Warehouse Opt

Shelf Heat Index

Understanding Shelf Heat & Robot Pickups
What is the Shelf Heat Index?

The Shelf Heat Index measures how frequently each shelf is accessed by robots based on order history of products stored on the shelf. This helps optimize warehouse layouts, robot paths, and product placement.

Important Note: The heat index and actual robot pickup counts may not always align perfectly. This is because the heat index considers multiple factors beyond raw pickup numbers, including recency and product relationships.
Key Factors in Heat Calculation:
  • Order frequency - How often products on the shelf are ordered
  • Order recency - More recent orders have a higher impact than older orders
  • Product relationships - Products frequently bought together add heat
  • Coverage factor - Percentage of products on shelf with recent order activity
Heat Index Formula:
heat_score = (recency_score × recency_weight) + (order_frequency × frequency_weight)
coverage_factor = active_products ÷ total_products
final_heat = avg_heat × (0.7 + (0.3 × coverage_factor))
Heat Categories
  • Very Hot 80-100
  • Hot 60-79
  • Warm 40-59
  • Cool 20-39
  • Cold 0-19
Robot Pickup vs. Heat Index:

Note: Robot pickups count each order as one trip to the shelf, regardless of quantity ordered. The heat index also factors in recency and product relationships, which may cause discrepancies between pickup count and heat index. For operational planning, consider both metrics.

Warehouse Optimization Tips:
1
Place frequently co-purchased products on the same or adjacent shelves to minimize robot travel time.
2
Position high-heat shelves near picking stations to reduce overall robot movement distance.
3
Balance heat distribution across warehouse zones to prevent bottlenecks in high-traffic areas.
Heat Analysis Controls
Historical order data to analyze
Consider co-purchased products when calculating heat
How to visualize shelf heat
Frequency Focus Balanced Recency Focus
Higher values prioritize recent orders over frequency
Impact of active product percentage on heat calculation
How to handle heat index vs. actual pickup differences
Minimum threshold for considering product relationships
Heat Formula Calculator
Visual theme for heat indicators
Which metric to emphasize in visualizations
Chart type for data visualization
Enable animations on heat indicators
Show robot pickup indicators alongside heat