Jack Kuchta and the staff of Gross & Associates (www.grossassociates.com) have compiled tips for saving warehouse space in a publication titled, How to Save Warehouse Space: 152 Tested Techniques. Here's a look at a few of them:
Tip # 17: Store excess and obsolete material in bulk locations. If you cannot dispose of the material, make sure it takes up as little space as possible. Put it in the least accessible corner of the warehouse. Stack the pallets as high as is safe. Make the storage lanes as deep as you can. Access to the material is not important — saving space is.
Tip # 47: Receive and ship on different shifts. If your operations permit receiving during the day shift and shipping during the night shift or vice versa, you may be able to reduce your staging space requirements by half by using the same space for both functions.
Tip # 80: Match the bin shelving to the product. Within a single unit, the bin sizes can vary in height and width. Select sizes that are appropriate for your product mix, which can be changed as your mix changes.