Calculate warehouse capacity in five steps: pallet footprint times peak pallet count, divided by the number of stack or rack levels, plus an aisle allowance (typically 35–45% of the storage area), plus staging sized to your inbound and outbound container volume, plus operating space for docks, equipment and office. The result is a range, not a single number.
Step by step
Run the numbers in this order and the answer is defensible.
- 1. Footprint per pallet = pallet length x width in feet (48x40 in = 13.3 sq ft).
- 2. Floor positions = peak pallet count / stack or rack levels.
- 3. Storage area = floor positions x footprint per pallet.
- 4. Aisles = 35–45% on top of storage area, depending on equipment and SKU count.
- 5. Staging + dock + operating = 15–30% on top, driven by container throughput.
Use peak, not average
Sizing to average inventory guarantees you will be out of space during your peak. Size the building to peak inventory and accept that it will run below capacity for part of the year.
Sanity check against throughput
A building can be large enough to hold the inventory and still be too small to work it. Check dock doors against monthly container volume: roughly one dock door per 3–5 containers a week is a reasonable starting point for de-vanning operations.
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