Before you launch straight into a pallet racking redesign, an inventory check could help you identify slack within the existing storage system.

On the face of it, it’s a simple calculation. You know when you need more storage space because you’ve reverted to storing pallets on the floor, or because picking and loading has become far too complex and time consuming as you shuffle pallets around.

In reality however, inefficient picking or no free rack space isn’t automatically a sign that you need more storage space. It could simply be a sign that you need to take another look at the things you store and how you store them. That’s where a racking inventory check can help.

What is a racking inventory check and how can I perform one?

Large warehouses simply can’t operate without an efficient way of recording what comes into the warehouse, what gets stored (and where) and what leaves. There are, of course, multiple ways of tracking pallet movements – from barcoding and scanning each unit (fine in low volume facilities), to automated SKU tracking systems.

But even the most efficient warehouse has the occasional product that somehow evades scanning, the part pallets or the random products that escaped their pallet wrap. For less technologically advanced pallet racking facilities, it’s common to find old stock growing older as it sits unnoticed in out of the way bays.

It’s especially for those businesses using traditional racking and little tracking software that an inventory check can be so vital in examining the state of rack space.

Logging everything that comes in and goes out of the warehouse – and the locations which those products occupy - can help you identify the stock that doesn’t move and the parts of the warehouse that are rarely visited. You can use the data to create a virtual ‘heat map’ of the warehouse, and then investigate the ‘cold spots’, to find why a particular area is less well used than another.

It’s not just old stock that the inventory check can reveal. It can also identify bottlenecks and areas of the warehouse that are difficult to navigate. It can help identify the products that don’t sell. And it can highlight loading or picking problems that, if resolved, could make things much more efficient.

If you’d like to find out more about pallet racking inventory checks, or want help in making your industrial warehouse storage more efficient, talk to us now on 01422 300 644 or fill out the form below.

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