If you are currently using an external storage provider to store pallets or are looking at extending your warehouse, shuttle racking presents a real opportunity to deliver significant cost savings through better space utilisation and improvements to operational efficiencies.
One company even recognised the potential to save over £1million per year by using shuttle racking and the benefits this semi-automated storage solution offers.
It’s an eye-catching headline but one which is 100% factual – if anything, probably a little conservative in terms of the full savings which could be achieved by installing a shuttle racking solution – especially when you take into consideration that the company could reduce its warehouse requirement by 100,000 square feet.
The discovery was made when Thistle Systems’ specialist Shuttle Racking Design team were working on a project with a major Food and Drinks manufacturer who was looking to maximise capacity in one of its warehouses in Scotland.
We presented a number of options including VNA Racking, Push Back Racking and Shuttle Racking to demonstrate the differences in capacity which could be achieved, together with the pros and cons of each solution.
The shuttle racking instantly caught the eye of the Warehouse Manager, who was fascinated by the ability to create large blocks of deep, high density racking and remove the need for the plethora of aisles for forklift trucks.
Whilst it wasn’t seen as the optimum solution for the live project, the Warehouse Manager started discussing their intention to move their major warehouse in the South of England.
Based on their current approach and layout using APR racking, the Warehouse Manager had been basing his plans on taking two 100,000 square feet warehouses at a cost of £20,000 per week per warehouse on a 10 year lease.
After discussing the plans with Thistle Systems’ Shuttle Racking Design team, the Warehouse Manager discovered that he could not only get all of his storage requirements in one warehouse, saving £1million per year for 10 years, he would also be able to get an additional 9,000 pallet positions.
However, when you also consider the additional savings from only having one warehouse, the annual savings are significantly greater. These include:
- Reduced number of forklift trucks required
- Reduced labour requirements
- Reduced energy
- Reduced rates
Whilst, we cannot always generate the same level of saving, shuttle racking presents you with the potential to dramatically increase capacity in the same floor space and make dramatic reductions in operational costs.
To find out more contact Thistle Systems Shuttle Racking Design team – click here or phone us on 01236 453 888
