A Guide to Maximizing Warehouse Space With Pallet Racking Systems

Proper warehouse storage can make or break an industry. In the past, many businesses with warehouse storage needs treated this storage as an afterthought, simply leaving loaded pallets on the floor or in old racks that weren’t designed for pallets. The space in large warehouses can make it seem like it’s limitless, and the simplicity of an industrial warehouse makes it look like it’s relatively cheap storage space.

If you’re responsible for loaded pallet storage in your warehouse or facility, however, you know that’s not the case. Your warehouse floor space is counted down to the last square foot, and you need to consider things like the cost of the building, maintenance, heating, cooling and lighting as well as the salaries of the people handling your materials.

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Improperly storing your pallets can cost your business a lot of money

It’s clear that improperly storing your inventory can cost your business a lot of money:

Situating pallets of product along the floor of your warehouse is not a wise use of warehouse space. Since floor space is limited, it will only be a matter of time that as your business grows there will be a need for leasing a larger warehouse. All of this can be avoided with the use of pallet racking, especially when you add three levels of racking or more. With the use of pallet racking you can capitalize on all the space you have available and ultimately lower your overall warehousing costs.
Storing product onto racking that is not suitable can be very dangerous. If your racks aren’t the right size or load rating for what you’re storing, the racks can fail and cause your pallets to fall. This risks the safety of your employees and can damage your products and equipment.

Here at Cherry’s Material Handling, we know that intelligent pallet storage requires intelligent pallet racking solutions. We have the experience and products to help you take advantage of all of the space you have available and remove inefficiencies and waste in your current warehousing storage.

Our inventory is full of components for custom building your racking according to your requirements. You can choose from our highly adaptable teardrop upright frames and a variety of step beams, pallet support bars, wire decking options and heavy-duty rack protectors to create a complete storage solution. We also have innovative pallet dispensers that ensure pallets are available when and where you need them to stack, pile and store your various components and parts and move them to safe and secure storage in your racks.

Pallet Racking to Fit Any Warehouse Facility

Whether you’re starting with a clean slate in a new facility, renovating an existing warehouse or modifying a portion of your current warehouse space, we have the racking components you need to make the most of every square foot of your facility. We can help you reduce the time and money you spend dealing with warehouse storage. Even that space you thought was previously unusable can be reorganized thanks to our range of selection of shelving and racking. That’s the benefit of turning to a full solution equipment and racking supplier like Cherry’s Industrial.

Have you considered making changes to your warehouse layout with new racking? Maybe you’re not sure what options are out there and want to learn more? You can find the information and ideas you need right here. Our online inventory is full of pallet racking components that allow you to build a complete racking system customized to your requirements and expectations. You can browse through and discover what is available. You’ll then be able to make the best decision and start efficiently using the square footage in your warehouse.

The Cost of a Square Foot of Floor Space

If you don’t know the cost associated with storing materials in your warehouse, ask your finance department. This calculation is called your warehouse inventory carrying costs per square foot. It is a critical financial figure that all warehouse managers should know. This figure basically tells you how efficient you are at inventory management and it provides a benchmark from which to improve your inventory storage practices.

First, you’ll want to look at the total value of the inventory you have on hand, such as all the inventory sitting on your loaded pallets. Then, you’ll factor in your overhead expenses associated with operating your warehouse, as well as the costs of financing the inventory on hand. Another important factor in determining your inventory carrying costs per square foot is the cost of product write-offs due to damage. There are several other costs associated with warehouse management that you’ll need to factor in, too.

The total of these costs, divided by the total square footage of your warehouse facility will give you the real cost per square foot associated with housing inventory. Add in the amount of available vertical space, and you’ll have your inventory carrying costs per cubic foot.

Calculating this enormous cost is why more and more of our customers are turning to our pallet racking solutions to make better use of their space and get their inventory carrying costs down. Like you, they want to stop wasting money because of inefficient storage practices. Professional pallet rack designs and configurations help extract and maximize every dollar possible from their available storage space.

When you’re designing, or renovating a warehouse or storage area, you have the luxury of optimizing your design for maximum storage while making it easy to access items stored on your pallets. If you’re working with a fixed storage space, you don’t always have the same leeway. In all cases, however, you can significantly improve your pallet storage and density by choosing the right pallet racking system.

At Cherry’s Industrial, our customers all tell us the same thing: They love having the choice to custom-build their racking systems. That is why we offer a wide range of components that can be optimized for your unique pallet storage needs. You can choose from:

Tear drop / upright frames for creating the structure of your racking
Step beams for installing the right number of racks
Wire mesh decking to accommodate various types of pallets
Rack protectors to keep your installation safe and free from damage

We offer many different heights, depths and lengths of racks that allow you to accommodate your unique mix of pallet sizes and weights. You can choose a mix of components to cover your various needs if you have multiple pallet sizes in your warehouse. All of our pallet racking systems can be modified or added to in the future as your storage needs evolve.

There’s Value Hiding in Your Warehouse

Don’t let valuable warehouse storage space go unused. Going vertical and getting the right pallet racking can double or even triple your storage volume. Instead of having pallets of product taking up floor space, you can store your inventory on multi-level shelving so that your product is both accessible and safely situated.

Going vertical and getting tall racks can double or triple your storage volume

To help you get the most of your space, we work hard here at Cherry’s Industrial to offer you flexible pallet storage solutions. Our high-quality components are made to last, thanks to:

Quality material: All of our racking components, including our teardrop frame uprights, pallet racking step beams, step wire decking, pallet support bars and heavy-duty rack protectors are made from high-quality steel. We select thick steel gauges that guarantee the listed load ratings and resist bending. Colorful coatings look good and protect against corrosion for long-term use.
Expert construction: All forming, bending, welding and attachments are done to industry standards and result in reliable racking components for your warehouse. We don’t cut corners with shoddy manufacturing. It’s important for us that you’re satisfied with your racking components and that they’re easy to install and put to use.
Intelligent design: Our line of pallet racking components includes smart design features that make them extremely practical. Details like wide footings, easy-to-install step beams, safety pins and step wire decking that installs over the beams and side supports add value to your racking system and make it easier for you to use all of the storage space you have available.

There’s no need to settle for a standard pallet racking system from another supplier that forces you to adapt your space to their racks. This wastes valuable space and raises the cost of your warehousing. Partner with Cherry’s Industrial for your pallet racking project, and we’ll help you choose the custom solution your business deserves.

Fixed Racking Is Out

In today’s fast moving industrial scene, “fixed” is out. Choosing flexible and adaptable solutions for your manufacturing, material handling and warehousing is critical if you want to be responsive to changes in your market, clients, products and materials.

Installing “one size” racking that can’t easily be expanded or modified if necessary means you either have to suffer with it when your requirements change or spend a lot of money replacing out the old racking and starting over. When you choose pallet racking from Cherry’s Material-Handling, you have the benefit of being able to modify your shelving configuration when it suits you. You can quickly remove various components to create a completely new storage system.

We offer industry standard uprights, step beams and pallet supports so that you’re familiar with what you’re buying. Our pallet racking components also include some great features that allow you to choose the wire decking, decking supports and protections that suit your particular installation. You may want attractive decking that lodges within the support rails for a clean and tidy look for a highly visible warehouse or heavy-duty racking protections for high-traffic areas with lots of lift truck movement. You can choose these features and many more when you turn to Cherry’s Industrial for your pallet racks and components.

The Growing Needs of Industrial Warehouses

Warehousing and storage are big business in the U.S., and it keeps getting bigger. This is good news, as it is a sign of the health and growth in manufacturing and the sale and exchange of commercial goods. Did you know:

Warehousing in the U.S. exceeds 20 billion dollars per year.
Warehousing employs more than 600,000 people directly.
Order fulfillment adds nine billion dollars and 60,000 employees.
Over 150 million square feet of new warehouse space is added each year.
Another 200 million square feet of absorbed industrial space is turned into warehousing.

Warehousing in the U.S. exceeds 20 billion dollars per year

With vacancy rates at the lowest rates in over ten years, it is more important than ever for warehouse managers and operators to make the best use of their space. If you don’t have flexible pallet storage space in your facility, it’s time to upgrade. Avoid costly wasted space, storage and handling inefficiencies due to outdated fixed racking. Install modern, easy-to-modify pallet racking from Cherry’s Material Handling and reap all the benefits of the warehousing and storage industry boom. Include practical and convenient pallet dispensers to add even more flexibility to your warehouse. Ensure fast and easy access to pallets for organizing your parts and components before storing them away in specific locations on your racks.

Growth is expected to continue. The huge rise in the volume of online shopping is adding to the demand for warehouse and storage space in the U.S. To offer customers fast, convenient delivery of their products, online vendors need highly optimized storage solutions all over the country. This is another example where your old, outdated fixed racking and inefficient warehousing simply won’t cut it. You need to show that you have the dynamic storage solution in place to meet the needs of demanding customers serving a dynamic industry.

Plan ahead for the coming wave of warehouse storage space by upgrading today. There will always be a need for traditional warehousing for manufacturing, production and logistics customers, and when you add in the new demand for online shopping and same-day shipping requirements, it’s an exciting time to be in the warehousing industry!

What You Need to Consider for Your Pallet Racking System

When you’re looking to install or upgrade pallet racking in your facility, you need to consider several different points. The right racking system makes the best use of your available space and allows for fast and easy stocking and removal of your goods, materials and items.

Designed correctly, your racking system can have a large impact on how you run your warehouse. Many of our customers report that their material flow and material handling greatly improved after rethinking their warehouse and storage racking and coming up with a custom solution that is perfectly adapted to their space and pallets being stored.

Rethinking warehouse space will improve material flow and handling

To create your personalized racking solution, you will consider several different components:

Racking frames/uprights: The racking is what dictates the load weight and size you can store. We offer many different designs that allow for maximum customization in terms of rack height, width, depth and the weight each rack or shelf can carry. Our standard designs allow for use with our different wire mesh and protector solutions and are easy to modify or add to in the future if your storage requirements change.
Wire mesh decking: Our wire mesh decking comes in a range of sizes and styles to address your pallet support and shelving needs. Choosing the right wire mesh pallet decking allows for fast and easy picking and placing of your pallets, even in confined spaces. Choose from our standard flared or step style wire decking. Other custom support channel designs are also available.
Protectors: Adding protections to your existing or newly installed pallet racking system goes a long way to keeping it in good shape and avoiding accidents. Floor-level protection helps avoid denting and damaging your rack uprights, which can cost you money and create a hazardous situation for your employees. All of our protection is easy to install and is suitable for our various racking systems.

Check out our handy infographic for more details on the individual components of our pallet racking systems available here at Cherry’s Industrial Equipment:

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License.

We offer so many choices because our customers demand it, and only you understand your pallet racking requirements. No two warehouses are alike. You have your mix of pallet sizes, weights, quantities and your range of parts, products and materials to store.

We also know that your requirements can change. You may have specific warehousing storage needs today that can evolve in the future. That’s why all of our pallet racking systems are easy to install and can be disassembled and modified if need be no matter what the situation:

You may currently need to store a specific size of pallet with a certain weight range. If your product or production mix changes in the future, you might find that you may need, for example, to add an additional pallet support to sustain the increased weight demands of the new load.
Your current warehouse storage may involve pallets with items that don’t have cleanliness requirements. If in the future you find yourself confronted with dust, dirt and contamination constraints, you can opt for our inverted C-channel wire decking. This design keeps dirt and debris from collecting in the channels, an important consideration for food and medical storage.
You may prefer utilizing metallic rack protectors to protect your tear drop frames. No problem we have a great selection of protectors to choose from. If you need to protect your frames or uprights along the higher tiers you have the option of protecting them using our plastic rack protectors.

Our goal is to offer you everything you need in order provide you with a custom pallet racking solution. You can see all our components right here on our site. Our inventory includes all the details you need to choose the best components. You can mix different types of pallet supports, step wire decking, protectors and dispensers, depending on your warehouse storage needs. With Cherry’s Industrial you have great options. We set ourselves apart from the competition with our wide range of quality racking products and are convinced that we have what you’re looking for today.

Creating Your Custom Solution Today

Now that you see the advantages of a properly designed racking system for your new or revamped warehouse and storage areas, it’s time to get started building yours. At Cherry’s Industrial, our team can give you the tips and pointers you’re looking for. Contact us today and tell us about your project for new pallet racking. We can propose the system that is best adapted to your requirements and help you make the most of your available space.

It’s useful to make a list of your pallet storage needs and expectations. Do you know how many storage spaces you need for pallets in each area of your factory or warehouse? Consider points such as:

The size of your pallets: Do you only have one standard size for all of your good, materials and parts, or do you have several unique sizes that you need to accommodate in your pallet racks?
The quantity of pallets: Storage space is limited, so while the idea of having lots of empty space for pallets is nice, it’s more than likely unrealistic. List the minimum or regular number of pallet storage spaces you need.
The layout and space of your warehouse: This will help you determine which of our pallet racking systems best suits your available space.
The type of decking you require: Certain wire decking solutions are best suited to specific types of pallets. Some also give a more attractive and clean look for highly visible warehouse areas.
The locations for protection: Pallet racking protection is important to avoid damage to your racks, so put some thought into where you will have the highest traffic and greatest chance of an accident.

Once you put together this information, you have what you need to create your custom pallet racking solution from Cherry’s Industrial. Visit our user friendly online catalog and select the components that give you the optimized racking you’re looking for.

How Warehouse Racking Manages Loaded Pallets

Pallet racking is an essential warehousing tool that offers several benefits when it comes to storing and managing loaded pallets. If your warehouse is currently facing a space issue and doesn’t have a solution for what to do with loaded pallets, then we invite you to examine the following benefits of pallet racking:

1. Pallet Racking Saves Floor Space and Maximizes Air Space

Pallet racking solutions will maximize air space

Pallet racking is first and foremost a space management solution that allows busy warehouses to keep their loaded pallets up off the ground. As mentioned, maximizing floor space and air space ensures you are earning the highest return on investment possible on all overhead costs associated with owning and operating a warehouse.

Having designated pallet racking systems for your loaded pallet inventory accomplishes exactly this. It frees up floor space and optimizes air space by going vertical. Freeing up floor space ensures busy warehouses have safe, accessible and functional traffic patterns. You don’t want warehouse workers wasting time dodging large items on the ground. Instead, you want all pallets up on racking to make room for movement.

2. Pallet Racking Meets Your Inventory Management System’s Needs

Pallet racking allows you to keep your loaded pallets up off the ground when they aren’t being used and accessed. Selective pallet racking is a freestanding system that allows you to access your stored product from either side of the shelving rack. The idea behind this is that selective pallet racking allows you to keep your pallets contained until you need to access them. This type of racking best supports the inventory management system known as FIFO or First In First Out.

FIFO means that whichever loaded pallets were first placed on the rack are the first ones that can be accessed and transported to their next destination.

3. Pallet Racking Ensures Worker Safety and Product Protection

Pallet racking can ensure safety and inventory protection

Don’t overlook what pallet racking and its components can do for safety and inventory protection. By designating an adequate pallet racking system, your inventory will be protected. When customized to meet your load requirements you can be confident that your pallet racking will be more than capable of sustaining the weight of the inventory you store in your facility.

Storing your loaded pallets on safe, durable racks gets them off the floor which ultimately means increasing usable floor space and preventing potential accidents.

Build the perfect racking solution for your storage and warehousing needs with our broad range of pallet racking components. You can custom build racking that fits your space and leaves you more room for storing your products.

Pallet Racking Components and Products

At Cherry’s Industrial, we have a number of solutions to help you maximize both the floor space and vertical space in your facility. As with all of our industrial solutions, we carry a variety of options that can be customized and configured to meet the size requirements of your standard pallet dimensions. Cherry’s Industrial representatives can help you select the best pallet racking dimensions for your inventory. They’ll consider things like load weight and forklift accessibility so that the drivers have an easier time taking down your loaded pallets.

Here are the pallet racking components we provide so that you can build pallet racking solutions that improve your warehouse efficiency and safety:

Tear drop frames and uprights: You can start building your pallet racking system for space management by starting with our tear drop frames or uprights. These vertical frames are the solid foundation that creates your sturdy system for safely holding loaded pallets.
Step beams: Step beams are the horizontal metal supports that create the shelf for the racking system. Our step beams lock firmly into a tear drop racking system to enhance load capacity. This ensures your racks will be stable and strong enough to keep your inventory secure and your workers safe.
Pallet support bars: These accessories are easy to install and are designed to run across the parallel beams to help support the load borne by stored pallets. Installing pallet support bars prevents product loss and ensures your warehouse is meeting or exceeding health and safety standards.

Don’t waste your precious storage volume or risk product loss and worker safety with inefficient pallet storage. Optimizing the storage of your unused pallets and warehousing materials means you have more space for other materials, equipment and products. Many of our customers are surprised at just how much usable space they were able to find when they reorganized using our pallet racking products.

Not only will you have more room for racks and shelving, but you’ll also find that you can access your different storage areas more quickly and safely when you organize them properly. With the help of our lineup of pallet racking and storage solutions, you can:

Create storage areas for different sizes and weights of pallets for all of your individual products
Leave ample space for maneuvering your pallet trucks for storing and retrieving palletized product
Designate specific racks and areas according to the nature of your stored products that live on pallets

It only takes a little thought and preparation to design a practical and logical storage space. Consult our catalog of pallet racking and wire decking options and create the storage solution that makes the best use of your available space. If you need any help or have questions about the best choice in racking uprights, beams, protection or wire decking for your materials and products, let us know. With our experience, we can quickly point you in the right direction.

It's possible to design a practical and logical storage space.

It doesn’t matter if you’re simply adding a few racks to streamline your storage area or completely revamping an entire warehouse. Cherry’s Industrial has the industrial pallet racking products you need to create the perfect storage solution for your business.

Finding What You Need With Cherry’s Material Handling

Our catalog lists all of the dimensions, features and technical data you need to make an informed choice. Shopping is fast and easy. Simply add the types and quantities of racking components you need to your cart and proceed to the secure checkout when you’re done.

We’ve built our reputation here at Cherry’s Material Handling as a leader in pallet racking equipment by offering high-quality, customizable pallet racking solutions at a great price. We also provide helpful customer service every step of the way:

We’re available to answer any questions you have about our pallet racking components and the advantages of different components for you unique warehousing needs and space requirements.
Our team can assist you in placing your order and arranging for shipment of your pallet racking equipment to your location. Then you can get it set up and start to benefit from your custom racking solution quickly.
If you have any questions about installing the frames, step beams, pallet support bars, wire decking, protection or other components, we can give you tips and pointers to help you out.
Once your pallet racks are in place, we’re always available if you have any concerns or issues with any of the components. We’re proud of our quality products and do what it takes to make you happy. Our goal is to become your trusted supplier today and in the future.

We invite you to check out the individual catalogs for our pallet racking components and discover just how many options we offer. Our catalog is organized by product family to make it easier for you to find what you’re looking for. We have detailed information for each type of component:

In just a few clicks, you’ll find details on dimensions, features and more. You can compare components in our catalog to find which model suits your racking needs perfectly. Start with the upright frames, and we’ll suggest the related items — beams, supports, mesh decking, etc. — you need to go with it.

We make it easy for you to create your custom pallet racking solution, and we are available to answer any questions you have. That way, you have all the information you need and are confident when you place your order. All that’s left is to install your racking when it arrives and start enjoying the time and money savings that come with proper pallet racking solutions.

We look forward to helping you maximize your warehouse space by offering the best range of pallet racking solutions around. You can start browsing our inventory right now or contact us through our online contact form or by phone, and we’ll help you get started. You’ll enjoy our wide selection of pallet racking options and start making efficient use of your precious warehousing storage space for maximized profit.

Page updated on: February 17, 2021