Pallet rack is a system of storage aid designed to store items on the pallets also known as skids. The pallets store the materials in a horizontal row over multiple levels. The Forklift trucks which are known to be integral part of the pallet racking system place the loaded pallets on the racks to store. These racks are essential part of any warehouse, distribution facilities, retail centres and the manufacturing facilities.

Different types of pallets are available in the market. But all work on the concept of increasing the density of the storage and decreasing the storage costs. Different designs cater different business needs. Each design functions differently with its own advantages. Few things need to be taken into consideration before buying any type of pallet rack storage system. These considerations include, what is the desired density of storage required, what is the floor space and the height of the building where the pallet will be placed, how the doors and the columns of the building are placed, accessibility to the inventory and the rotation of the inventory, weight and size of each load that will be stored, what kind of storage design is optimal and the cost that will be incurred for the materials and its installation.

Although the high density pallet rack storage system has many benefits, there are few disadvantages as well. And they include, limited access to all the stock at one time, and the expenses incurred to maintain such systems. Some pallet storage systems are least expensive when compared to the high density pallet storage system. But when the facilities where these systems will be utilized are medium or large, the use of high density pallets becomes essential because they are efficient, time saving and optimizes the space to the maximum extent.

The most common types of pallet storage systems used in the most of the facilities are, the drive in and drive through system, push back pallet rack system, compact mobilized pallet racks system and the pallet flow system.

The drives in drive through rack system works on letting the forklift truck directly enter the lanes to lift or place the materials on the rows. The drive in rack system has only one opening which is used for both entrance and exit thus it follows the LIFO, the last in first out storage method. The Drive through rack system has opening at the both ends, one for entrance and another for the exit. This system works on the FIFO, first in first out method.

The Push back pallet rack system works on the principle of organizing the space in the facility by depth rather than by the width. It works on the LIFO, last in first out storage system. In this system each bay is up to six pallets deep and the pallets are stored on the carts to fit perfectly on the rails.

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The pallet flow systems use the depth to increase the capacity of the storage system. It works on either LIFO or the FIFO systems. This system is also known as the density flow or the gravity flow systems.

Compact mobilized pallet storage systems are used to maximize the storage space in the warehouses. It is also known as the motorized mobile rack system or the mobile industrial rack system. These racks double the storage space in the facility.