Why Efficiency is Just as Important as Capacity

Whether you’re looking at mobile pallet racking, dynamic pallet racking or any of our other great systems, you might think that capacity is the number one factor – so long as you can fit more of your stock in, you’re sorted, right? While that’s not necessarily a mistake, and capacity is certainly an important factor for consideration, it’s absolutely crucial that you don’t make it the only thing influencing your decision.

Whether you’re looking at mobile pallet racking, dynamic pallet racking or any of our other great systems, you might think that capacity is the number one factor – so long as you can fit more of your stock in, you’re sorted, right? While that’s not necessarily a mistake, and capacity is certainly an important factor for consideration, it’s absolutely crucial that you don’t make it the only thing influencing your decision.

There are many different aspects that come together to make the perfect pallet racking system for each specific need, and it’s only by keeping them all in mind that you can come up with a solution that’s right for your business. Of course, capacity is crucial, and if your business is expanding then there’s no getting around the fact that you’ll need to find a way to fill your warehouse with more stock. There are many different ways to do this, and the danger is choosing one which simply doesn’t suit your operation as well as it could.

At first glance it might seem like a good idea to increase capacity by making use of a narrow aisle system which takes up more of your floor space, and this is a great solution if you don’t need the extra space to manoeuvre your machinery – especially since special Flexi-Trucks can be used to safely move between the aisles. However, some businesses need that extra space to move their own equipment, and if that’s you then it could be worth looking at some other options.

Drive In pallet racking is a great choice if you haven’t got a lot of pickers moving between aisles at the same time, as it operates using just one main channel, while the rest of the space is entirely filled with storage. This is one of the best systems for making sure the warehouse floor is filled to maximum capacity, but once again, it’s only suitable if you don’t need lots of people to move through the warehouse at once.

An alternative option is to increase the height of your pallet racking, either by installing new, taller models or simply by retrofitting new racks onto your existing equipment. Vertical space is often neglected when people are looking at options for increased storage, despite the fact that it’s actually one of the easiest ways to utilise all of your resources. You can also make your racking more efficient by ensuring that you’re not using a system that was designed with other types of products in mind. The first thing to consider here is stock rotation – you can divide the methods of stock rotation into roughly two groups: ‘first in – first out’ and ‘first in – last out’. A ‘first in – last out’ system is only suitable if you’re storing non-perishable items, and becomes dangerously inefficient if you have stock which is time-sensitive, as anything sitting at the back of the racking will be left to perish.

Secondly, think about whether you need a system which will accommodate awkward or unusually shaped products, such as long beams or hanging garments. If so, then a specialist system designed to suit that specific need will be much more useful than a generic pallet racking system which gives you a lot of storage space, but can’t effectively store your goods. An inefficient system will ultimately prove damaging to your business, as it will stop you getting your stock in and out as quickly, and as smartly, as you need to.

If your business is growing to the extent that you need to make more room, the last thing you want is to damage that positive growth by storing your goods in a way that reduces your ability to access things as-and-when you need to.

Our expert team would love to help you find the right solution, and if you contact us at 01444 220 290 then you’ll have the opportunity to speak to somebody with the knowledge to fit a pallet racking system to your individual business.