Optimize Your Warehouse Efficiency: Dynamic Storage vs. Static Storage Solutions Explained

Form must fit function. It's a fundamental law of nature. For something to perform efficiently, its design must match the task. That's why birds have wings and elephants have tusks and not the other way around. Yet, it's also an easily overlooked principle when planning your warehouse. Sure, one goal of storage is to get the most inventory into the least space, but the function of your business is to sell that inventory. To do that, you need storage systems that match your operation's velocity, volume, and throughput. That's where dynamic storage and static storage become so important.

Which of these two storage concepts you choose will determine how productive your team can be. Read on to learn everything you need to know about static vs. dynamic storage and how each can improve your warehouse.

Static Storage

Static storage is the kind of storage most people recognize. It's grocery store shelves where olive oil occupies aisle 3, section 2. It's the home improvement store's lumber aisle and plumbing section. Static storage is consistent. Each product has a designated slot in your racking where that product—and only that product—lives.

Pros

Since static storage rarely changes, it makes organization and labeling very straightforward. Managers can easily label product locations, making them easy to find. This is a huge benefit when training new employees since the layout is easy to understand. By extension, products almost never get lost with static storage since their locations within the warehouse are thoroughly documented.

Similarly, keeping track of inventory is as simple as walking the aisles. Since products have their own location, the supply chain team needs only glance at each product group to know the current inventory status.

Cons

To get the benefit of static storage, it must change only slowly and infrequently. That makes it an excellent choice for areas of low-turnover, long-term storage, like the aging room at a distillery. However, it doesn't work well for high-paced, high-turnover facilities like fulfillment centers. The storage needs of high-throughput organizations evolve too quickly for static storage, slowing picking and reducing productivity.

Additionally, storage density can be an issue. When a particular product's inventory dwindles, those racks sit empty until the inventory rebounds, creating bubbles of wasted space within your warehouse.

Dynamic Storage

Dynamic storage is the embodiment of warehouse zeitgeist. It evolves alongside your inventory by allowing daily organizational adjustments. Instead of searching for a specific aisle section, your restocking team fills any available space, ranking products by popularity with the highest turnover items closest to your warehouse’s front.

Pros

Dynamic storage is ideal for high-throughput operations. Storing popular items in forward pick areas reduces picking time and improves productivity. Since dynamic storage emphasizes rapid reorganization, seasonal changes or trends in consumer preferences don’t create the dead spaces they do with static storage. This ensures your picking team always has the products they need right at their fingertips.

This type of storage lends itself well to first-in, first-out inventory management. The ability to pivot with customer demands and inventory levels means it’s easy to reduce spoilage and ensure the goods soonest to expire are the first shipped out.

Cons

The biggest drawback to dynamic storage is employee training. Employees must adjust to the constant change in product location, which creates a steeper learning curve, especially for new hires. As such, training time tends to take longer than for static storage.

Additionally, dynamic storage requires high product turnover. Without this, products become stagnant on the racks, and the system devolves into a less organized version of static storage.

Dynamic, Static, or Both

Thankfully, static vs. dynamic warehouse storage isn't really an either/or decision. Most facilities benefit from a combination of both styles, and the choice comes down to a question of ratio. For example, a facility might use dynamic storage for its best-selling products and static storage to store slow-movers and overstock. Your specific facility needs will determine how much of one you want compared to the other.

Warehouse Layout

One consideration is warehouse layout. U-shaped, I-shaped, and L-shaped warehouse flow patterns affect how products move through your facility. U-shaped flows offer the most synergy between shipping and receiving docks. I-shaped and L-shaped offer more sorting and storage space for each dock. Balancing your needs helps you better understand what portions of your facility should focus on dynamic storage and which on static storage.

For example, a U-shaped layout might use the racking closest to the docks for dynamic storage with static storage in the back. Alternatively, an I-shaped layout might use the bottom half of their racking for dynamic storage and the top half for static storage. All of these decisions contribute to pick path optimization in your warehouse.

Racking Systems

Dynamic storage systems work best with racking and shelving that align with a first-in, first-out philosophy. These kinds include selective racking, pallet flow racking, and drive-through racking. Systems like these help keep high-turnover products in order so that the first to arrive also ships first.

Static storage works well with a last-in, first-out methodology since it's best for products with a long shelf life. These racking options include double-deep selective racking, drive-in racking, and push-back racking. Since output order is less critical, storage density can take priority over picking order.

Warehouse Optimization Solutions

Each facility is unique. Therefore, no two storage solutions are the same. Your warehouse layout must be optimized to your specific operational needs, so there's no substitute for expert help. That's where we come in. Our expert solutions team can do a free optimization analysis of your facility and recommend the layout and composition that best suits your needs. Let us optimize your space. To learn more about storage solutions or to schedule your free optimization analysis, contact us online or visit one of our locations throughout Georgia and Florida.

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