A 'U' flow occurs when the goods receipt and dispatch functions are located at the same end of a warehouse building.
Products flow in at receiving, move in to storage in the back of the warehouse, and then to shipping, which is located at the adjacent to receiving on the same side of the building.
Items with higher throughput level are located closer to the loading bays. An example of a 'U' flow design can be seen in the diagram below.
Diagram Description automatically generated

Advantages of 'U' Flow
- Excellent utilization of dock resources because the receiving and shipping processes can share dock doors
- Facilitating cross-docking because the receiving and shipping docks are adjacent to one another and may be co-mingled
- Excellent lift truck utilization because put away and retrieval trips are easily combined and be-cause the storage locations closest to the receiving and shipping docks are natural locations to house fast moving items
- Yields excellent security because there is a single side of the building used for entry and exit

Holding costs (carrying costs) are the costs associated with the storage and handling of physical stock. There are two different types of holding costs:
- Costs related to the value of the goods: financial costs (i.e. the interest on the working capital tied up in inventory, which may be the bank borrowing rate or the company's target for return on capital); cost of insurance; losses due to product deterioration; losses due to obsolescence and redundancy of inventory; losses due to theft, accidental damage etc.
- Costs related to the physical characteristics of the inventory include the following: storage space; power, heat and lighting of the store; movement equipment; labour costs; administration costs.

Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) are best suited for environments with repetitive tasks, such as fixed routes in production lines. In non-repetitive tasks, their efficiency and effectiveness decrease. Whole-life asset management prioritizes choosing automation that aligns with operational needs, ensuring cost-effectiveness and suitability for the given tasks.