How to Choose Industrial Racking for a Warehouse in India

Maximizing warehouse space is no longer just about stacking things up; it is also about doing it smartly. That’s where industrial racking systems come into play. These structured storage systems are designed to hold goods efficiently, enhance inventory management, improve accessibility, and streamline the workflow.

Whether you’re into running a small business or a large enterprise, choosing the right industrial racking system impacts everything from your business’s productivity to employees’ safety. In this guide, Simco Steel will help you quickly walk through the different types of warehouse racks, factors to consider when selecting them, and how to select the most appropriate one for your business. Thus, making your investment worth it.

What is an industrial racking system?

An industrial racking system is a heavy-duty storage framework. It helps warehouses make the best use of unutilized vertical space and optimize the ground area. This helps in simplifying product loading and retrieval quite easily. Thus, supporting better logistics management and maximizing the business’s ROI.

Types of Warehouse Racking Systems

Selecting the right warehouse racking system for your business begins with understanding the options you have. So here’s a list of different types of warehouse racks available in the market that can help you with maximized storage and improved inventory flow.

1. Selective Pallet Racking

Selective Pallet racking is one of the most widely used storage systems in modern warehouses. It is good at providing direct accessibility to every pallet. This reduces the inventory time and is an ideal choice for facilities with diverse SKUs. They are thus beneficial for small or big businesses looking for fast inventory turnover.

Benefits:

• They are cost-effective.
• They provide high visibility and easy accessibility to each pallet.
• They are easy to install and configure with the business requirements.

2. Cantilver Racking System

The cantilever racking system is a go-to choice for businesses dealing with long, bulky, and uneven-shaped items. This includes the storage of bars, pipes, or timbers. These racks have no vertical obstruction on the front, thus allowing a full-length object to be easily stored.

Benefits:

• They help in the easy loading or retrieval of long items without any hassle.
• The arms of these racks can be customized easily.
• They are an ideal choice for the bulky and lengthy items.

3. Drive-in/Drive-through Racks

The drive-in and drive-through racking system is designed for businesses dealing with large volumes of uniform products. These racks help in reducing the aisle space and allowing forklifts to drive into the space for easy loading or unloading of pallets.

Benefits:

• They are an ideal choice for high-density storage areas.
• They allow excellent space utilization by reducing the aisle space.
• They are best suited for low-SKU or high-volume of similar products.

4. Push-back Racks

Push-back racking system works on either of the two principles, LIFO or FIFO. These structures enable sliding pallets for the future retrieval of items. And offers a deep storage area, thus making it ideal for all types of goods following Last-In-First-Out or First-In-First-Out storage principles.

Benefits:

• They help in saving aisle space.
• They are a great choice for medium turnover products.
• They are compatible with different pallet sizes.

5. Multi-tier or Mobile Racking

These industrial storage solutions are designed to maximize the use of vertical space or simply stack up the racks in layers. They are an ideal choice for the warehouse with limited ground area but with vertical space in abundance.

Benefits:

• They are ideal for the growing business, as they are scalable.
• They come in modular designs and thus are highly adjustable.
• They help in saving costs for the future expansion of the business. 

How to Choose the Right Racking for Your Warehouse

Choosing the best warehouse storage racks requires a careful assessment of the area’s layout. This also needs to have a look at the type of inventory to be stored, future needs, expansion, and others. So here’s a quick checklist before finalising the right warehouse racks.

• Warehouse Size: If you’re working with a limited area, the best racking for small warehouses includes a multi-layer pallet system or mobile racking, which can expand vertically rather than horizontally to save the limited floor space.
• Load type & SKU variety: For uniform and mixed inventories, selective pallet racking systems are best for storing varied items in large quantities.
• Accessibility & workflow: Does your team require easy access along with an uninterrupted workflow? Thus, it is important to choose among the heavy-duty racking systems, like the push-back rack.
• Budget & expansion plans: If you intend to expand soon, modular racking is the option. It is easier and cheaper to expand your business in the future with the pre-compatible units than with a static one.

Tip: Always match your warehouse storage racks to the inventory type, operational workflow, and inventory management frequency, not the other way around.

Industrial Storage Solutions for Efficiency & Safety

The industrial storage solutions that suit your warehouse keep space to a minimum, but add safety, productivity, and efficiency-building factors to your business. And here’s how :

• Space Optimization: The right industrial storage solution helps in maximising the vertical space usage, which helps in keeping the ground floor clutter-free and helps in space optimisation.
• Improves Inventory Workflow: Streamlined and correctly stacked items help in improving the inventory flow and reducing loading/unloading time.
• Boosts Safety: Good-quality warehouse storage racks are for maintaining the safety of goods, stabilising load, and complying with industrial safety standards, thus lowering accidental risks.
• Reduces Product Damage: Well-planned storage solutions help in keeping items secure and prevent damage during storage or movement.

Safety tips:

• Perform routine inspections of the racking system to avoid damage or misalignment.
• Don’t overload the racks beyond their load capacity.
• Proper training is given to the staff to load/unload items manually or by using forklifts.

Where to Buy or Install Industrial Racking in India

If one intends to fulfill their upgrade requirement of warehouses with the finest industrial racking systems in India, they must look no further. Simco Steel has come to be the most-trusted name by Indian businesses in storage innovations. With the experience of decades, the most modern techniques and methods, tailor-made manufacturing solutions, customization, and competitive prices. You name it, and you get it from Simco Steel to optimize your warehousing storage needs with safety and efficiency.

• A certified manufacturing excellence: Simco Steel storage products are manufactured to precision and accuracy and are ISO certified to ensure long life and compliance to global industrial standards of quality.
• Custom-Built Storage Solution: For any system ranging from cantilever racks, selective pallet racks, and heavy-duty racking, Simco Steel allows full customization. It allows the racking system to fit into your warehouse layout, comply with inventory requirements, and support ROI of your business.
• On-Site Installation & Support: Our team of experts and engineering professionals guarantees a smooth installation of your warehouse racking systems. From layout planning to post-purchase support, we offer everything to you. 
• Quotation support: Not sure which system fits your needs? Comparing can be the best solution. And so, Simco Steel provides you with a detailed quotation of your racking system. From transparent pricing to every other detail that is necessary to be known, before making an informed choice.

Whether you hold a small storage facility or a large-scale distribution centre, choosing a provider that not only offers quality products but reliable services is very important. Simco Steel stands as a trusted partner for industrial racking systems, offering all services right from layout planning, professional installation, and after-sales support, with fair prices. What you say, we bring it to life.   

Pros and Cons of Common Racking Types

Racking type	Pros	Cons
Selective Pallet Racking	Flexible layout, easy accessibility, & cost-effective	Requires more aisle space, lower storage density
Cantilever Racking System	Good for long, bulky items, & reduces managing time	Not suitable for perishable goods, lower load uniformity
Drive-in/Drive-through Racks	Ideal for high-density storage, bulky and low-SKU goods	Limited selectivity, slower loading/unloading time
Push-Back Racks	Saves aisle space & follows LIFO & FIFO principles	More expensive than selective pallet racks, & limited pallet depth
Mobile/Multi-tier Racks	Utilises vertical space & modular and scale design	Higher initial cost & may require floor or rails integration

Conclusion: Make the Right Move

A correct industrial racking system can convert a warehouse from a cluttered mess to a streamlined and scalable space. Whether you are talking about heavy-duty materials or multiple SKUs, from large footprints to small spaces. Essentially, the correct warehouse racks could align with your inventory type, choice, warehouse layout, operational, and future requirements. Let the experts help you derive the perfect warehouse racks suitable for your business!

FAQs On How to Select Industrial Racking for a Warehouse

How does one select the racking system for their warehouse?

Match the racking type to your space layout, inventory size, accessibility needs, and future scalability to make the right choice of warehouse racks.

What types of industrial racking systems are available?

The most common industrial racking systems are selective pallet racks, cantilever racks, heavy-duty racking systems, and others. Each has its function and is more suitable for different purposes.

Is racking considered the safe option for warehouse storage?

Yes, industrial racking systems are safe for warehouses if the installation procedure is done by experts and is used with proper inspection and load capacity limits.

How to choose pallet racking?

Consider the type of inventory, turnover rate, access frequency, load weight, and space layout before choosing a racking system. 

What is the OSHA standard for warehouse racking?

OSHA requires that the racking system be structurally sound, professionally installed, and maintained regularly to meet its safety standards.