Drive-In Racking

Drive-In Racking offers the highest possible densities of pallet storage, with the lowest selectivity. Consequently, it is ideal for very fast moving product, which moves on a "pallet in- pallet out basis".

Racking is a series of tunnels with rails on either side, to hold the rack. A drive-in tunnel looks somewhat like a multi-level bakery cart, only a Drive-In tunnel is multiple pallets in depth on any level. Lift trucks can drive into any given tunnel, to retrieve or put away pallets.

Key Benefits:

• High density racking system, with virtually unlimited depth.
  
• No specialized fork lift trucks needed.
  
• Racking is less expensive than dynamic storage solutions (push-back / pallet flow).
  
• Level storage medium - no concerns about height restrictions as with sloping systems.
  
• LIFO - if stock rotation is an issue, you need to ensure that tunnels are being fully emptied before replenishing.
  
• Significant reduction in pick slots, as there are fewer aisles and each tunnel can store only a single SKU, from floor to ceiling- so e.g. in a 4 level system, there are 4 times fewer pick slots on any aisle vs. other systems. Plus, there are added slots lost vs. selective, since there are fewer aisles in a given floor area..
  
• Typically, observed capacity utilization is lower than for other systems, around 60%-70% is not uncommon.
  
• Drive-In systems have more "sway" or lateral movement than other systems since there are no beams or cross ties between the front and middle frames. Drive-Ins are also the most prone to lift truck abuse, since the trucks drive in and out of each tunnel. Therefore, quality engineering and robust manufacturing are both critical to a successful installation.

Advantages:
Over Single Selective Racking

The level of improvement depends on the depth of the drive-in. In theory, the deeper the drive-in, the greater the improvement. But, proportionate storage improvements will only be realized if capacity utilization is at least as high as in selective racking. That said, for a 4 deep back to back system, the improvement over selective is as follows:

• Floor space savings of 35-40%
• Storage capacity increases of over 50%