Archive for the ‘Warehouse Consolidation’ Category

Tips for Warehouse Consolidation

Monday, May 3rd, 2010

In the current climate most businesses are implementing cost cutting measures to ensure the survival of their company through the downturn. Cutting production is not always the best way to find savings because you can never be sure when demand will pick up and if you have lost staff or materials it can be difficult to run to capacity quickly.

Warehouse Consolidation may be a way for your company to reduce costs, maximize productivity and improve efficiency throughout your business. If you are running two or more warehouses with both fast and slow moving stock then there may be ways in which you can consolidate your inventory into only one warehouse. Imagine the savings on storage space and labour by only having to run the space that you require (which could be up to 50% less than what you are running now)!

Many warehouses, although seemingly well thought out, are actually not making best use of their space. It often takes an outside eye to notice the areas in which there is ‘dead space’ that could be used. New storage systems and solutions have become available over the last few years and if you are not aware of how they could work for you then of course you won’t be using them.

Industrial and Commercial Design (ICD) have the most up to date knowledge in storage systems, solutions and innovative ideas for maximizing your office space. By engaging a company like ICD you will very quickly see positive changes by efficiently consolidating your warehouses, maximizing the space you have and saving you a great deal on overheads.

If you are considering warehouse consolidation for your business then you might want to follow our top tips:

  1. Investigate racking storage systems – Racking can seriously maximize the space in your warehouse. Built to last and suitable to withstand daily use there are a number of systems that could suit your business.
  2. Mezzanine Floors – Why not use the full height of your warehouse and investigate installing a mezzanine floor for extra storage, offices or even retail space.
  3. Update your shelving – Shelves are much more than they used to be! Whether you require something heavy duty, mobile or with special features for your particular product it is likely that there will be a new, flexible system to suit your needs.
  4. Employ a 3rd party – It can be hard to see the wood for the trees. By engaging a company like Industrial and Commercial Design you will save time researching, touring and asking for quotes because you can be sure what they suggest is the best for your needs, and your budget!

Warehouse consolidation is a positive step to maximizing your space and productivity. There are plenty of choices and innovative solutions to suit every business requirement.  If you require advice or support about your warehouse consolidation then speak to Industrial and Commercial Design who can expertly lead you through the process.

Categories: Mezzanine Floors, Shelving Systems, Warehouse Consolidation, Warehouse Cost, Warehouse Design | No Comments »

Rising Warehouse Storage Racking Costs

Thursday, September 24th, 2009

Have you noticed that the cost of storage has been rising?  This is due to huge spike in worldwide steel prices and the increasing demand on world supplies from China and India.   As the prices increase and the materials become scarce, then racking and shelving builders are forced to put up their prices in order to stay profitable.

With the credit crunch taking a bite out of everyone’s profits and running costs, there are many companies that are considering looking to buy second hand storage and racking units.  But if you’re considering trying to save money by purchasing and installing second hand racking, then you need to factor in the health and safety aspects.  Whilst they may save you money, they might also lead to disaster for your business if anything goes wrong.  If you insist on buying second hand, then make share that you purchase it from a SHEDA member.  SHEDA is the trade association for designers, suppliers and installers of the storage and material handling industry.  If you get your second hand equipment from a SHEDA member, they will offer you a comprehensive history along with the equipment.

Nonetheless, we strongly advise you to purchase new racking systems because they come with a guarantee and you can get them serviced if something goes wrong.

Categories: Cantilever Racking, Pallet Racking, Specialist Racking, Warehouse Consolidation, Warehouse Consultancy, Warehouse Cost, Warehouse Design, Warehouse Racking Systems, Warehouse Storage | No Comments »

Increase Warehouse Space

Monday, September 21st, 2009

During periods of economic turbulence, it’s important to squeeze as much space out of your present warehouse shelving systems as possible.  If you’re looking to increase space without moving your operations elsewhere to another site, it may be time to have another think and get a fresh perspective on your entire warehouse shelving system to come up with some new solutions.

Businesses looking to cut corners and costs in this difficult financial period might be tempted to overlook new shelving and consider purchasing second hand shelving solutions.  But if you’re buying second-hand warehouse shelving, it’s important to know what you’re looking for and particularly how to spot problems with shelving such as cracks and hidden damage that might end up making second hand shelving more expensive than brand new shelves.

When you buy second hand warehouse shelving units, you should always give it a thorough examination to be sure you know what you’re purchasing.  If you knowingly buy damaged shelving, you will need to ensure that it is repaired in accordance with the maker’s guidelines and that experienced shelving engineers make any necessary repairs to prevent any problems in the future.

To increase the amount of potential space within your warehouse you may be considering placing your shelving aisles closer together.  Now initially this might seem like a problem for your pallet and forklift trucks.  However, when you use an articulated forklift, you can easily pick and turn pallets in aisles that are less than 2 metres.  Nonetheless, when aisles are narrowed, operational safety speeds become an important issue. There needs to be sufficient clearance in the aisles to ensure that your trucks can work safely at speed. This could considerably slow down your forklift operations.

Just because it’s possible to have aisles that are only a few metres apart, doesn’t necessarily mean it makes good sense to do this.  There may be alternative ways to create space without squashing all of your aisles together.  Before you narrow your warehouse shelving aisles, speak to a shelving professional to get their advice on how to create more space.  It may be as simple as adding a Mezzanine level to maximize the height of the current warehouse building.  Mezzanine levels aren’t as expensive as you imagine and can help you to take advantage of space that would otherwise go to waste.

Whatever decisions you make about shelving, it’s of course important to ensure that they comply with current health and safety legislation and that in opening up the space in your warehouse, you’re not opening

Categories: Increase Warehouse Space, Warehouse Consolidation, Warehouse Consultancy, Warehouse Cost, Warehouse Design, Warehouse Health & Safety, Warehouse Racking Systems, Warehouse Shelving, Warehouse Storage | No Comments »

Optimise Warehouse for Efficiency

Monday, July 20th, 2009

Here at Industrial & Commercial Design we like to give the best advice and consultancy on warehouse efficiency.

We have visited many and the space problem is a universal one not related to size or financial status of the individual company. Here at ICD we have recommended one or more of the following solutions based on each individual situation, for freeing existing space in the current center rather than moving to a larger facility and improving warehouse efficiency and optimization..

1. Get rid of waste

Slow or non-moving products begin to cut into productive space. These need to be sold at discount, or donated to groups. There will be an accounting hit as value of inventory is reduced, but the loss can be justified by considering the real cost of storing and moving obsolete stock. Additionally, profit opportunities may have been postponed for lack of space, actually reducing return on investment.

2. Move excess and out-of-season product to other storage areas.

Use available secured yard space on the premises, storing product in trailers or tents. This is especially useful when it will not be needed for several months. Be sure to stretch or shrink wrap to prevent damage from leakage when tents are used.

Rent outside storage space in a sub-prime, low ceiling, unheated building for rarely used product or product that can be shipped independently from regular orders.

Ideally all products stored remotely should be in bulk, several pallet deep, floor stacking to provide the best cube utilization.

3. Clean up your returned goods area.

As much as 30% of prime floor area may be devoted to storing and processing returned goods. Consider moving the entire returns operation to lower cost off-site space, or subcontract returns to an outside service provider or handicapped-staffed workshop. Using both options simultaneously will definitely provide real cost savings, as well as release much needed space for productive purposes.

6. Ship Direct to Customers.

Drop shipping from supplier directly to customer has been used for years to save space and handling in the warehouse. A variation on this can be very efficiently used when importing products from other countries for major customers. Entire container loads of pre-selected and pre-marked products can be drop shipped to such a customer, who in turn will unload the container. Since he did not receive stretch wrapped, palletized loads, you will probably share some of the savings with him. However, in addition to eliminating the storage space, you have saved all in-country shipping and double handling

Categories: Warehouse Consolidation, Warehouse Consultancy, Warehouse Cost, Warehouse Design, Warehouse Optimisation | No Comments »

Warehouse recession beating advice

Wednesday, July 15th, 2009

A slower homebuilding market-plus new government tax incentives-are encouraging dealers and distributors to update warehouses, add more storage, and increase overall efficiency.

Companies are using the recession to slim down and become more efficient. A well-designed warehouse allows more work to be completed with fewer employees.
A new emphasis on remodeling contractors and d-i-yers is also encouraging dealers to organise their warehouses and invest in new rack systems.

The trend is to better serve these types of customers, especially since the property market has hit rock bottom,” said Mark Fritz. “These two groups want to see and touch products before buying. They also buy in smaller lots than big homebuilders, so proper storage is very important.”

Often, the first decision is to choose the right kind of racking for organising and storing heavy and bulky items. “Depending on what you’re storing in your warehouse, you may want to choose pallet racks over cantilever racks, or vice versa,” said Ed Frankson, “Pallet racks offer selective pallet racking, which is the best solution for warehouses where it is necessary to keep a wide variety of articles in pallets; cantilever racks are more suitable for storing long loads.”

Pallet rack shelving offers capacities of up to 24,000 lbs. per upright and 6,000 lbs. per pair of beams. Structural pallet racks have upright capacity to 45,000 lbs. and beam capacity to 15,000 lbs.

Both kinds offer:

- direct access to all stored pallets and easy stock control

- the ability to handle one pallet without moving others

- absolute load storage flexibility, both in terms of weight and volume

In comparison, cantilever racks are ideal for timbers, beams, profiles and pipes. This type of rack offers the ability to segregate each type of product by commodity and size, and problem-free, height-adjustment storage that keeps product off the ground.
For vertical display and storage of items up to 16 ft. long, A-frames are the right choice. They are a heavy-duty, versatile layback system for vertical display and storage of items such as trim moulding, gutters, piping, etc. Adjustable arms form a divider system that can be manipulated for a variety of compartment sizes.

Categories: Warehouse Consolidation, Warehouse Consultancy, Warehouse Cost, Warehouse Design, Warehouse Health & Safety, Warehouse Optimisation, Warehouse Racking Systems, Warehouse Shelving, Warehouse Storage | No Comments »

Warehouse Consolidation

Tuesday, June 16th, 2009

Here at Industrial & Commercial Design Ltd we have had a lot of enquires from small and large businesses who are considering consolidating their distribution or operational activities.
Industrial & Commercial Designs vast experience and knowledge in the design and consultancy as well as the installation of storage equipment means they have been able to offer excellent advice to these enquires.

The simplest question is why would you want to consolidate distribution operations?

  • Reduce holding costs
  • Changing market conditions.
  • High costs to operate multiple facilities
  • Redundancies in network due to acquisition
  • Ability to leverage automation technology with higher consolidated volumes.

The biggest advantage Industrial & Commercial Design always mentions is that warehouse consolidation means you only pay for the space and labour that your company uses. When warehouse inventory is low, having the extra warehouse space is not the right choice especially in this current economic climate.

In industry why pay more per unit for both your warehouse facility and your labour to handle reduced volume.

On the other side if you experience a peak period you can avoid higher setup costs and time needed to respond to demand fluctuations.

Industrial & Commercial Design believe in maximising existing warehouse and maximising existing office space to reduce costs and our consultants are able to consult & recommend how to effectively and productively use your existing warehouse or office space.

A number of our clients operate a number of warehouses which have fast moving inventory which is stocked in very large quantities so that it’s always available. At the same time they also have excess slow moving stock which they have because of a minimum order amount. Both these add up to a stock inventory and can lead to expensive warehouse costs as well as requiring more storage capacity.

Sometimes the easiest solution is to purchase the extra warehouse space. However our consultants in storage equipment can offer great advice on which is the best storage equipment to use to expand your existing warehouse space. Industrial & Commercial Design offers a number of storage solutions which range from Racking & Shelving.

Industrial & Commercial Design offers five different types of racking products. These included Pallet Racking & Associated Accessories, Wide Span Bays, Garment Racking, Vertical Racking & Cantilever Racking.

Industrial & Commercial Designs shelving systems are also just as impressive. Industrial & Commercial Design is one of the UK’s leading shelving specialists and offering a shelving solution to fit every purpose.

Industrial & Commercial Design also offers a number of other storage systems & solutions. Live storage units can be incorporated with pallet racking and wide bay shelving.

Sometimes we are asked to supply specialist racking and specialist racking systems. Steel racks for example work well in cold storage where regular racks would become brittle.

It’s also important that as part of the storage equipment health & safety and regulations that surveys be carried out as part of the SEMA regulations annually. You can contact a member of our team here at Industrial & Commercial Design to request more information.

Categories: Garment Racking, Pallet Racking, Specialist Racking, Vertical Racking, Warehouse Consolidation, Warehouse Storage, Wide Span Bays | No Comments »