How Industrial Racking Improves Warehouse Operations
The world is in a golden age, wherein speed is critical in executing orders and services. Undoubtedly, warehouses save the day. In addition to providing safe storage, they protect from fire, robbery, and environmental factors.
Warehouses have their job cut out for them. With increased competition and changing consumer demands, it’s critical for vendors, distributors, and logistics managers to grasp the intricacies of the rapidly evolving sector of modern warehousing.
If you’re a warehouse manager, you know that using available storage space is one way to boost operating efficiency. This means that every inch matters, so you have to make that possible. However, increasing storage space horizontally might be costly. Likewise, other solutions might be expensive, such as constructing a mezzanine floor. That’s why an option that many organisations choose is to increase warehouse storage space vertically using a racking system.
Although pallet racking is the most commonly used racking system for warehousing activities and operations, other varieties such as adjustable pallet racking, compact racking, and live storage systems come in handy. The following are three ways industrial racking enhances warehouse operations:
- Warehouse Safety Is Improved By Using A Racking System
One of the primary benefits of introducing a racking system into your warehouse operations is improved employee well-being. A well-organized warehouse decreases the possibility of injury in the workplace. Additionally, a racking system expands the floor area, allowing for wider corridors or paths for equipment. Moreover, expanding your warehouse capacity will result in fewer or no stumbling risks and dangers along the corridors or paths.
A better-organized storage system can also encourage staff to store commodities in a more organised and efficient manner, reducing the likelihood of goods falling off the racks. Pallet racking systems, for example, are made of steel, ensuring a dependable warehouse storage option. These steel structures are often fastened to the warehouse floor for improved safety and hardness.
- Effective Utilisation Of Warehouse Storage Capacity
Warehouses and supply hubs are essential components of the distribution channel, and they’re challenged to do more with less. With such demands, space becomes limited at times, and relocating or expanding the dimensions of your warehouse storage can become inconvenient and costly. You may, however, maximise your warehouse capacity by using a warehouse racking system. A racking system considers the elevation of a warehouse rather than just the floor area.
By increasing the elevation of your warehouse, you may conserve square footage while boosting capacity limitations. This implies that the warehouse’s capacity will be used to hold as many items or commodities as feasible. Remember that the racking system is primarily designed to maximise space for various industries, including manufacturing firms, supply firms, and large retail enterprises that demand bulky stock capacity. Hence, it’s critical to ensure qualified racking system examiners perform rack safety inspections. This can help prevent your rack from toppling, destroying property, or injuring employees.
- A Racking System Guarantees Faster Order Fulfilment
A warehouse is crucial for order fulfilment. So, introducing a proper racking system is critical to ensuring the order fulfilment process is efficient. Of course, this is directly proportional to the amount of storage space available, the type of retrieval method used, and the strategy used to reduce stock loss. The two most frequent stock loss mitigation strategies are first-in-first-out (FIFO) and last-in-first-out (LIFO).
Implementing the FIFO strategy implies that you may access the storage racks (individual pallets) without pulling out other stuff. This approach is usually used to store time-sensitive products, including fresh commodities or those with a high inventory rotation. Meanwhile, the LIFO strategy is appropriate for the long-term storage of uniform commodities that don’t perish or depreciate with time. Please remember that this isn’t ideal for fresh commodities, such as food ingredients or drugs.
There are numerous racking systems suited for streamlining order fulfilment; however, the following are the top two:
- Gravity flow racking or pallet flow racking is a storage technique that uses gravity and rollers to transport and stack pallets in a storage unit.
- Carton flow racks are a highly dense storage structure for containers and lightweight goods; it frees up space and enhances inventory turnover control.
Final Thoughts
The advantages of a warehouse racking system outweigh the cost of obtaining a warehouse storage structure or software. A racking system, when correctly designed, might be the ideal initial phase of an effective warehouse management structure. Making the most available space isn’t a question of picking the suitable racking structure. The design of your warehouse; how you stockpile, retrieve, and monitor stock; and how you train employees can either improve or hinder warehousing effectiveness.
