No matter how much we have in common, every warehouse is different at the end of the day.
Different products, different areas to be served, different points along the supply chain - and while the functions of these warehouses can be similar on a superficial level, the work can be drastically different too.
But, even despite these differences, there’s a few crucial supplies that nearly any warehouse can find useful in their day-to-day operations. Here’s five essential warehouse tools that your warehouse could find some use for, no matter what you stock or sell:
Five Essential Organization Tools for Any Warehouse
Cantilever racking
Cantilever racks are a special type of industrial storage designed to hold longer, bulkier, or more irregularly-shaped items. While you typically see these racks used for construction materials like lumber, the longer arms and wider spacing of cantilever racks are perfect for a range of items, including:
- Tubing and piping
- Sheets of steel and aluminum
- Furniture, either pre-assembled or boxed up
- Less-frequently used SKUs (as they can be stored higher up on the shelves, away from the more popular items your team needs to access more often)
Gravity-flow racks
Speaking of more ‘unusually-shaped’ racking, gravity flow shelving can be super helpful if your warehouse deals with a lot of faster-moving products. These racking systems are designed to move products more quickly to the teams picking them, through a combination of spinning wheels and cells (designed to function similar to a conveyor belt), or just by sitting at a sharper angle than most shelves, allowing gravity to move the products more quickly.
You do want to be careful with these - the speed at which they can help products move can be a little hazardous for more fragile products. That said, if your team has a number of SKUs they tend to ship out most often, or if there’s certain goods that have a harder time reaching their final destination in your warehouse, gravity flow shelving can help it get there even more quickly.
Push back racking
Push back racking is a form of storage, similar to standard pallet racks, but with a little added mobility. While typical pallet racks offer completely stationary shelving, push back racks are designed with a built-in ‘cart’ allowing for movement across an I-beam rail inside the rack.
The design of push-back racks allow you to move pallets around as needed to provide easier access to needed goods, or better arrange the products you’re storing once they’re kept on the shelf. This can come in handy when you have goods that frequently need to be accessed, or to provide better single-lane picking options for teams that work in those areas.
Wire partitions
Wire mesh partitions are frequently used for secure storage of certain goods, but they can actually offer several advantages above and beyond just limiting access to these goods.
The open design of the mesh around them allows for better airflow and sprinkler penetration, making them perfect for environments that need a little more atmospheric regulation, including:
- Greenhouse or grow operations
- Data centers and server housing
- Laboratories dealing in sensitive chemicals
- Pharmaceutical or medical supply storage
Mezzanines
Our last suggestion for essential warehouse storage is a little different than your typical racks, but can be helpful all the same.
By installing a mezzanine at a strategic point in your warehouse, you can dramatically increase the amount of usable floor space your building has to work with. Once installed, this space can be used for any number of things - additional production space, equipment storage, administrative space (away from the hustle and bustle of the shop floor), or even just more room for some of the storage options we’ve mentioned so far.
If your warehouse feels a little…crowded, then a mezzanine could be the perfect solution.
Does your warehouse need any of these supplies, or do you need some advice on how to better arrange your work area? Contact Shelving Inc today!