Support: Our commitment extends beyond the initial project; we provide training, upgrades, insights, and strategic planning, enabling your storage solutions to evolve alongside your growing business.
New Facilities, Expansions, and Reconfigurations
Warehouse layout projects can look very different depending on where you are in your facility’s lifecycle. We routinely support customers who are planning new buildings, expanding an existing footprint, or reworking a warehouse that has grown and changed over time.
For new or “greenfield” facilities, we help you take advantage of the blank slate by planning storage and workflow before equipment is ordered. In expansions, we focus on connecting existing and new space so your warehouse functions as a single, integrated operation. When reconfiguring existing buildings, we work within your constraints—columns, dock locations, low-clearance areas—to create a layout that is more intentional, efficient, and easier to manage.
In many cases, that means:
- Launching new facilities with a clear layout plan that aligns building drawings, storage systems, and long-term growth goals.
- Expanding without creating two separate warehouses by tying new square footage into your current operation and product families.
- Reconfiguring existing spaces to ensure rack, equipment, and flow align with your current business operations.
What We Consider in Every Warehouse Layout
No two warehouses are exactly the same, but the core principles of good design stay consistent. We look closely at what you store and how you handle it—palletized, case-pick, or each-pick—along with SKU profiles, turn rates, seasonality, and any special handling needs. That insight guides how we plan storage capacity, accessibility, and travel paths.
From there, we determine which storage systems belong in each area of your facility. Selective pallet rack often provides the foundation, while high-density rack, shelving, mezzanines, and modular offices help you use cubic space wisely. We then layer in material flow, safety, and flexibility so your layout can adapt as SKUs, volumes, or technology change.
In practice, that means focusing on:
- What you store and how it moves – SKU profiles, handling methods, and the flow of materials from receiving through shipping.
- Where each storage system and level of automation fits best – selective pallet rack, high-density rack, shelving, mezzanines, modular offices, and semi- or fully automated systems aligned to the right zones and workflows.
- How people and equipment interact – traffic patterns, guard rail and impact protection, and room for future expansion or automation.
Layout & Design Deliverables
When you engage Prestige for warehouse layout & design, you receive more than a sketch. Our goal is to provide documentation and guidance you can actually act on, whether you’re implementing everything at once or rolling changes out over several phases.
We tailor the deliverables to your project. For some teams, that means detailed layouts and bills of materials that we supply and install. For others, it may start with conceptual options, budget ranges, and a phasing plan that can be refined as decisions are made.
In most cases, your deliverables include:
- Scaled layout drawings and system recommendations for pallet rack, shelving, mezzanines, modular offices, and other storage systems, organized by zone.
- Budget-level equipment and installation estimates to support forecasting, approvals, and project planning.
- Phasing recommendations and implementation guidance so changes can be made with minimal disruption to day-to-day operations.
Industries We Serve
Prestige supports warehouse layout & design projects across a wide range of industries. While each industry has its own regulations and handling requirements, the underlying need is the same: a warehouse that is easy to navigate, safe to work in, and capable of supporting growth.
Why Partner With Prestige for Warehouse Layout & Design?
Choosing a layout partner is about more than getting drawings. You need a team that understands storage systems, installation, and the day-to-day realities of running a warehouse. As a family-owned company that has specialized in storage and material handling since 1970, Prestige combines practical field experience with design expertise.
We don’t push a single product or system. Instead, we recommend what fits your goals, your building, and your budget. Our team also supplies and installs pallet rack, mezzanines, modular offices, and automated systems, keeping us involved from concept through completion and giving you a partner you can call on as your needs change.
Here’s what that means for you:
- Proven experience designing and implementing warehouse storage solutions built to perform in real-world operations.
- End-to-end capabilities from layout and equipment supply to installation and ongoing support, all through a single partner.
- A long-term, consultative relationship focused on your operation, not a one-size-fits-all template, so your layout can be refined and modernized over time.
Ready to Talk About Your Warehouse Layout?
If you’re planning a new facility, adding space, or trying to get more out of the building you already have, Prestige can help you design a warehouse layout that supports safer, smoother, and more scalable operations.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
What factors should I consider when planning warehouse design and layout?
Key considerations include inventory characteristics, order profiles, throughput requirements, available space, budget constraints, and growth projections. Effective warehouse design and layout balance storage capacity with operational efficiency while maintaining flexibility for future changes. Structural factors such as ceiling height, column spacing, and floor load capacity influence system selection. A professional site evaluation identifies opportunities and constraints specific to your facility, ensuring optimal system selection and configuration.
How can I maximize storage capacity without expanding my facility?
Vertical space utilization offers the most cost-effective way to increase capacity. Industrial mezzanines add square footage without expanding your building’s footprint, while vertical lift modules and high-bay storage systems maximize cubic footage through automation. Optimized aisle configurations and high-density storage systems such as drive-in racking, push-back racking, or mobile racking also increase capacity within existing parameters. Strategic warehouse design and layout identifies underutilized areas and transforms them into productive space through modular offices, wire partitions, or additional storage zones.
What's the difference between designing a new facility versus optimizing an existing warehouse?
New facility design offers maximum flexibility in system selection and layout configuration, free of structural constraints such as fixed column spacing or limited ceiling height. Existing warehouse optimization operates within fixed parameters but can still achieve dramatic efficiency gains through strategic system selection, vertical space utilization, and workflow redesign. Both approaches benefit from professional warehouse design and layout expertise. Prestige provides comprehensive design support for both scenarios, offering site evaluations, custom solutions, and installation services that maximize potential regardless of facility status.