We just recently we had a customer relocate their warehouse.
The current warehouse was stacked to the brim. All of their pallet racks were stocked, and even their aisles were stocked with material. It was a logistical nightmare. In fact, they would often have to empty an entire aisle just to get to one piece of inventory.
This was a classic case of "We have too much stuff and not enough space"... at all.
Luckily for them, they just leased a newer warehouse with twice the space and more ceiling height. They asked us to come spec the new warehouse layout to get the most amount of pallet rack and vertical space, while also maintaining maintaining 15' aisle space to fit their forklift.
I submitted a couple drawings for optimum layout and also drawings for beam level elevations. They went with the layout below and option "C" for elevations.
It's important to know your minimum aisle width so your forklift can fit. Also, it's important to know how much clearance is required per pallet. We always figure as much information as possible before we start so there are less "bottle necks" on the back end.
Another challenge they were facing was that they had to move out of the old warehouse within 3 weeks and have rack ready to install in 2 weeks... A serious time crunch.
In the end we were able to get the racking delivered and installed with a week to spare. We used refurbished uprights and new beams so we could meet the deadline.
The customer now has 2.5 times more space than their previous due to a strategic layout and more utilization of vertical space. What a relief it is! This rack is beastly as well, which is great because the customer needs it. Each beam pair is rated for over 10,000 lbs and upright for over 35,000 lbs.
This particular project was a personal favorite because we were able to layout the warehouse, put it into a CAD, adjust the CAD layout, figure out quantities, and provide pricing in real time.
Working with the customer from initial design to the finish line is definitely the way to go. It keeps everyone on the same page and the end result is always better. Looking forward to the next one.
