How does a warehouse handle heavy and bulky products?

Heavy and large items cost more at every stage of the supply chain: they require more storage space, take longer to pick, and cost more to ship. This is unavoidable, but it can be minimized by tailoring the operations to accommodate them rather than treating them like any other item.

At working height instead of high up on the rack

Heavy items are placed where they can be accessed directly. This saves time per order and prevents unnecessary lifting. It may seem like a small thing, but with an assortment where almost everything is heavy, it determines the entire turnaround time.

Your weights need to be correct

The weight listed in your product database determines which shipping option is selected and how much it costs. If those are just estimates, you’ll consistently pay too much, or a shipment might get held up because it exceeds a weight limit. With heavy items, this is the most costly mistake you can make.

Volume counts just as much as weight

Many carriers charge for a light but large bag based on the space it takes up. With pet food, weight and volume often conflict: the more compactly you pack it, the heavier each box becomes. The best approach depends on the specific product.

Multiple bags in an order

Orders containing multiple large items may not always fit into a single shipment. Agree in advance on how this will be handled and what your customer will notice, because an order that arrives in two packages will raise questions if you haven’t given advance notice.

Space is a cost item

Bulky items take up warehouse space, and that space counts. An item that takes up a lot of space but doesn't sell well costs you more than the profit margin you make on it. So be sure to use your sales figures to decide what to keep in stock.

Preventing Damage

Heavy items placed on top of each other can damage the ones below. Information on how they should be stacked and packaged is part of the product data you provide, just like the weight.

Go through your heaviest items

The setup for heavy items is different enough that it’s worth discussing it beforehand. If you lay out your largest and heaviest items on the table during the first meeting, you’ll know right away how things will go.

Weight and volume together determine the price

For heavy items, you pay by weight; for bulky items, by volume; and for pet food, often by both. That makes the choice of packaging size a direct cost factor. The impact of packaging size on your shipping costs applies just as much to large items as it does to small ones—it’s just that the amounts are higher.