The Rise of Semi-Automated Racking

Posted on December 11, 2020

Shuttle racking is on the ascend. Offering plenty of benefits and zero cons, there has been a steady increase in the popularity of businesses looking into automation for their warehouses. It isn’t just one ‘type’ of customer this racking suits either; we have had clients in 3PL, cold storage, food and manufacturing, along with others, choose semi-automated racking as the best product for their operations.

The benefits:

-Maximises capacity of your warehouse

-Speed of throughput

-Can be set up to suit FIFO or LIFO

-Reduces damage to product and racking

-More effective use of your footprint

-Reduces the use of forkhoist, and no need for specific materials handling equipment

-Can operate 24/7 remotely

-Can operate in a dark warehouse

Why?

Automation is the next evolutionary step up from conventional racking, and in many ways makes racking more interesting (if you have spent any time in the racking industry, you’ll know this is true!) The product is continually advancing, as the cost of machines are going down, and the numbers of manufacturers and suppliers of carts are increasing. The more demand for shuttle, the more option and inclusivity. Previously shuttle racking may have only been a worthwhile investment for a business looking to install thousands of pallet spaces, whereas nowadays the product has become more accessible with some clients only installing as low as 500 pallet spaces.

With more and more of our clients enquiring into how they can make automated shuttle racking work for them, we want to initiate the idea that it may also work for you. Take a look at some of our automation project photos alongside this article, or head to the Shuttle product page on our website. If you have any interest about heading into the automation space, speak with us at Storepro.