How to maximise space in your Warehouse Exchange facility

Space is one of the most valuable commodities for any warehouse facility today. The amount of space available can enable or restrict the flow of business, create a pleasant or cramped working environment and facilitate or prevent efficient working practices. However, if you don’t have a huge volume of space then you aren’t necessarily stuck – by maximising that space it’s possible to create new ways to optimise storage and workflows.
 
A mezzanine
 
One of the simplest ways to maximise the space in any warehouse facility is to go up. Installing a mezzanine can effectively double the room that is available, whether that’s for storage and processing or office space. Although a mezzanine can be one of the more expensive options for creating more space it’s also one of the more permanent.
 
Vertical storage systems
 
Another great option for making the most of wasted space is to invest in vertical storage systems. These work by ensuring that it’s not just the ground floor, horizontal areas that are being well utilised in your Warehouse Exchange facility. With a much smaller footprint than traditional storage systems, the vertical option can significantly increase capacity as well as freeing up existing floor space for other purposes, such as equipment or desk space.
 
Reorganising underutilised space
 
In every warehouse there is space that isn’t being optimised. For example, space above shipping doors or areas that have been dedicated to slow moving items that would be better placed elsewhere. There may be a large volume of obsolete stock that is still sitting in the warehouse  - this “dead inventory” may be occupying valuable room. Taking the time to analyse the way that a warehouse is operating and ensure that no opportunities are being missed for space optimisation is an essential part of the process of making the facility more efficient.
 
Automated storage and retrieval systems
 
Integrating automated storage and retrieval systems can be transformative in any modern warehouse. Designed to make processes safer and more efficient, this technology is also often created with the need for space efficiency in mind. It can have a positive impact in a number of different ways, from reducing the amount of space that is currently occupied by aisles to minimising required space for labour requirements and ensuring that the system is designed for the floor space that it occupies so that none is wasted.
 
Reducing aisle widths
 
So many warehouses were designed with aisles that were considerably wider than required for practical purposes. As warehouse equipment design has become smaller, more compact and modern, and more space efficient options exist for getting around a warehouse, most premises simply don’t require the same aisle width. Reducing this to a width that matches actual handling equipment requirements can create significant areas of new space right across the facility.
 
There are many different ways to maximise space in any warehouse facility. Whether you invest in new technology or look at ways to reorganise you don’t have to continue to be restricted by the space that you have.