20 or 40 Cake Lockers? Size the Bank Around Occupancy and Collection Windows
WEIMI INSIGHTS / BAKERY COLLECTION • OCCUPANCY PLANNING
Daily sales and simultaneous occupied lockers are different numbers.
Use order timing, walk-up stock and unavailable compartments to compare a larger locker bank with more frequent service.
TIMING
Record when each order enters and leaves.
SIZE
Map orders to compartments they actually fit.
AVAILABILITY
Exclude compartments held for cleaning or investigation.
Compare locker counts using the peak number of compatible compartments required at the same time. A daily sales forecast alone does not establish whether a 20- or 40-compartment proposal fits the operation.
01 / BUYER NOTES
Separate pre-orders from walk-up stock
Identify which compartments hold named pickup orders and which hold products available for immediate sale. These workflows can create different occupancy patterns even when the desserts look similar.
For a pickup order, the compartment may remain occupied until the customer arrives within the agreed process. Walk-up stock occupies space until sale or removal under the bakery’s product rules. Keep those uses separate in the planning sheet.
If the same compartment can switch between workflows, ask how the proposed system supports that change and prevents an order from being offered to the wrong customer. Do not assume the functions are interchangeable without checking the software.
02 / BUYER NOTES
Build an occupancy timeline from order movements
Record the planned loading time and expected collection or removal time for each order or stock unit. Then review how many compartments are occupied at important points during the day. The largest overlap is a useful starting point for capacity planning.
As an illustrative example, 30 daily orders do not necessarily require 30 compartments if some are collected before later orders are loaded. Conversely, 15 orders loaded together can occupy 15 compartments even if few have been collected by midday. These invented counts explain the method, not a forecast for a bakery.
Use actual operating records when available and label assumptions when they are not. A pilot should test whether customers collect within the expected windows rather than treating the initial schedule as certain.
03 / BUYER NOTES
Account for the sizes that cannot substitute for one another
Measure final cake boxes, including handles, baseboards and any outer packaging. Map each product to the compartment sizes that have been approved through the handling and collection assessment.
A bank with many small compartments may not serve the required number of large cakes. Do not treat every door as an interchangeable unit of capacity. Compare the proposed size mix as well as the total count.
If a large order occupies more than one compartment, define how the customer receives the complete order and how the system links the parts. That is a separate workflow requirement and should not be assumed from the number of doors.
04 / BUYER NOTES
Include holds that temporarily remove capacity
A compartment may be unavailable for cleaning, maintenance, an uncollected order or investigation of a collection problem. Identify which events remove it from normal use and who can return it to service.
Avoid planning every compartment as continuously available if the operating process requires turnaround work. The appropriate allowance should come from the actual service pattern and pilot evidence, not an invented universal percentage.
Keep unavailable compartments visible in the staff workflow. A physical empty space is not necessarily ready for a new food order until the required checks and records are complete.
05 / BUYER NOTES
Compare added compartments with service changes
A larger bank may provide more flexibility, but it also changes footprint, cost and service work. Compare that option with adjusted loading times or additional visits where those changes are practical and consistent with the food process.
Do not shorten customer collection windows solely to make a smaller cabinet appear sufficient without considering the customer promise. The bakery needs a realistic policy that customers understand and staff can enforce appropriately.
Review the installation and utilities for each proposed bank. A higher door count may change dimensions, access and other configuration details. Use current drawings and specifications rather than extrapolating from a smaller model.
06 / BUYER NOTES
Test peak overlap before committing to expansion
During the pilot, record actual loading, collection, removal and unavailable periods. Review the busiest overlap, not only total orders. Note which compartment sizes are repeatedly constrained.
Keep late collections and exceptions in the data. They may reveal a communication or service-process issue that additional doors alone will not resolve. Adjust the workflow where appropriate before deciding that every shortage requires more hardware.
The final capacity choice should state the assumed order mix, collection pattern and service routine. That gives the bakery a basis for reviewing the decision when demand or product sizes change.
Three different capacity questions
Daily throughput
Asks: how many orders move through in a day?
Depends on: loading, collection and turnaround timing.
Peak occupancy
Asks: how many compartments are needed at once?
Depends on: overlapping orders and walk-up stock.
Compatible capacity
Asks: how many available spaces fit the actual boxes?
Depends on: size mix and unavailable compartments.
PRACTICAL ANSWERS
Questions worth asking before you order
Do 40 daily orders require 40 lockers?
Not necessarily. The required count depends on simultaneous occupancy, compatible sizes and turnaround. Use a timeline rather than daily totals alone.
Can every cake use any compartment?
No. Confirm fit and collection with the final box and the proposed compartment dimensions.
Will more lockers solve late collection problems?
They may add space, but the collection policy, communication and stock-removal process still need to work.
YOUR NEXT STEP
Request a size mix based on the operating day
Share your cake box dimensions, loading schedule and expected collection windows with WEIMI. Ask for locker-bank options compared against the actual occupancy plan.
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