Halfway through the year and many businesses across the UK are steadily showing profits. With more goods flying off the shelves, logistics and handling firms are also smiling to the bank. Well, most of them are. The increase in business has sounded a death knell for some firms, simply because they lack the storage capacity to take on more business. Any increase can only be sustained if the business has the capacity to handle it.

With the growth of e-commerce (a 4% increase is expected through 2015), many distribution centres have become busy middlemen. For businesses who do their production AND shipping in-house, an increased volume of business can quickly become a headache. How can you allocate more floor space? With more SKUs passing through, should you reduce production to increase storage or vice versa?

VLM or Simple Racking?

Maximising existing space presents a unique set of problems which revolve around the best way to do it. At Monarch Shelving, going vertical has always worked for our clients. As long as there is up to eight feet of space above the existing production line, the space can be utilised in many ways.

However, some ‘modern’ managers scoff at this and claim it’s better to use automation in the form of an automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS). Since its inception, the warehousing industry has blamed inefficiencies on ‘human error.’ This has led to a school of thought that believes automating as much as possible makes logistics flow more efficiently.

While we don’t doubt that automation can help with accuracy and speed, deploying automated
storage and retrieval systems isn’t always the best option. In its defence, automation helps by:

• Lowering cost (eventually) of storage through the use of automated carousels and vertical lift modules (VLMs).
• Solving accuracy issues as the delivery of goods is from shelves directly to individual pickers.
• Providing more efficient batch picking as it is all managed and monitored by software.

Conversely, other questions arise, like:

• Are mini-load AS/RS or VLMs or horizontal and vertical carousels better?
• Will your current WMS be compatible with the new AS/RS?
• Do you even need a state-of-the-art WMS?

The truth is either method can work and we are all for the speed and accuracy provided by automation. But every businesses have their individual circumstances; you have to ask yourself if the business can really afford the equipment and if you really have a need to for it.

You see, with an intelligent design, even ‘old-fashioned’ racking can provide a high level of accuracy in your operations.

One common argument in favour of AS/RS is that the manual nature of static racking options means that if an SKU is picked, it has to be replaced or a space is left on the shelf. With AS/RS, the SKUs are automatically moved around to fill all spaces on shelves.

However, even this can be done manually, by simply using the right kind of shelving. If your goods are of the fast-moving variety, install a pitched pallet flow rack system which uses the power of gravity to fill any spaces left by picked SKUs.

Add a custom mezzanine to this set-up and you can develop an efficient distribution centre at a fraction of the cost of deploying a fully-fledged AS/RS and WMS.

While the efficiency afforded by automation cannot be disputed, the attendant cost of installation, training, maintenance also needs to be weighed. Maybe in a few years, if the current boom is sustained, more businesses can afford automation; but for now, it’s advisable to look into less expensive options.

Struggling with maintaining efficiency on a budget? Pay Monarch Limited a quick visit. From mezzanines to shelving and long span racking, we are committed to helping clients achieve efficient operation within their budget. Contact us today.