Summary
• Complete storage systems provide a bespoke solution for companies.
• Effective racking can be used to mitigate costly relocations.
• They can be an integral part of an overall business strategy.
Storage can be an big investment but customers are increasingly investing in a complete and purpose built storage system as part of expansion, relocation or redevelopment.
This means each storage solution needs to be custom-designed to ensure businesses get the most out of their space and the storage suits their needs.
For instance, if a product tracking system is chosen, the storage must be well organised and efficient in its design to allow clear and easy audit trails, which can save time, and money, in searching for products.
If the customer is planning to use the warehouse as a showroom, each product must be clearly visible and safely accessible to minimise public liability and the health and safety risks. And this ties in with customer demands for greater product choice, with the full gambit of materials visible and accessible.
Racking and storage must also work in harmony with a company’s new and existing handling equipment, such as multi-directional fork lifts and pick trucks. This plays an important part in ensuring the overall efficiency of the company and allowing quick, safe and easy access to all parts of the warehouse.
However, for those firms unable to move or expand, the bespoke solution must create more space for products in the existing environment.
Time and space savers
In a world where time and space are becoming increasingly expensive, efficient storage can help timber companies to maximise stock levels while minimising stock selection times. This is an essential difference between staying in existing premises and costly relocation.
This has been evidenced at Exeter-based timber frame home manufacturer Tru Homes, where Wickens (www.wickens.co.uk) has supplied and installed a custom-designed racking solution to overcome planning issues that had prevented the company from relocating. The company already had racking at its disposal, but said it didn’t really meet its storage requirements.
As such, Tru Homes made the decision to install a new system. This required a complete specification, design and installation service, which enabled the company to increase its storage capacity by 40%, simply by utilising the full height of its warehouse.
Correctly specified racking can also aid in the protection of high-value timber and other wood-based products, with materials kept off the floor and stored securely out of harms way.
Cantilever racking
This is why cantilever racking is more often than not the correct storage solution for the timber trade. It enables unrestricted lengths to be stacked and stored horizontally without front supports getting in the way, allowing maximum use of height and width and the products to be stowed securely.
But vertical racking can also prove to be a useful solution for the timber trade, as it allows products to be handpicked quickly and easily and provides comprehensive access for the customers.
The most important element of storage is that the solution is right for the company. Storage can achieve much more than saving space, no matter the size of the company, and can be an important part of an overall business strategy.
