Maximising your warehouse space is crucial to ensure optimization of your storage capacity. As stockholding increases, you might find the need to expand your warehouse space. Whether you’re looking to grow your business or are future proofing, there are a number of options available to increase your storage. Which solution is right for you will depend on the additional space you are looking to acquire, the current optimization of your existing space and your budget.
Relocation
The most costly option available is to relocate to larger premises or invest in an additional warehouse to run alongside your current one. Continued year-on-year growth is likely to mean this is a longer term solution and not a knee-jerk reaction to a spike in sales. One way to keep costs low is to reuse your existing pallet racking, if moving to different premises.
Mezzanine Flooring
If your current storage space doesn’t maximise the current warehouse height, a more cost-effective option could be the addition of a mezzanine floor to increase available and usable floor space. A mezzanine floor can serve a variety of purposes, from additional warehouse storage, extra office space or creating floor space in a retail environment. Mezzanine floors are extra levels between existing main floors and can be created singularly or in multi tiers to ensure you get the best use from your free space.
Automation
Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems (AS/RS) operate on a Goods-To-Person principal by bringing goods to the operator to be picked, rather than the operator walking around the warehouse to locate goods. This means that goods can be stored in high, very narrow or multi-bay racking to reduce the racking footprint. With a wide range of options available, such as Vertical Lift Modules (VLMs), Mini Loads, Stacker Cranes and fully or semi automated Pallet Shuttle racking, automated warehouse systems can be advantageous to an organization. Whilst more expensive than traditional systems, they offer optimized and high density storage capacity – for example, a VLM system can decrease the storage footprint by approximately 90%, whilst improving picking efficiency, accuracy and safety, thus offering significant return on investment.
High Density Storage
If you don’t have the requirements to relocate, or the head space to expand upwards, you could create additional storage using your existing footprint by utilizing high density racking, such as mobile racking. These racks can be operated manually or mechanically with the bays moving to create or remove space between them. This increases storage capacity and can save up to 40% of the space required by conventional pallet racking. Mobile racking allows you to use 90% of your existing floor space, and access 100% of products. Normal retrieval methods, such as fork trucks, can still be operated.
Pallet Live racking provides high density storage capacity by allowing stock to be loaded at one face before gravity feeds it to the picking face ensuring FIFO stock rotation. Push Back racking follows a similar principal but loads stock from the same face as it is picked from, pushing backing the exiting stock within the bay to manage FILO stock rotation.
Should you need additional storage capacity, email or call us on 0113 880 0866 to see how our design and consultancy services can optimize your warehouse space.