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Are You Aware of the Difference Between Drive in & Drive Through Racking? Blog

In today’s blog we will once again focus on compact or dense storage systems. This family consist of various type of system of which we have discussed radio shuttle system in the past. Today we will discuss a similar system in nature but which is operated manually.

The system is called Drive in and Drive through racking, let us dive deep in to why and where we need this systems, its advantages, its characteristics and the difference between the two.

As discussed in our previous blog, compact or dense storage system increases your storage space by a massive 70% so this system is ideal where floor space is scarce and due to its features manages to compact space compared to conventional storage system.

We can also consider Pallet shuttle, VNA racking, Push back racking, Mobile racking, live pallet racking belonging to compact series and they all share the following advantages but depending on the system chosen, the optimization will be higher or lower.

Maximizing available space by reducing aisles

Inventory Control as load stored are of same category

Easy use of warehouse management system as products are stored in orderly manner

Ideal system for cold storage because of optimization of space and reduction in total area to be cooled, significant cost is achieved in maintenance.

What are the common characteristics of drive in and drive through racking?

Both are high density storage system designed to achieve maximum space optimization of the floor space and height. Both systems have same technical base structure with identical looks. In both the systems, aisle for forklifts are minimized and are generated in the racking itself where the forklift enters for loading & unloading.

The pallet enters the racking at the higher level where they are going to be stored with support rails on each side of racking. The system also facilitates efficient inventory control as each lane is dedicated for the same product. Both systems are ideal where the need is to maximize space rather than have direct access to each pallet.

Here’s the interesting part, the main difference between the two

The main difference between the two is the storing method for which they have been designed for.

The main differences between Drive in and Drive through Racking concern the warehouse management method for which they have been designed. While Drive in racking works according to the LIFO (Last in, first out) method, the Drive Through system is installed to work with the FIFO (First in, First out) method. Hence the drive through system will have overall stock rotation while drive in will have low stock rotation.

Drive in Racking characteristics and industry use

This is simpler of the system which uses same aisle to move in & out while storing or retrieving the pallet operating on LIFO principal meaning the last pallet deposited on the system will be the first to be unloaded from that aisle resulting in low stock rotation. It also requires smaller area for installation and operation as only one aisle is required.

Some of the industry where it is most used are homogeneous and non-perishable goods, such as construction material (cement, brick, etc.), DIY goods, metal products, etc. where products have nonexistent or longer expiry dates.

Drive through Racking characteristics and industry use

In contrast this system accesses the aisle from both sides and works on the principal of FIFO, the pallet stored first gets off-loaded first at the other end thereby helping in stock rotation.

Some of the industry where it is most used are storage of food, drink or chemicals to ensure that the first unit load to be stored will be the first one to be shipped from the warehouse and where expiry date is critical.

The common trait in both systems is, it maximizes storage in reduced space and are ideal for cold store warehouse and where cost of floor space is high.

Hope this blog is time well spent and informative. Call us anytime to discuss in detail and we can even arrange a site visit to physically see the system in operation.

Call us for a free consultation without obligation. For more information on storage solutions products visit www.jaystoragesolutions.com

Call us now +91-9146064222 / 23 / 61 / 62 / 63 / 64 or email us sales@jaystoragesolutions.com to fix an appointment for a short 30 minutes VC with our sales team and learn if there is anything that we can help solve for you.

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