Pallet racks have been in existence for many years. A vast number of professionals know how to use this type of rack. But what if we want to acquire more storage from the same degree of space? What choices are available?
Here are some of the choices for you:
Situation select pallet rack: Virtually all pallets are unique, or with little or no redundancy of SKU numbers. You will want to have a wide choice flexibility.
As far as the rack types are concerned, you're locked into normal select pallet racks. You may, alternatively, use very narrow aisle forklifts together with your select pallet racking. Some with warehouse experience run with a 12' aisle for a sit-down, 8-9' with a standup, and 5' which has a turret truck.
Situation drive in or drive-through racking has lots of redundancy in SKU numbers. You may decide to think about drive in racking for Last In First Out or drive through rack for FIFO. These drive in racks could be for 2 pallets deep or ten deep or maybe more. Considering the number of SKU's you've and the number of each pallet per SKU that you simply typically have on hand. Drive in rack may help cut the amount of aisles you've got by half or even more.
Situation push back rack has lots of SKU's, with not a lot of pallets per SKU. You will retain significant selectivity while still lowering aisle space by over 50 percent. In addition to reducing aisle space, in addition, you improve forklift productivity with the driver not needing to drive into the racks just like you would with drive in rack. Usually, push back racking runs 2-5 pallets deep.
Using situation pallet flow is a good option in times where there is a constant flow of units. For this choice, place the pallets in the back end and pull it at the front. This is by definition FIFO. This choice is terrific for any forced discipline of rotation by date. Utilizing this strategy saves the business a good deal in forklift productivity. This might be 2 pallets deep or thirty if you've got sufficient overhead space.
Hopefully these thoughts will help you improve profitability in a number of ways. You may improve your profits either by improved lead times, having proper replacement inventory readily available, lowering your hard costs or saving on the unexpected costs by preventing accidents.
