If you’re just starting out in your new business, you may not know which product storage system to choose. There are many different options available, and each has its own pros and cons depending on what type of company you run and how much space you can afford to devote to the proper storage of your product.
It’s important to make sure that you pick a good quality system because this will affect your bottom line over the long term as well as the health of your employees. For example, if a careless employee damages some boxes or jars, someone will have to take care of that problem if they don’t want it to affect their reputation for quality control.
Product Storage System Options
Pallet Rack:
Pallet racks are used most commonly for boxed goods. They are easy to use, and you only need enough of them to hold your stock, so it’s an economical option that requires little maintenance.
Storage Racks:
Storage racks can be used well for keeping a large amount of product in one place without costing too much to set up or maintain. Some vendors might even offer you a deal on old storage rack systems when they upgrade their store to a newer style system. Over time, these types of systems might be more cost-effective than a pallet rack if you’re buying from the same vendor.
Storage Racks Pros:
- Space efficient
- Allows more items per unit space than pallets/boxes
- Full units do not move, reducing damage
- Easy to access most items for picking
Storage Racks Cons:
- Higher priced than pallets/boxes
- More expensive per unit
- Easy to damage when improperly used
Pallet Systems:
Pallet systems can recycle your older boxes and are useful for retail stores with high traffic that need to store fragile goods such as wines or breakable glassware. They also add value when you sell the box since the buyer knows it has been reused instead of manufactured from scratch. This is especially helpful if you’re selling products in any bulk package, like large bags of flour or cases of soda.
Pallet systems are also optimized to handle the amount of product found in bulk packages, and they can be used effectively for those products where a full pallet pick is necessary, such as bags of rice or sugar. That being said, they do require more space and labor investment when compared to storage racks.
Pallets Systems Pros:
- Easy layout
- Smaller footprint with whole pallets
- Easy stacking on shelving units
- Made from recycled material
- Space efficient
- Allows more items per unit space than other systems
- Can stock many different sizes of boxes/jars
Pallets Systems Cons:
- Higher priced than storage racks
- More expensive per unit
- Easy to damage when improperly used
- Additional labor costs
- Requires additional re-ordering effort if workers cannot easily see all the product on hand during picking
- Harder/ more time consuming to pick one at a time
- Extra space cost
- Use of whole pallets for partial products requires lots of extra floor space
- Limited stock control
- Not possible to quickly visualize how many units are left in inventory
Choose The Right System
The type and size of system that works best depends on what kind of company you run and the amount of money you’re willing to spend on it.
For example, in a large grocery store chain like Whole Foods, you’ll probably need pallet systems for most of your product, as well as storage racks for the few items that are purchased in boxes. However, suppose you run a local farmer’s market stall or a specialty health food shop that sells mainly individual bottles of juices or bottled drinks. In that case, a pallet system may be a bit impractical for your needs.
Be sure you don’t commit yourself to one type of system until you’ve found out what works best for your specific business model and location – some situations call for more than one system due to space issues. You might even be able to utilize a combination of pallets and storage racks, especially if you sell products that come in different package sizes.
Just remember, while the system you choose should work for your business model, it’s always important to consider the needs of your customers first – after all, what’s good for them tends to also be good for your business.
