Warehousing food and beverage products come with their own set of challenges: dealing with perishable items, expiry dates, multiple SKUs, and temperature maintenance, consistent inventory rotation.
As the margins are very tight in the food and beverage industry, you need to track and move the products. Automation can bring positive changes to your business and improve your profit margins.
Proper warehouse management helps you maximize your existing storage, reduce clutter, and improve productivity. So, you need to invest in the right pallet shelving system to get better returns.
How to Choose the Right Pallet Shelving System for the Food and Beverage Industry?
Warehouse pallet racking systems can vary depending upon various factors. One racking system will not fit different products. You have to choose the suitable shelving depending on the specific demands of your products. Here’s a look at the different types of pallet shelving systems suitable for the food and beverage industry.
Drive-in Pallet Rack Systems
This type of racking system is suitable for high-density storage of similar products and pallets. It can help you maximize your space. Both of its sides are accessible with the help of forklifts. This system works best with products that are fragile and can’t be stacked.
You can easily store a lot of pallets in a limited freezer space to keep your perishables. It has a LIFO approach that means last-in-first-out. Due to the LIFO management, rotating time-sensitive products becomes difficult.
You can order this system in roll-formed or structural steel for more support. However, it is not suitable for facilities that deal in a diverse range of products. It has a rigid design that does not allow for changes in pallet size or SKUs.
Pallet Flow Racking Systems
It is a dynamic storage system that can double or even triple your storage efficiency. A pallet placed on the ‘loading’ side moves to the ‘picking’ side through gravity rollers.
As each load moves, the pallet behind it automatically moves to the picking position. This movement helps in efficient stock rotation and reduces the need for manual rotation. Its inventory management works on the first-in-first-out retrieval.
The speed of the pallet is easily controllable with the help of the pallet brakes and rollers. This system is perfect if you deal in perishable items or products with minimum expiration dates. You can easily use it in your freezer warehouses or even food distribution centers. But it needs higher investment, and also, the maintenance costs are high in this system.
Carton Flow Racking Systems
It is similar to the pallet flow racking system but designed to handle small products, boxes, and cartons. The pallet loaded at the back slides through gravity rollers or wheels to the picking point.
The first-in-first-out method is handy for rotating your products that are expiration sensitive. If you have high volumes of orders then, it is an excellent system to save labor costs. Due to its versatility, it can accommodate both slow-moving and fast-moving inventory. But again, it’s more expensive than the traditional racking system.
Each of the systems above has its advantages and disadvantages. So, it’s up to you to decide which one you should choose. The best approach is to keep a budget in your mind and make sure that the chosen one fits it. The shelves should be sturdy enough to handle accidental bumps and load of the products.
Also, you must analyze what your storage needs are? How many products do you want to store? What type of products do you keep? How much warehouse space do you have? Once you know what to look for, you can easily find the best for your industry’s pallet shelving.
