In today’s high-pressure business climate it’s vitally important for warehouse operations of all sizes to squeeze the maximum performance out of their available working space and find the right storage solutions to help achieve it.

The relentless growth of ecommerce and the accompanying demand for faster home deliveries, along with technological advances and new food storage regulations and accreditations, have all impacted on the way goods are stored and how warehouse space is planned.

Adapting to these changes and staying in existing premises offers a more cost-effective solution all round than moving to larger premises or taking on additional space, with the accompanying disruption.

A key part of any stock solution is choosing the right materials handling equipment for your business, your staff and the goods you work with. The MSP Series of stock pickers from JLG Industries (UK) makes everyday tasks more efficient, allowing operators to carry both people and materials thanks to a flexible platform and extra large material tray. JLG’s MSP stock pickers feature a zero turning radius for superior manoeuvrability and long battery cycles, ideal for working a full shift or more. As advertised in this feature, the redesigned 10MSP-S stock picker carries up to 385kg in one trip and simultaneously drives and lifts to get more done, faster.

Another pressure on today’s warehouses is the need to segregate space into contained areas within the same location. This can be in order to distinguish between different customers’ goods; store goods at different temperatures, particularly food; separate raw materials from finished goods; reduce the risk of cross-contamination; or control the spread of odours. A popular solution is Flexiwall from Westgate Factory Dividers, a unique, lightweight, durable and easily adapted semi-permanent internal partition system, made from reinforced PVC fabric panels.

Recent clients include NFT, DHL, Great Bear, DSV, XPO Logistics and Kuehne & Nagel. Westgate have also supplied Flexiwall systems to distribution centres run by Sainsbury’s, M&S, Waitrose and Amazon. Flexiwall is premanufactured off-site and installed without needing masonry or stud partitions and can be relocated easily should the need arise.

Finally, internal supply chains within large production sites are an increasingly important area of warehousing and logistics. Lineside stock holding is critical for production lines and other complex warehouse technology applications. BITO Lagertechnik has been one of Europe’s leading warehouse technology manufacturers for over 50 years and has proved an innovative and reliable partner to many manufacturing operations. A recent development from BITO is flow racks fitted with StockSAVER, an easy to fit, wireless based system from WERMA which reduces line-side stock holding, generates replenishment orders automatically and crucially, reduces the margin for human error and the need for excessive safety stock holding.

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