According to Colby Storage Solutions , the choice of which type of pallet racking best suits an individual’s requirements comes down to determining the need for selective or non-selective pallet racking.
Choosing the most cost-effective and efficient system must take into account:
• The number of products
• The volume of each product
• The movement rate
• The physical size and weight of the products to be stored
• Expected growth
• A host of other matters including the type of materials handling equipment to be used.
Selective & Non-Selective Systems
Selective pallet racking systems provide immediate, ready access to virtually all pallets. Non-selective pallet racking systems restrict access to individual pallets, but are more space efficient than selective systems.
Often the correct solution involves using a combination of Selective and non-selective pallet racking types to provide the optimum combination of access with space efficiency.
Selective pallet Racking Systems are needed where there are a high number of SKUs with only a few pallets or less of each and include Selective, Double Deep and Narrow Aisle Rack.
Non-selective pallet racking systems are appropriate where there are many pallets of each SKU and include drive in and push back rack, and pallet live storage.
Pallet Storage Occupancy
No pallet storage system can effectively use 100% of the space. Non-Selective systems lose a higher percentage of space because there may be no pallets of the same SKU to fill all of the available slots in a lane:
Effective Storage Capacity
• 95% Selective
• 85% Double-Deep
• 70-85% Pallet Live Storage/Push Back Rack depending on lane depth
• 60-75% Drive-In depending on lane depth and height.