There is always pressure to maximise the efficient use of warehouse storage space, and no dearth of solutions are on the market to pack more in without slowing your flow. Pallet racking does offer some significant advantages, and a few disadvantages, over other solutions.
How would it make my warehouse storage more efficient?
Pallet racking is, unsurprisingly, a system where pallets are stored on racks. The racks can be up to the ceiling of your facility, in most cases. The advantages of this are that it allows more pallets per square foot of warehouse storage space, even for palleted goods that will not tolerate stacking.
Many pallet racking systems are height adjustable, giving you a lot of flexibility as to pallet height. These will often not hold as much weight as fixed-position racks or rails, though, so they are not suitable for every warehouse or storage centre.
What would it change for my warehouse, storage centre or other facility?
It’s never as simple as it sounds, is it? Moving to a racked pallet storage system will require some changes to more than your warehouse storage floor.
- The whole point of pallet racking is to stack the pallets high without crushing the merchandise. If the third rack is 20 feet off the ground, your old lift trucks won’t be able to access it.
- You could be suddenly be storing 3-4 times as many pallets as you are used to. You will need to address the different activity levels, and the added complexity of accessing the higher racks. It might put you into the market for a WMS, if you don’t have one already.
- You’ll need to address the health and safety issues as well. After all, you’ll have some very heavy pallets with a long way to fall. A hardhat and an admonition to ‘not monkey with it’ will not be sufficient.
Pallet racking is not the solution for every warehouse storage facility, but it does offer some real advantages for those it fits well.
Take a look at a UK based company fitting out pallet racking below
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