How to Save Space with Industrial Storage Racks and Shelves?

One of the biggest obstacles the industrial storage racks and shelves handlers often experience is a lack of available space. The seemingly small issue can affect the entire warehouse and distribution centers’ material handling procedures and adversely impact the operative productivity on a larger scale. If you are in charge of a warehouse or distribution center, you must optimize the warehouse space to stop relocation or take third-party off-site storage facilities on rent. 

The core objective behind industrial storage racks and shelves’ utilization is to increase the item listing you can stock in the current industrial spaces with complete safety and security. The process, in another way, heightens the warehouse efficacy. The right calculation and configuration of the shelves, pallet racks, and other shelf solutions enable you to enhance your industrial storage space productivity. The blog will discuss the helpful methods to improve and upgrade your industrial storage racks and shelves space utilization. 

Measure Your Current Industrial Space Capacity and Space Usage

You cannot work on your current space layout until you learn which areas of the warehouse work and which don’t. It is one essential step to assess your current space utilization, allowing you to optimize the available space in your industrial storage racks and shelves.

You need to collect the relevant data on your industrial storehouse space, racks and shelves, configuration, storage and pick-up capacity, and list management. Then, you also have to take care of the seasonal inbound and outbound product inventory. Several software programs can help you improve your space configuration.

Leverage Vertical Space

Vertical spaces are the most underestimated and ignored spaces in most industrial storehouses. You can stretch your racks and shelves’ boundaries upwards and expand the spaces at a minimal cost. It will be the most cost-effective as you will develop the existing construction only. You may consider a few factors when it concerns the inventory of the upper tiers. You can incorporate a vertical lift module to operate the entire warehouse height with proper safety. You need to obtain a permit when the storage height crosses 12 feet. 

Expand the Depth of Your Storage 

As discussed before, you can increase the height of the storage racks and shelves. Similarly, you can assess the depth of your warehouse shelves and pallet racks. If you increase the storage space depth, it will strengthen the structure and boost the storage density.

One of the most budget-friendly and flexibly configurable storage systems is the deep racking system, which you can increase with your business. The double deep pallets integrate your SKUs (Stock Keeping Units) and maintain the product lines in sync.

Decrease Aisle Width 

The aisle width decides the floor space of a storehouse. A poorly designed aisle can cost you time and money unnecessarily. Traditionally,  aisles help stock standard loading capacity. Due to the recent technological developments, forklifts enable companies to enhance productivity and prevent monetary investment by decreasing aisle width. It allows more space to stock by increasing rack numbers. 

Install Mezzanines

One of the fundamental means to increase your floor space is to create space at the mezzanine floor, which is an effective method to use your vertical space. Instead of expanding your warehouse, you can install a mezzanine room to enhance the space at a minimal cost. You can create the office and staff areas on the mezzanine floor and add to the productivity level.

Integrate the Storage Locations

Pathetic inventory management issues may lead to less productivity when it concerns material handling. And, not all the time, the reason is lack of space, but it is the wastage of space. You need to merge your inventory into one SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) to make the loading and retrieve process easier. 

Maintain Right-Sized Storage Slots

The consistency of warehouse productivity is the crux of your industrial inventory management. You can adjust and mold your storage size to fit the materials and make a free space that is otherwise wasted. Using right-sized storage slots decreases the need for extra inventory and your operational footprints. Right-sized racks might include differently shaped containers and other adaptable storage solutions. The size must be dependent on the items you store at your warehouse. 

Optimize Your Product Listing

SKU rationalization is a tool that effectively organizes your stock keeping unit system. SKU rationalization has proved to be highly advantageous for large brands as it can help enhance your warehouse space through optimization. Often companies revolve around the never-ending cycle while fulfilling their customer demand. You can run the process twice a year consistently not to cut off your customers.

To conclude, 

Optimizing the industrial racks and shelves in the warehouses plays a vital role in running efficient and upgraded operations. You need to constantly evaluate, assess, and work on the storage solutions to enable your warehouse to accommodate more materials.

Contact the expert professionals at Orient Tech to know more services about saving spaces at industrial storage racks and shelves.