SpanTrack Lane Carton Flow Rollers
Efficient, durable, and dependable, SpanTrack Lane carton flow rollers drop into existing structures to create the ultimate carton flow rack system for manufacturing facilities and order picking operations.
Retailers are living in the age of the “Amazon Effect.” The online retail giant now has roughly 2.5 billion monthly visitors — more and more of whom are growing accustomed to getting what they want, when they want it.
That means many sellers are scrambling to offer more products than ever. As more consumers shift their shopping online, these same retailers are adapting brick-and-mortar setups to serve eCommerce. What was once an operation geared toward single-channel sales now must meet fast-paced, omnichannel demands, all while staying profitable despite rising overhead costs.
As a result, many eCommerce retailers are feeling the pinch. Expanding inventories call for smart storage options, while complex order mixes demand efficient omnichannel fulfillment solutions. As any retailer can vouch, it’s no easy task. Here’s how upping your retail storage game can help you keep pace with growing omnichannel demand.
The Omnichannel Challenge
Omnichannel retail is designed to create a seamless experience for the consumer. Whether buyers want to shop in store or online, through a mobile app or website, or even some combination of everything, more retailers are making it possible.
Case in point? Buy online, pick up in store (BOPIS) orders reached $113.2 billion in 2023, accounting for over 9% of eCommerce sales. Nearly half (47.6%) of these shoppers now use curbside pickup to collect their orders.
Having more options means more satisfied customers. Yet, it adds complexity for sellers, who must incorporate omnichannel fulfillment solutions to meet these changing expectations. Without the right systems and execution, this leads to:
- Space constraints in backrooms and warehouses, which create overstocked shelves and disorganized products
- Inefficient inventory management systems, which lead to stockouts or overstocks
- A growing need for flexibility to respond to trends and seasonal demand surges
Characteristics of Effective Retail Storage Solutions
At their roots, these are storage challenges: How can modern omnichannel retailers store an increasingly complex inventory in a way that maximizes fulfillment efficiency? A truly optimized retail storage setup must check the following boxes:
- Scalability: Can these storage systems easily grow with the business? Will they accommodate SKU expansion and seasonal variability without extensive layout overhauls?
- Space efficiency: Does your shelving setup and layout facilitate maximum storage density, ensuring you don’t expand your physical footprint prematurely?
- Flexibility: Have you incorporated dynamic storage solutions that can quickly adapt to new layouts and adjust to changing market demands?
- Worker productivity: Are you able to minimize pick times while enhancing worker safety with ergonomic designs?
In today’s era of fast and multifaceted order fulfillment, all retail storage systems are judged first and foremost by how well they support these outcomes.
Learn how SpeedCell helped Goodwill of Central & Southern Indiana boost efficiency and storage capacity. Download the Case Study.
UNEX Solutions: Tailored for Omnichannel Success
Meeting these demands will prove difficult without dynamic storage solutions — shelving that streamlines inventory storage, retrieval, and management based on changing needs.
UNEX specializes in these types of products, with three specific storage and fulfillment solutions designed for omnichannel retailers:
- SpeedCell: These compact, movable columns of storage cells are perfect for handling high SKU density in small spaces like retail backrooms or fulfillment centers. By compressing 200 feet of rack or shelving into 40 feet of highly organized space, SpeedCell reduces picker travel time and enables faster order fulfillment.
- SpanTrack: These carton flow racks streamline first-in, first-out (FIFO) inventory management and bring products right within reach of pickers for a smooth, ergonomic fulfillment process. They’re suitable for retail backrooms, eCommerce fulfillment centers, and even customer pickup areas.
- FlowCell: These modular workstations are ideal for fast-paced, omnichannel fulfillment environments. FlowCell can be used to create ergonomic mobile picking carts, fulfillment packing stations and more, to streamline storage, picking, packing, and order staging.
As we’ll explore below, these simple retail storage solutions have a range of applications for omnichannel fulfillment.
How to Leverage Dynamic Storage for Omnichannel Success
Dynamic storage solutions offer the flexibility modern retailers need to provide impactful omnichannel service in the age of Amazon. Let’s explore some specific ways to apply UNEX products for maximum efficiency and productivity.
1. Align Storage Solutions with Fulfillment Priorities
No two retailers are exactly alike. Your unique products and customer base should shape your fulfillment objectives, which in turn guide you toward the right storage solutions. For instance, is your priority rapid shipping, efficient BOPIS, or a balance of both? Choose the retail storage solutions that will best suit your goals.
SpeedCell is designed for rapid-picking environments with high SKU density. Its compact, movable, and highly organized cells are ideal if you need to access a lot of products and ship them out quickly for eCommerce orders. SpanTrack carton flow solutions, on the other hand, are well suited for perishable goods operations and BOPIS setups, which require streamlined FIFO systems for moving goods efficiently.
Whichever option — or combination of options — you choose, dynamic storage enables you to optimize your workflows based on specific omnichannel fulfillment requirements. That alignment proves crucial in an era of fast-paced fulfillment.
2. Address Common Pain Points with Dynamic Storage Solutions
Dynamic storage solutions also offer a direct way to address several of the most common pain points in omnichannel retail environments. Whether your staff is lost in overstocked retail backrooms or struggling to keep pace with SKU proliferation during the holidays, a few simple changes to your storage setup can get you on track.
Again, consider how SpeedCell and SpanTrack can transform your omnichannel fulfillment operations. With SpeedCell high-density storage, you can save up to 60% of your existing floor space — all while making your products more accessible.
SpanTrack, meanwhile, offers a range of options for light-, medium-, or heavy-duty storage. Whether you need quick carton flow for full case picking or highly visible and accessible products for each picking, SpanTrack carton flow racks can help you organize and rearrange inventory as needed based on SKU velocity and seasonal demand. SpanTrack’s streamlined setup increases throughput, simplifies the search for items, and reduces picking times.
Both of these retail storage solutions allow you to optimize your omnichannel fulfillment environment to fit the day’s demands for your business. You can regularly reassess your space utilization to plan layouts that prioritize your most frequently accessed SKUs, designating specific zones for slow movers to keep high-demand items accessible.
3. Build Agile and Scalable Storage Models
Omnichannel fulfillment solutions demand agility and flexibility. Seasonal top movers, new product launches, and shifting market trends make change the norm rather than the exception. Plus, there are always new opportunities to expand your existing product line and scale your operation.
In other words, omnichannel retail is dynamic — and it takes more than just static storage solutions to get the job done. As you plan for growth and change, you need dynamic storage solutions that can shift and scale with your business.
FlowCell, for instance, does more than just increase space utilization by half. It also makes reconfiguration a breeze, offering a modular setup you can use to prioritize your top-moving SKUs or facilitate a constantly changing customer pickup zone. SpanTrack Wheel Bed, meanwhile, can handle a diverse range of SKU sizes and weights, easily accommodating a diverse and fluctuating selection of products. These flexible, drop-in shelves can accommodate a mix of case sizes, support quick left-to-right re-slotting as your inventory changes, and provide 300% more contact than plastic wheel rails to keep everything moving smoothly.
Whatever the application, UNEX dynamic storage solutions let you adapt to shifts in your product lineup or plan for the next growth stage.
4. Enhance Workforce Productivity and Safety
With dynamic storage, productivity and safety go hand in hand. Inefficient layouts lead to wasted time, but they also create poor ergonomics and increase the risk of worker injury.
In contrast, a well-organized, ergonomic storage system directly impacts worker morale, speed, and overall fulfillment accuracy. UNEX solutions are always designed to address all of these issues at once. SpanTrack carton flow offers a productivity boost simply by making products more visible and accessible, but you can further enhance ergonomics with knuckled end treatments, which angle items toward pickers to reduce bending and reaching.
For fast-paced eCommerce environments, SpeedCartt — a mobile version of SpeedCell — offers a more streamlined way to restock products or quickly stage high-volume pick zones. This can further reduce worker travel and movement, boosting productivity and limiting injury risk during your busiest times.
Future-Proofing Omnichannel Operations
Omnichannel retail is all about optimization. Effective fulfillment starts with efficient storage, and everything else flows outward from there. By choosing dynamic storage solutions for omnichannel fulfillment, you make your eCommerce warehouse or retail backroom more agile and adaptable to fast-changing consumer demand.
Space constraints and inefficient inventory management may be common problems in today’s retail world — but that doesn’t mean they can’t be overcome. Explore our Guide to Optimizing Warehouse Space Utilization to learn more about how UNEX solutions can unlock efficiency in your retail business.
Questions about the best option for your business? Contact us today, and our product specialists will be happy to help!
