Many sellers stuff all goods into one warehouse for convenience. But bulky and small goods have different cost structures; mixed, both often lose.
Bulky traits
- Large space occupation, high rent share
- Last-mile billed by volume / weight, freight-sensitive
- Relatively simple operation, no high-frequency picking
Small goods traits
- Small space occupation, but many SKUs, frequent operation
- Relatively cheap last-mile, speed-sensitive
Split logic
- Bulky: warehouse with low rent and strong last-mile bargaining, compress rent and freight
- Small: warehouse with high picking efficiency and late cut-off, protect speed
- No one-size-fits-all; split by SKU dimension, not by company
Splitting isn't adding complexity, but letting each goods type sit where cost is optimal.
Splitting also has transfer cost; with few SKUs it may not pay. When volume grows, the savings usually outweigh the trouble.