Many warehouses reach a point where the building feels full even though there is still space to reclaim. Stock creeps into aisles, bulk items end up in temporary holding areas, and teams spend more time working around problems than solving them.
At Total Interiors we regularly help businesses turn these situations around with industrial warehouse racks that are designed around their operations. The following three customer stories show how the right storage layout transforms a site from full to flowing.
These examples come from very different sectors. One is a busy FMCG distributor. One is a national retail brand with a fast-growing ecommerce operation. One is a builder’s merchant with large and awkward stock.
All of them had the same challenge which was the need for more usable space without moving premises. By choosing the right mix of warehouse pallet storage racks, cantilever pallet rack systems and pallet racking suppliers who understand their industry, each business won back valuable capacity and improved day to day efficiency.
Nuovo Foods: Turning an Empty Warehouse into a High-Capacity Distribution Hub
Nuovo Foods is a leading fast moving consumer goods distributor specialising in Asian food and beverages. The company acquired a new 85,000 sq. ft distribution centre in West Bromwich to serve retailers and food service providers across the United Kingdom and Europe.
Their aim was to bring all stock under one roof and create an efficient central hub that could handle high volumes of palletised products.
When our team visited the site, the warehouse was essentially a blank canvas with no layout and no structure in place to support the level of throughput they required. Nuovo Foods needed a large amount of storage density but also wide, safe aisles for forklift access.
They wanted to increase their capacity while ensuring their team could move quickly and safely through the building. This meant their project required a carefully designed system of warehouse racking pallet runs that made the most of the available height.
We supplied and installed a full pallet racking solution with frame heights ranging from seven to ten and a half metres and beam spans up to three thousand six hundred millimetres.
The layout included specialist forklift bay arches that allowed smooth movement through the aisles, along with column guards, timber decks, long barriers and protective systems for the sprinkler pipework.
All work was completed within 15 working days. The result was a fully optimised warehouse with controlled flow, clear aisles and significantly increased storage capacity. Nuovo Foods told us they were extremely pleased with the professional service and that the project met all their operational standards.
ProCook: Creating a Scalable Storage Layout for a Rapidly Expanding Retail Brand
ProCook is a leading direct to consumer kitchenware brand. After being listed on the London Stock Exchange and experiencing rapid sales growth, they began to outgrow their existing warehouse. At one stage they were using additional external storage and moving products between two separate sites. This created inefficiency and made it difficult to maintain stock availability.
Their new headquarters and distribution centre in Gloucestershire brought everything back under one roof. However, they needed a layout that supported their future plans. With fifty-eight stores already trading and more planned, ProCook required warehouse pallet storage racks that could hold bulk stock for both retail and ecommerce, with space to grow further.
When we visited the site, it was clear that the building had the potential to support far more capacity than their previous setup. The challenge was to design a layout that balanced storage density with safe and efficient movement through the aisles.
We installed bays of pallet racking in three sizes together with long span shelving for additional pick locations.
As the appointed Principal Contractor, we also managed site safety, inductions, welfare and the coordination of all contractors. The result was a structured and scalable storage system that gives ProCook a clear operational flow and room for future expansion.
here is space at the back of the building for further racking when required. ProCook told us that our flexibility and guidance throughout the planning stage helped them reach the result they were aiming for and that the system now meets the needs of their growing business.
Beers Timber and Building Supplies: More Space and Better Access Across a Busy Builders Merchant Site
Beers Timber and Building Supplies is a long established, family run builders merchant operating from multiple depots across Liverpool and Merseyside. When they acquired their Wavetree depot it became clear very quickly that the site needed a combination of solutions.
The shop floor, warehouse and external yard all stored different types of stock which included timber, bulky building materials and a wide range of products for the trade counter.
The existing layout could not keep up with demand. The yard needed somewhere safe and organised to store large timber packs. The warehouse needed clear runs of pallet racking to handle bulk deliveries.
The shop needed shelving that made products accessible to customers. Without a coordinated plan the available space was not being used effectively, and the team had to work around stock that did not have a dedicated home.
We created a complete storage layout that covered every area of the depot. This included cantilever racking in the yard for long lengths of timber, pallet racking in the warehouse for bulk product storage, vertical racking for shorter lengths and gondola shelving for the shop floor.
As a result, Beers gained a much more efficient site with dedicated storage for each product type and safer access for their Combi lift trucks. Dave Keogh, one of the Directors, told us that the service was among the best they had experienced and that the products were exactly what they needed to operate effectively day to day.
Better Racking, Better Flow, Better Use of Space
These three examples show that the right design can transform any warehouse. Whether you operate a busy distribution centre, a fast-growing retail business or a builders merchants racking layout, the right combination of systems will help free up space and support a smoother flow of goods.
Using cantilever pallet rack solutions, conventional pallet racking or long span shelving in the correct areas helps every part of your site work harder.
If your warehouse is starting to feel full, we can help you review your layout and uncover the space you already have.
