Inefficient space utilization, inaccurate inventory info, and inventory waste — do these problems all sound familiar? These are just a few challenges today’s supply chain professionals face due to changing factors like growing eCommerce demand, SKU proliferation, and space constraints. Businesses can help address these challenges by leveraging dynamic storage solutions like flow rack systems.
Flow rack systems are primarily found in manufacturing, fulfillment warehouses, third-party logistics (3PL) warehouses, and retail settings. But they’re also used in everyday retail environments like grocery storage, fast food restaurants, and automotive shops. These dynamic, gravity-fed systems optimize and streamline essential tasks such as order picking and inventory management. Warehouses can use these systems to address space constraints and organization issues, while brick-and-mortar retail businesses can use them to maximize backroom storage and reduce waste.
In this guide, we’ll discuss how different industries are using flow rack systems to solve common operational challenges and how to choose the best flow rack solution for your business.
Use Cases for Flow Racks Across Industries
Flow racks are dynamic, wheel-based conveyor systems that use gravity to optimize pick and production efficiency. Unlike static storage, flow rack systems support intuitive and efficient storage, eliminating messy pick areas and poorly organized inventory. These dynamic storage solutions ensure proper inventory rotation (FIFO) and can be applied in various industries, such as:
- Manufacturing: Flow racks streamline assembly lines by providing easy access to components. They also support just-in-time manufacturing by reducing inventory overhead and enabling lean inventory management.
- Fulfillment Centers: Flow rack systems improve order picking efficiency and accuracy, which is crucial for eCommerce businesses handling high volumes of diverse stock keeping units (SKUs). Flow racks are scalable, helping businesses keep up with seasonal demand and growth.
- Third-Party Logistics (3PL) Warehouses: 3PLs utilize flow racks to organize inventory, increase space utilization, and maximize pick efficiency for multiple clients within the same space, improving turnaround times and reducing pick errors.
- Grocery Stores: Retail businesses such as supermarkets can employ flow racks in backroom storage to manage inventory turnover and maintain fresh stock on the sales floor, which is essential for perishable items.
- Automotive Shops: These businesses leverage flow rack systems to organize parts and tools for quick retrieval, enhancing service speed and repair efficiency.
- Restaurants: Restaurants can also benefit from a dynamic storage solution. Flow racks can be used in kitchen setups to streamline food preparation and in order pickup areas to maximize storage space and improve organization.
Choosing the Right Type of Flow Rack for Your Operation
Flow rack solutions come in different types, and it’s important to choose a system that best fits your operational needs. The right flow rack system will maximize efficiency, improve space utilization, accelerate productivity, and lower operational costs regardless of your application. Here are a few common flow rack solutions:
- Workstations: Designed for industrial settings like manufacturing and assembly facilities, workstations support activities such as product assembly, packing, repair, testing, and more. They can also support fulfillment packing. For example, an eCommerce company can use workstations to create fulfillment packing stations for kitting and assembling orders.
- Lineside Storage: Lineside flow racks keep materials, tools, and components near production lines in manufacturing and assembly facilities. They allow for optimized assembly line processes.
- Mobile Carts: Mobile carts are common across all supply chain operations. Mobile carts come in different types, including picking, WIP (work-in-progress), and cantilever. Picking carts are used for restocking and picking, while WIP carts move unfinished products or orders to a different part of a facility, and cantilever carts move odd-shaped items.
- Presentation Racks: These units are designed for distribution, manufacturing, and retail facilities. They present goods without disrupting the pick line. They improve visibility and speed pick rates.
Now that we’ve covered some of the different types of flow rack systems and their uses, let’s dive into popular flow rack systems offered by UNEX and how they can help your operation create a lean and efficient workspace.
UNEX Flow Rack Solutions: FlowCell and Roller Rack
FlowCell and Roller Rack are two durable, versatile, and reliable flow rack systems from UNEX. These flexible solutions work in many processes across fulfillment, manufacturing, logistics, retail, and more. In warehousing and manufacturing, these flow rack systems can help reduce inventory errors and messy pick areas while improving overall workplace safety. Because of their ergonomic design and reconfigurable attributes, UNEX flow racks can increase space utilization by up to 50%.
Let’s take a closer look at how each of these adaptable solutions offers streamlined, ergonomic storage.
FlowCell Flow Racks
FlowCell is a modular flow rack solution for manufacturing, order fulfillment centers, retail backrooms, and third-party logistics facilities. It creates highly customizable storage, keeping inventory organized in your lineside, subassembly, and fulfillment processes. FlowCell can provide a single lane of carton flow or be configured as a flow rack system of continuous storage bays. This dynamic storage rack system can increase space utilization up to 50% by keeping inventory organized and properly stored.
By minimizing reach and improving ergonomics, FlowCell also helps reduce worker injury and fatigue. In fact, FlowCell can boost production efficiency by up to 30% by angling parts toward the worker and creating an efficient, accessible pick point. Customize FlowCell to fit your operation’s unique needs by adding posts, beams, welded foot plates, carton flow, workbenches, pick trays, and overhead tool bars. Here are a few additional facts about FlowCell:
- Used in fulfillment packing, lineside storage, sub-assembly stations, supermarket racks, and modular mobile carts
- Modular design, so you can easily rearrange the layout of your operations
- Reconfigurable units provide maximum flexibility
- Ensures FIFO inventory rotation without interfering with processes in the front
- Durable heavy-gauge steel construction for long-lasting use, backed by our 7-year warranty
- Quick assembly (takes under 1 hour)
Roller Rack Gravity Flow Racks
UNEX Roller Rack is a pre-engineered dynamic gravity flow rack system that provides seamless carton flow for various storage mediums used in order picking operations. It’s ideal for distribution, manufacturing, and retail operations that require carton flow and don't need to store pallets above the rack.
Roller Racks are designed to optimize efficiency, safety, and FIFO rotation in many settings. Because they’re pre-configured, they’re easy to assemble and ready whenever your facility needs them. Roller Racks are proven to speed pick rates and free up significant space for additional SKUs — SKU storage is up to 7 times more dense per bay than pallet position storage, which equates to up to 80% less travel time for pickers. Plus, Roller Rack’s use of SpanTrack carton flow improves inventory access and visibility, reducing strain on workers. Roller Rack allows for compact storage and features:
- Drop-in beam clips for fast installation and adjustability
- Modular design for maximum flexibility to create standalone carton flow units or add units to create bays of carton flow
- Available in light duty and standard duty capacities
Optimizing Your Operation with Flow Rack Systems
To remain competitive and efficient in today’s ever-changing supply chain landscape — no matter your industry — transform your operations with a dynamic flow rack system. These storage systems have endless use cases across all industries. You can configure and customize them in many ways to organize your inventory and turn wasted space into highly efficient storage.
To learn how UNEX flow rack systems can help solve your operational challenges or learn more about our other dynamic storage solutions, contact us today!
