5 Ways to Make the Most of Your Warehouse Storage Facility

Storage optimization is essential for warehouses to function at their peak performance. You can increase productivity and lower warehousing costs by making simple changes to your facility.

To determine your potential storage space, divide the total size of your warehouse by its current storage capacity. The resulting percentage is your warehouse cube utilization.

Invest in a Bin Storage System

The key to optimizing warehouse space is ensuring a system for storing inventory properly. Labeling storage bins for each product type can save valuable floor space and allow workers to find what they need quickly.

Start with calculating your facility’s warehouse clear height—the distance from the finished floor of each area to any overhead object. Then, divide that by the total building cube of your warehouse to get your theoretical storage capacity.

If you have a lot of slower-moving or seasonal products, consider using a mezzanine to double your floor space. This can be a more cost-effective solution than expanding your existing facility. It is also an excellent option for warehouses to accommodate large inventory influxes during busy seasons.

Organize Your Inventory

Ensure all inventory, like in their Warehousing and Fulfillment, has a place and is clearly labeled. This helps employees find what they’re looking for quickly and accurately. It also cuts down on wasted time restocking inventory in the wrong location.

Store slower-moving inventory on pallet racks or in a storage area above the shipping or receiving door. This frees up floor space for faster-moving products.

Make sure to review inventory levels and reassess sales projections regularly. This will help you determine the optimum level of inventory to maintain. You can also use a system that notifies workers when stock is discontinued or no longer selling well to remove it from warehouse shelves.

Adding a mezzanine level in your warehouse may allow you to move office equipment, supplies, files, and off-season materials to that floor space, freeing up lower-level space for more warehoused goods. However, this option will require significant capital and building permits.

Relocate Your Equipment

One of the easiest ways to save on warehouse space is to ensure all your equipment has its proper home. When equipment is parked in the wrong spots, it wastes space, makes your operation more complex, and creates safety risks.

Train your staff to use and store equipment correctly. That will prevent accidents and allow your workers to move around more efficiently and get things done faster.

Convert underutilized spaces into working areas using high-density dynamic storage and retrieval systems. These systems utilize unused ceiling height, recovering up to 85% of wasted warehouse floor space without expanding the building footprint. This is an excellent option for storing off-season inventory or even office spaces.

Convert Underutilized Spaces

Many warehouses burst at the seams, resulting in crowded work areas that slow production and create bottlenecks. Moving to a larger facility may seem the only option, but optimizing your current space is much more cost-effective.

Warehouse space optimization means utilizing every inch of your facility to keep operations running smoothly. This can be achieved through several ways, including implementing a storage system, organizing inventory, and using technology.

It can also mean rearranging or remodeling your space. For example, unique architectural nooks or corners can be used as multipurpose offices. Alternatively, you can add a mezzanine level to your warehouse, which can double your floor space without the expense of expanding the building. This is especially effective if you have high overhead, such as in receiving or shipping areas.

Think Vertically

If your warehouse storage capacity isn’t sufficient to meet demand, it may be time to upgrade. However, purchasing or leasing additional real estate can be costly.

Increasing your facility’s storage capacity will allow you to keep more inventory on hand, reduce backorders, and minimize lost sales. This will also enable your employees to be more productive.

While many warehouses focus on expanding their floor space, it’s important to remember that warehouses are three-dimensional spaces that should use every available foot to their advantage. Warehouses can quickly maximize their reach by storing inventory upwards instead of outward. This can save much money on rent and improve the usable space-for-cost ratio. Consider implementing a vertical storage system such as a pallet racking or mezzanine platform to increase the functional storage area of your warehouse.

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