In a busy beverage warehouse, efficiency is tested at every turn. Workers reach into half-empty cases where bottles shift and labels rub against cardboard. Others scan crowded shelves, searching through dozens of tightly packed SKUs. Every extra step, awkward reach, or damaged label slows the process and adds cost.
These issues crop up in beer, wine, and liquor distribution centers, eCommerce fulfillment centers, and grocery backrooms. With so many bottle shapes and packaging styles to manage, not to mention rising labor costs and limited storage space, operators need storage designed for the realities of single-bottle picking. While full cases are typically picked from carton flow or directly from pallets, individual bottles demand their own approach.
Meanwhile, beverage SKU counts continue to climb. Distributors now juggle thousands of varieties across wine, spirits, craft beverages, and ready-to-drink offerings. Wider product assortments lead to more frequent and complex single-bottle picking, pushing standard storage systems beyond their limits.
UNEX Bottle Flow was engineered for this new reality. Here’s how bottle flow racks keep bottles organized, labels protected, and every pick moving efficiently.
What Is a Bottle Flow Rack?
A bottle flow rack is a storage system designed specifically for single-serve bottles like wine, liquor, and beer. Angled bottle flow lanes use gravity to keep single bottles of wine, liquor, or beer moving forward automatically, so the next pick is always in position.
Bottle flow lanes work independently or in conjunction with carton flow tracks to further optimize each picking in beverage storage applications. Most bottle flow solutions are designed to be installed directly into standard pallet racking, so they are easy to integrate into existing workflows.
Bottle flow lanes offer an efficient solution for storing and picking individual bottles across a range of applications. In crowded grocery backrooms, they keep SKUs organized and easy to access. Bottle flow helps liquor distributors handle high-value bottles safely, protecting labels and reducing damage. Workers in eCommerce and omnichannel fulfillment centers can pick single-bottle orders quickly and accurately. In retail storage areas, bottle flow racks help speed restocking by keeping SKUs in ready-to-be-picked positions at the front of the rack.
Bottle flow racks combine organization, accessibility, and protection in a single system. By using gravity to move bottles forward automatically, they simplify picking, reduce handling errors, and help maintain product quality, making them a smart choice for any operation that stores and moves individual bottles.
Benefits of Bottle Flow Racks for Beverage Operations
Today’s beverage operators are under tight orders to manage more SKUs, protect delicate packaging, and move orders faster despite space limitations and rising labor costs. Bottle storage racks for warehouses help combat these challenges, delivering four clear advantages where single-bottle picking is part of daily work.
1. Greater Efficiency and Throughput
Bottle flow racks are built for efficient single-bottle storage and picking. Angled lanes keep bottles moving forward automatically, which means pickers don’t waste time reaching into cartons or moving bottles that don’t advance on their own to the front of the shelf. In fulfillment centers managing single-bottle eCommerce orders, this consistency translates to faster throughput. Bottle Flow's push-back loading ensures quick replenishment and minimizes travel time for stockers, while maintaining a consistently stocked pick face.
2. Streamlined Storage Layouts
Maximizing SKU density is especially critical as warehouse space becomes more expensive than ever. According to the latest Warehousing and Fulfillment Costs Pricing Survey, warehouse costs rose to $9.30 per square foot in 2025 from $8.31 per square foot in 2024, a 12% increase. Bottle storage racks make every square foot work harder by packing in more pick facings per bay. In retail backrooms that juggle hundreds of SKUs, that means operators can keep a wide variety of beverages organized and accessible without expanding their expensive footprint.
3. Enhancing Product Protection
Every damaged label or chipped bottle erodes profit and diminishes brand value. When workers pick bottles from open cases, they often shift around, labels rub against cardboard, and partially empty cartons at the front of a flow lane can be crushed by full cases behind them. To avoid that, many operations remove the last few bottles from a half-empty case and place them directly into bottle flow lanes, allowing the next full case to move forward without damaging other products. In these lanes, bottles glide smoothly with guides and bumpers that prevent scuffing or crushing. For liquor distributors handling high-value or fragile wine bottles, this extra protection keeps inventory sale-ready from storage to shipment.
4. Reducing Labor Costs
Organized, ergonomic storage cuts down on the wasted motion that comes with digging inside open cases or rummaging through crowded shelves. Each of those extra movements may only take seconds, but that cost adds up across hundreds of picks a day. With warehouse wages climbing from $16.95 per hour to $17.15 per hour in 2025, those seconds quickly turn into higher labor expenses. Keeping bottles at the point of pick and increasing visibility by storing them in dedicated, accessible lanes reduces unnecessary movement, letting beverage teams process more orders while keeping labor costs in check.
UNEX Bottle Flow: Raising the Bar for Beverage Storage
From grocery backrooms to liquor distribution centers, bottle flow racks can be used strategically to improve each picking of beer, wine, and spirits. UNEX Bottle Flow is an adjustable, push-back solution for individual bottle storage that is specifically designed for operations managing single-bottle picking.
Here’s what sets UNEX Bottle Flow apart from the competition:
- Adjustable front brackets let operators choose the perfect pitch for smooth, reliable flow.
- Flared side angles guide each bottle into place while protecting labels, even on slightly non-cylindrical shapes.
- Ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMW) edge slides limit friction and keep bottles from tipping, ensuring they advance smoothly as each one is picked.
- Bumpers in the front bracket cushion impact during picking, reducing label tearing and keeping product presentation-ready.
- Adjustable diameter range (1-7/8" to 4-3/4") accommodates a wide variety of bottle sizes, from small single-serves to larger wine and spirits.
- Greater SKU density makes the most of valuable warehouse real estate.
When paired with carton flow racks for full cases, Bottle Flow supports smooth product movement and helps protect individual bottles. It integrates seamlessly with UNEX SpanTrack, making it easy to include in your existing fulfillment workflows.
With its combination of flexibility and efficiency, Bottle Flow sets a new standard for bottle storage racks in warehouses, retail backrooms, and distribution centers. It gives beverage operators a tailored solution to keep up with SKU growth, protect high-value products, and streamline single-bottle picking at scale.
Smarter Storage for Modern Beverage Operations
Cluttered shelves and awkward reaches often drag down beverage operations, but they don’t have to define the workday. Bottle Flow replaces them with organized lanes, steady flow, and bottle-by-bottle protection. By addressing the realities of SKU variety, fragile packaging, and limited space, warehouses can move faster, protect more inventory, and get lasting value from every pick. Ready to streamline your beverage operations? Contact our team of experts today to learn more about Bottle Flow and other UNEX beverage storage solutions!
