How Industrial Racking Systems can lead to efficient Inventory Management

Janifha Evangeline

Owing to the pandemic we witnessed a boom in the E-commerce industry last year and further with social distancing rules coming into effect the racking industry has transformed to meet the changing demands. Various warehouse racking & shelving options that allow more space between the staff resulted in maximizing storage space & enhancing productivity and it became a key priority. Furthermore, the right kind of racking solutions will provide extra space in warehouses. This will help in making optimum utilization of the space that is available and businesses need not have to worry about building new facilities.

“Having different racks help in systematic logistics and supply chain management ensuring timely delivery of goods. With the radical increase in demand for warehouse usage, storage system facilities have adapted to the growing needs to provide dynamic services to various sectors,” says Senior Vice President and Business Head Storage Solutions at Godrej & Boyce Mfg. Co. Ltd.

Cutting-edge techniques & effective solutions

Warehouse racking systems can be selected on the basis of capacity, units, throughput required, and many other factors. numerous and various kinds of solutions are being brought in to ease processes, owing to technological advancement.

Also, smart storage ideas are in with cutting-edge techniques & effective solutions. Lastly, any warehouse management system can be highly effective with the provision of the right kind of training in automated solutions as this would help in empowering employees to be more efficient even with a high intensity of work.

Modification, relocation, or up-gradation of storage systems in line with the needs of the evolving business are some of the most important aspects in order to enable easy expansion for future needs.

These systems should be modularly designed and rack lifecycle services will enable businesses in meeting their evolving warehousing needs seamlessly after installation of the storage system and decrease capital investment by extending the life of the storage system.

Ensuring employee & material safety

Moreover, a regular inspection of the storage system leads to warehouse safety and this ensures both employees as well as material safety. For example, a warehouse rack safety audit can significantly improve the chances of preventing major warehouse damage to a greater extent, which may result in a potential man or material loss.

These audits not only enable the process of risk identification but also helps in bridging the gap in achieving operational safety goals. As there is a lot of meticulous planning involved for a seamless transaction it should not only affect your operations right from orderly dismantling at the current location, but it should also ensure proper packaging to make sure the material reaches in perfect condition. Finally, the storage system with corrective modifications as well as add-ons will be installed safely at the new location.

Innovation in industrial racking

An adjustable pallet tracking system in the 18,000 meters sq. of the Cuevas Group’s warehouse has been installed by AR Racking through the UBICA distributor. Cuevas - a business group that was formed by 5 enterprises, operating in various industries of agri-food, food distribution & automotive industries has always been oriented toward innovation and new technologies. The company has pioneered in offering its logistic platform with advanced picking management systems. In addition, one of its supermarkets has been internationally recognized as one of the 6 most innovative stores, globally.

A new logistics platform in the Industrial Zone of San Cibrao, Spain was built by the food distribution group and for this project, the company has relied on AR Racking & its UBICA distributor. The installed solution, the AR PAL is an adjustable pallet racking system that is designed to store pallets mechanically by using forklifts. This solution adapts to any kind of product, both by weight as well as volume since its efficient, easy to assemble, and resistant, with simple load level regulation.

The company was happy about the installation as 1200 pallet storage positions were achieved in the refrigeration chamber and 19500 in the dry products warehouse with a height of 10,25 m at the last level.

A refrigeration chamber consumes around 1000 m sq. of the total area of the warehouse. Here an AR PAL system has also been installed. And in the case of cold rooms, this system allows to adapt in width, height as well as length, building modular as well as adapted solutions leading to space optimization and improving storage costs.

While the galvanized uprights of the AR PAL system make it an apt solution for withstanding the adverse conditions of refrigerated chambers, the platforms as well as supermarkets of Cuevas are equipped with pioneering cold technology.

The way ahead

Since the manufacturers are busier than before, planning ahead is highly significant. Businesses are taking a look at rack design and safety as an integral part of operations in the evolving landscape of warehouses, as they prepare for the future. And innovation is mainly focused on establishing safe as well as efficient handling of goods utilizing automation.