For ten seasons, the reality TV show “Clean House” assisted families in decluttering their homes. Originally hosted by Niecy Nash-Betts, the show revealed the extent of clutter, organized items for a yard sale, used the proceeds for a home makeover and revealed the transformation of the family. The makeover also involved organizing items in closets, garages, offices, and more.
Beverage w, unlike homes, lack the luxury of a makeover and design show to streamline their operations when faced with an overwhelming portfolio. Instead, they are turning to the latest storage systems to maintain efficiency. Kyle Nevenhoven, head of solution consulting Americas and global solutions standardization at Dematic, Atlanta, points out that historically, beverage warehouses were designed to store a limited number of SKUs in large quantities. However, as SKU proliferation has increased over the years, it has become evident that a new approach is needed.
“As SKU proliferation became more impactful on warehouse operations, the first approach was the introduction of different types of racking systems, such as single-select pallet racking, double-deep pallet racking, and push-back racking,” Nevenhoven says. “All of these types of racking systems allow for the storage of a larger SKU portfolio, increase SKU access, and increase total storage area utilization. With the increase in varying types of storage locations with different capacities and storage parameters, warehouse management systems became a necessity to manage the storage locations and the various attributes of the stored SKUs.”
Nevenhoven adds that while racking systems have benefited warehouses, the increasing SKU proliferation has led distribution centres (DCs) to embrace automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRS). “These automated storage systems have been designed to store SKUs at pallet and case levels,” he says.
Josh Goodman, AIA, and principal at HDA, St. Louis, emphasizes that better storage methods are crucial when accommodating SKU increases because “simply expanding a building footprint does not solve the entire impact.”
Storage systems, however, offer more than just product storage; they improve organization and efficiency. Goodman explains, “Storage systems allow products to be catalogued and stored based on volume and delivery method. High-volume and low-volume products can be located in the most efficient location for storage, order picking, and refilling.”
Ryan Smith, vice president of automation at Westfalia Technologies Inc., York, Pa., elaborates on how ASRS platforms can handle an influx of SKUs. “First, a design that incorporates the ability to change lane depths of storage lanes can help increase the number of lanes available for high-moving products and increase the number of lanes available for slow-moving products,” he says. “Westfalia has a unique solution for this by using ‘shared middle blocks’ to allow operators to configure the warehouse to their current needs. Another innovation that cannot be ignored is a solid warehouse management system that allows the operation to maximize the pallet utilization of the system through intelligent SKU mixing.”
However, Smith notes that supply chain issues in recent years led to a reduction in SKUs. “During the post-COVID supply chain challenges, we saw a reduction of SKUs with bottlers and manufacturers as they focused more on their high-moving product,” he says. “As those challenges were solved, we have seen the number of SKUs steadily increasing to their pre-COVID levels.”
Nevertheless, SKU fluctuations are just one trend affecting storage accommodations in beverage warehouses. Labour shortages are also impacting storage operations, as Smith points out. “The labour shortage has had a tremendous impact on the beverage industry,” he says. “Order selection for the beverage market is often labour-intensive, and the need for automation is increasing to provide some relief.”
Nevenhoven from Dematic echoes similar sentiments, stating, “Not only is it difficult to find and retain labour, but the high turnover caused by the competitive labour market leads to less experienced operators running fork truck equipment. This increases the likelihood of causing property and product damage.”
Another trend in the beverage market is the mergers and acquisitions of distributors. Nevenhoven explains, “Continued consolidation of distribution networks has put additional pressure on storage systems, increasing the overall storage requirements and the number of SKUs to be stored. When distribution centres are consolidated, they often need to store more inventory than they were originally built to accommodate.”
Automation and warehouses may seem synonymous nowadays, but the integration of automation into beverage facilities has followed a storyline akin to a romantic comedy: slow beginnings, but an inevitable match. Nevenhoven points out that while storage automation technologies have existed in distribution centres for years, their introduction into beverage distribution centres has gained momentum only in the last five to ten years.
He elaborates on how automation can impact a beverage distribution centre: “The ability to store pallets more densely, often in taller buildings than can be utilized with manual storage systems, allows for the introduction of higher SKU counts. It can also ease the expansion requirements brought on by acquisition and consolidation. Storage automation is well suited to store pallets with precision, maintain date code integrity, and remove the likelihood of product and property damage.”
Goodman from HDA emphasizes that automated systems can improve warehouse performance beyond storage benefits. “Depending on the level of automation, some levels of human error are lessened or eliminated. Inventory rotation, to replenish products based on their production date, is managed by larger advanced systems,” he says. “HDA is currently looking at including 7-high storage for one of our clients, which is approximately 75 feet of clear height. Because this client has had extensive SKU proliferation, they need to expand. As a result of automation and storage system innovations like 7-high storage, this allows them to significantly reduce the square footage required for the addition.”
Smith from Westfalia also notes the broader role of automation in warehouses, both in terms of storage and other ancillary benefits. “By utilizing an ASRS, a distributor can improve receiving times, automate the entire replenishment process, and make the picking process more efficient for the pickers,” he says. “There have also been significant advancements in automating layer picking and palletization.”
With the ongoing labour shortages, Smith anticipates a continued focus on automation in the beverage industry. “We foresee more automation in general within the beverage industry for the next few years,” he says. “With the ongoing labour shortages, it is more important than ever to have the most efficient automation systems in place to maximize the number of cases that can be shipped each night.”
Nevenhoven from Dematic remains optimistic about automation’s role in beverage warehouses, particularly in terms of pallet shuttling. “Pallet shuttle technology has matured significantly over the past few years and can be a great choice for beverage operations,” he says. “This is particularly impactful for those looking to add an automated storage system to an existing building or those in areas that cannot build high bay warehouse storage systems. Pallet shuttle systems are extremely flexible in handling a wide range of SKUs in a very dense manner.”
Goodman from HDA expects to see increased options for storage system solutions as the market evolves. “Many new systems will be available based on the type and volume of the product, which can more efficiently store and distribute the specific product,” he says.
With a keen desire to address the complexities of beverage warehouses, the marriage of automation and storage systems is poised to endure the test of time.
