In today's competitive warehousing environment, take it to the drive
in...
When warehouse space is at a premium, drive-in & drive-through pallet
rack is the solution.
The cost of doing business is constantly on the rise, and long with it
the cost of storing saleable goods. Those
saleable
goods, being the key to revenue, have to survive the slimmest business
expense possible in order to maximize profit margin and allow a company
to compete in today’s competitive environment.
Because of this, it's not wise to waste anything--much less expensive
warehouse space. Every square inch must be utilized. Even if that
doesn't seem critical now, it can be in the future as business and
market trends shift.
High-density storage
For many warehouse scenarios,
drive-in and
drive-through pallet rack has been a cost-effective, high-density
storage stalwart. These rack systems are designed to store pallets two,
three, or more deep. They offer greater storage density than selective
racks, but less selectivity. They are "last-in, first-out" systems with
reduced selectivity, and great product density. For items that will have
longer life in storage, and don't require immediate access, these
systems are an excellent solution. These
racks swap greater storage density at the cost of accessibility (vs.
selective racks).
See rack style guide for more depth on the advantages of each racking
type.
Requiring fewer aisles and providing better cube utilization than
selective racks, drive-in/drive-through racking allows storage of up to
75% more pallets than selective racking. Both drive-in and drive-through
systems require forklifts to drive directly into the rack structure to
access the palletized loads. Drive-in racking uses a common entry and
exit while drive-through has entry and exit points on both sides of the
rack.
“Drive-in storage racks help us get denser product storage and a better
setup than bulk storage,”says Jim Romine, Director of Engineering
Support at AmeriCold Logistics, a refrigerated food
product storage company with over 100 facilities nationwide. Bulk floor
storage requires wooden or steel stacking aids attached to each pallet
to make it stackable, a significant cost and labor addition.
The primary set of problems the company needed to overcome was the
maximum utilization of space combined with the need to store—and the
need to quickly be able to retrieve—a high number of SKUs. After a
number of trials, the company finally settled on the most successful
formula of drive-in pallet racking built to take pallets 2-deep and 4 to
6 pallets high.
“We get a better density out of this arrangement, and it costs us less
as well,” Romine says. “We get more pallets per run than we do with
deeper drive-in pallet racks.”
Unique design
For the majority of needs, the company utilizes pallet racks built by
Steel King Industries, which offers distinct advantages with
drive-in/drive-through storage racking. In addition to a highly-rigid,
welded-frame design, the load rails have a space saver flared entry that
lines up flush to the face of the rack, eliminating hazardous
projections into aisles. The load rail is also designed to save vertical
space—welded onto the end of an arm instead of the top, which can save
about 3” per storage level.
Many times this frees up space for an extra level to be added, or makes
for a shorter rack. Although such construction makes for a very sturdy
product, the company also offers several additional safety options to
protect against forklift abuse, such as an offset front leg, reinforced
posts, welded-angle column protectors,
free-standing column protectors, wider footplates, and
steel guard protective railings.
“They have been really great with us,” says Romine. “It’s a turnkey
operation. Their representative will come out and verify that the
installation will work. They take care of any issues that come to light
before or during the installation, and see it all the way through.”
The drive-in or drive-through pallet rack minimizes wasted warehouse
space, making for sturdy storage, while maximizing product density and
retrieval.
Portions reproduced with permission from Steel King Industries
saleable
goods, being the key to revenue, have to survive the slimmest business
expense possible in order to maximize profit margin and allow a company
to compete in today’s competitive environment.
