A pallet storage warehouse is a building organized around the pallet as the unit: selective racking with a numbered position for every pallet, floor spots for what will not go in racking, forklifts to move pallets between the dock and the positions, and a count program that visits every position on a cycle. Warehouse pallet storage is the simplest warehousing service to sell and the easiest to run badly, because a pallet put in the wrong position is invisible until somebody looks for it. Pallet warehousing for several clients adds the requirement that each client's pallets are kept apart in the system and usually on the floor. This page covers the layout, the location scheme, the count and the procedures from the operator's side.
Racking, floor spots and the location scheme
Selective racking gives every pallet its own reachable position, at the cost of aisle space; drive-in or double-deep racking stores more pallets per square foot at the cost of reaching them in order. Floor spots take oversized, heavy or fast-turning pallets that would clog an aisle. Whichever mix the building uses, every position carries a scannable label in a scheme the forklift driver can read without thinking: aisle, bay, level, position. The scheme is written down and the labels are maintained, because a faded label is a pallet put away to the wrong place with a clear conscience.
Keeping every position scanned and counted
A pallet is received by scan against the advance notice, put away by scanning the pallet and then the position label, moved by scanning both again, and shipped by scanning it onto the load. The count program visits a share of positions every day, scanning what is in each against what the system expects, so every position is counted on a cycle. Warehouse pallet storage run that way has an inventory the client can trust; run with a clipboard, it has an inventory that is correct on the day of the annual count and drifts every day after. Forklift operation is its own safety discipline, and the OSHA rules on powered industrial trucks apply to every driver.
The procedures behind pallet warehousing
Receiving, putaway, storage and counting, movement, and shipping, each a written procedure with a client variant where the pallets, the labeling or the lot rules differ. A client whose pallets must be kept together, or first-expiring-first-out, or on the ground floor only, has changed the putaway SOP, and the change is written before the first trailer. The warehouse SOP template worksheet on this site counts the procedures and the training hours a client account adds from the processes and clients you enter. Pickpathly Pro keeps each client's SOPs against its record with versions and review dates.
Questions people ask about pallet storage warehouse
What is a pallet storage warehouse?
A warehouse organized around the pallet: racking with a labeled position for each pallet, floor spots for what will not rack, forklifts to move them and a cycle count that visits every position. Storage is charged per position per month.
How are pallet positions labelled?
With a scannable label in a fixed scheme, typically aisle, bay, level and position, that a forklift driver reads without thinking. Putaway and moves scan the pallet and the position label so the system's location matches the racking.
How often are pallet positions counted?
On a cycle, a share of positions every working day so every position is counted regularly, rather than once a year. The operator sets the cycle from its own accuracy figure; this site publishes no target.