Seven Measurable Outcomes of Squeezing Out Static Warehouse Aisles
Warehouse owners, operators, and investors are searching for ways to increase efficiency, be more agile in the face of uncertainty, and consistently grow revenues and margins. The headwinds are strong from the cost and volatility of labor, demand fluctuations and seasonality, and economic uncertainty. We heard and saw the magic of automation and robotics at ProMat 2025.
As a matter of fact, the 2025 MHI Annual Industry Report found “83% of respondents predict increased adoption of robotics and automation in supply chains over the next five years.”1 While robotics and automation provide value, we propose that we start our hunt for efficiency, agility, and profitability where the buck starts and stops which is with the pallet position.
The pallet position is the main source of warehouse revenue. There are all sorts of ways to densify pallet positions in a defined warehouse space that are balanced against efficiency and productivity. You can push back, double, and even triple fill a racking system to create densification. Often, when management measures how many times a pallet is touched, moved, counted, or sometimes damaged with these storage systems, it can be surprising.
The “eureka moment” is where density and single-select accessibility intersect.
FLEXSPACE Mobile Racking Measurable Outcome #1: Profitability
It is at the intersection of density and accessibility where the FLEXSPACE Mobile Racking System lives and thrives. By eliminating static aisle space and replacing it with usable single-select mobile racking, maximum densification occurs within a smaller building footprint, thus creating greater profit per pallet position.
In the past, the profitability metric was profitability per square foot, but open space does not generate revenue. Profitability per pallet position becomes a relevant profitability measure with FLEXSPACE Mobile Racking System; pallet positions provide the direct link to revenue, reflect how efficiently the cubic space is maximized, and provide the ability to forecast capacity and rate plan to cover overhead and generate profits.
Here’s an example of a 3PL cold storage warehouse who built its facility in two phases using the FLEXSPACE Mobile Racking System:
Phase | Mobile Racking Pallet Positions | Double Deep Pallet Positions |
1 | 25,381 | 19,590 |
2 | 26,872 | 20,740 |
Total | 52,253 | 40,330 |
This 3PL cold storage owner achieved approximately 23% more revenue generating pallet spaces over a traditional double-deep static system. From a building standpoint, to achieve the same number of pallets positions with double-deep racking, the building would be about 25% larger. A larger building is not only an increase in land and development costs but ongoing real estate taxes, overhead, equipment, and labor, resulting in a decrease of profitability per pallet space.
FLEXSPACE Mobile Racking Measurable Outcomes #2 through #7
Let’s consider the efficiency of the single-select, 100% accessibility pallet system offered with the FLEXSPACE Mobile Racking System.
Measurable Outcome | |
Labor | · Decreased labor costs – less labor needed in a smaller space · Increased labor productivity – less pallet handling and increased throughput |
Space | · Cubic space is maximized · Overhead such as utilities, maintenance, equipment expenses are reduced |
Customer Experience | · Improved pallet tracking · Decreased pallet damage |
Productivity | · Faster put-away and pallet retrieval · Reduction of non-value time moving pallets to retrieve pallets in “b” and “c” locations |
Accessibility and Visibility | · Greater inventory traceability and visibility · Decreased honeycomb % · Greater agility and recognition of true inventory levels · One touch pallet in and one touch pallet out |
Sustainability | · Less land, resources, and energy with a smaller building footprint · Lower carbon footprint with a smaller building footprint |
The value and business case for FLEXSPACE Mobile Racking Systems is at play today. Whether it’s a greenfield project or a retrofit application, the value of squeezing out static aisles in favor of FLEXSPACE Mobile Racking Systems creates maximum storage densification on a smaller building footprint, efficiency, agility, and sustainable profitability.
- https://www.mhi.org/content/2/2285545/new-mhi-and-deloitte-report-focuses-on-orchestrating-end-to-end-digital-supply-chain-solutions
