Organize a bulk storage area

How to organize a bulk storage area in a logistics warehouse?

All the LUs (Logistic Units) are not storable in shelves or in other storage furnitures. This is due to:

LUs dimensions,
LUs manipulation difficulty
nature of pallets or more generally supports on which are the goods,
high levels of rotation of the LUs which not justify the storage in shelves

In these cases it is appealed to bulk storage, also called mass storage.

How to organize this area within the logistics warehouse?

Because it can use a high level of surfaces, bulk storage must be particularly well conceived.

To organize in a optimal way this zone, the logistician will have to take into account the following factors:

Stackability

To improve the ratio LUs in stock / m2, and as possible, the LUs will be stacked.

The stacking must be realized in the respect for safety regulations.

It is important to underline that it makes difficult the FIFO management.

It is also essential to maintain an access and an easy handling of the stacked LUs to facilitate warehousing operations

It is thus necessary to plan sufficient spaces between the LUs piles (generally called allowances) to take into account the involuntary movements which infers the handling. Indeed every LU will stack never exactly aligned with that of bottom.

Example:

Stacked pallets

Bulk storage straight or angled?

In case of the LUs are difficult to manipulate, he can be made appeal to the angled storage. But this one is not only more surfaces consumer than the straight storage, (L2*l2 > L1*l1) but also more difficult to maintain according to the realization of the daily logistics operations.

Indeed, to keep the angle turns out rather difficult. It is thus desirable to reserve it for very specific contexts (quality problems, accessibility, difficult handlings...).

Straight bulk storage ground image

Straight bulk storage