A warehouse is the beating heart of many businesses. But these wide-open spaces need to work for your unique operations. Maybe you don’t know how to make the most of all that space. Or, maybe you’re struggling to store your stuff, because you’ve run out of room.
Luckily, warehouse storage solutions can help optimize your warehouse space and even create more where there wasn’t any left (or so you thought!). In this article, we will explore some of the options that do both.
Warehouse Storage Solutions From Patterson Pope
Pallet racking allows you to maximize your storage space, improve productivity and promote employee safety in your warehouse. There are many different types of pallet racking options that helpn efficiently store and access your products to help your business run more smoothly.
Let’s take a look at the most popular pallet racks for warehouse storage systems:
- Push Back Rack: With a Push Back Rack system, you load pallets in the front. With each new pallet you load, the previous pallet gets pushed back one position. Then, when you remove a front-facing pallet, the pallet behind moves into the picking position.
- Pallet Flow Rack: Pallet Fow Racks are sloped slightly downward, so your pallets get a little help from gravity as they securely move into position for picking. When one pallet is removed, the next one slides into position on the track. That way, there’s always a pallet in the front position (as long as you have the stock). This storage is best for high-rotation SKUs, high-consumption goods and large quantities of the same products in a first-in, first-out (FIFO) system.
- Pallet Mole: Pallet Moles are deep-lane racking systems with some helpful tech. Your operators use radio frequency controls to move pallets around. Plus, there’s a stock counter that makes your inventory management more accurate. It’s best for warehouses with a high volume of less diverse products.
- Drive-In Racks and Drive-Thru Racks: Drive-In Racks and Drive-Thru Racks are adaptable high-density storage systems. Drive-In Racks rely on just one input-output point for each bay, enabling an efficient last-in, first-out (LIFO) system. Drive-Thru Racks load on one side and unload from the other, perfect for FIFO systems. Both systems have customizable bay heights and depths, so you design the perfect, tailored storage system for your warehouse’s needs.
- Roll Out Racks: Roll Out Racks integrate with your warehouse’s current pallet storage system. Add manual Roll Out Racks to give employees better access to pallets, especially those hard-to-reach ones. Take advantage of dead space in your warehouse and even improve inventory visibility for more efficient picking.
- ActivRAC: ActivRAC is the ultimate solution in versatile, mobile pallet storage. You get rows of stationary shelves mounted on carriages that glide back and forth on a static rail system. There are four different types of ActivRAC systems based on the weight and capacity you need.
Common Concerns When Selecting Warehouse Storage
Every business has unique concerns when it comes to warehouse storage solutions. But we also hear many of the same problems from partners across all industries. That’s why it’s important to tailor storage options to resolve these common issues and get help to choose which warehouse storage system is right for your business.
Capacity
How much can I fit in my warehouse? How can I fit more into my warehouse? Should I just expand my warehouse?
These are all common — and valid — questions that businesses have to consider when looking for warehouse storage systems. Especially in 2023!
According to Forbes, industrial storage is expected to run low this year. And there are a few reasons why:
- There isn’t enough warehouse space to meet industry demands.
- Retailers and wholesalers have excess stock and less space to stock new product.
- Warehouses are crowded with excess or inefficiently stored stock, causing operational flow problems that reduce available space.
If capacity is your primary concern, you can explore solutions like the ActivRAC system that uses mobile pallet racks to maximize storage space without overcrowding input and output routes. We helped a major online retailer maximize previously cramped warehouse space and increase storage capacity by redesigning a portion of the area and using an ActivRAC high-density storage unit.
Push-Back Racks, Pallet Flow Racks, Pallet Moles and Drive-In/Drive-Thru Racking all boost capacity using the existing warehouse space to create high-density storage where there previously was none.
Employee Safety
Overexertion refers to physically overworking or overextending the body. Employees can suffer injuries from performing repetitive motions or strenuous tasks, such as:
- Lifting
- Bending
- Reaching
- Carrying
- Throwing
- Pushing
- Pulling
- Climbing
- Kneeling
According to the National Security Council, overexertion and bodily reaction is the second-leading cause of nonfatal work injuries. It was the leading cause for many years up until 2020. So it’s understandable that keeping employees safe on the job is a significant concern for businesses.
Many of our pallet racking systems aim to make pulling product easier and safer for all employees. For example, Roll Out Racks can reduce the need for employees to bend, kneel, climb or reach in ways that push their bodies to the limit. That means this pallet racking solution can help reduce the likelihood of your employees developing overexertion injuries.
Organization
When warehouses are disorganized and crowded, pulling the right product (or even seeing that you have specific products in stock) can be impossible. That can increase how long it takes to ship out products, reducing overall shipments. And that can hurt your bottom line.
Warehouse organization improves your business’s financial health by
- Simplifying inventory tracking
- Improving picking and shipping times
- Promoting a safe, hazard-free work environment
The ActivRAC is one of the best warehouse storage solutions for improving organization, because it allows you to create a highly organized system for your unique warehouse operations - while maximizing space.
Productivity and Picking
The faster your employees can pick products and ship them where they need to go, the more you can pick and ship (and earn in revenue!). Plus, you can foster client and customer loyalty by offering competitive delivery times and sticking to them. A report from PwC found that 41% of those surveyed said that fast, reliable delivery was the top reason they chose to buy from a specific retailer.
We realize that your warehouse needs to be as efficient as possible and can only be as efficient as your storage system.
With a Push Back Rack, you can go up to six pallets deep, efficiently storing SKUs five or more pallets tall. This system eliminates the need for operators to drive into racks, so loading and unloading are faster. You can also go up to 50 pallets deep and up to 6 feet high with a pallet mole.
The Pallet Mole and Pallet Flow Rack Systems have innovative movement systems — RF-controlled picking and gravity-assisted sliding rails, respectively — that shave off time, too.
Inventory Management
Inventory is the soul of a supply chain. You must know how much of each SKU you have in stock to ensure that all orders can be promptly placed, picked and shipped. Thankfully, you can choose from and implement many technology options for inventory management in your warehouse storage system.
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) systems enable you to track all the vital assets coming into and out of your warehouse and the who and when of these movements, too. The Pallet Mole system comes equipped with RFID.
There's a Solution for You
No matter what your warehouse needs, there’s a storage solution and design plan for you. And Patterson Pope can help. Contact one of our warehouse storage specialists today to get started on optimizing your warehouse.
