What to store in your warehouse? How to store each product and item in the warehouse? How to maximize the limited space and make full use of it? These are all important questions you need to answer if you want to use the warehouse in an efficient and smart manner. As warehouses are the backbone of your business, you need to know about the different storage options and how they can help you store and manage items more efficiently - this article aims to provide exactly that knowledge by going through some of the most common storage options and detailing their uses and advantages. 

#1 Industrial Pallet Rack Systems

Industrial pallet racks, as the naming suggests, are racks that are capable of supporting and accommodating industrial racks - these systems are for large warehouses storing extremely heavy products that require warehouse vehicles to manage and transport. 

The most prominent advantages of this system are its robustness and reliability - you don’t need to worry about the weight of the products, their size, etc. - you can be sure the industrial pallet racks can handle them. 

The biggest disadvantages of the system are its high initial cost and the massive space it requires. It is definitely not suitable for small businesses. 

#2 Bulk Racks 

Inexpensive and easy to install racks suitable for storing small to medium-sized items - it is one of the most common storage options, and you can see it employed by small, medium, and large-sized businesses. 

As we mentioned, its main advantages include its inexpensive nature and flexibility - you can install it in a warehouse of any size with minimum preparation or maintenance. If you have a small budget and want a warehouse for light use, it is a great choice. 

Its simplistic design and inexpensive manufacturing bring about disadvantages, as well, obviously. Due to the generalized nature of the bulk racks, it is impossible to make very efficient use of the warehouse space unless you only store boxes. But if you store a lot of ungeometrical items in the warehouse, bulk racks will be a really poor choice - gas cylinder cage, tyre racks, etc. will make much better use of the warehouse space for their specific uses. 

#3 Cantilever Racking

These racks feature a single robust beam extending upward with racks of various shapes and sizes extending from it - it has a unique shape and is less commonly used than the two other two racking systems we’ve mentioned previously. 

Cantilever racking has a few advantages that come from its unique design: 

• it is suitable to hold items, raw materials, and products of different sizes and shapes depending on how the racks are designed. 
• Raw materials are easily stored and transported when using these racks. 
• Due to the nature of its design, it is easy to fit them easily into any warehouse design - this allows for flexibility and more judicial use of the warehouse space.