3 December, 2024
Five benefits with vertical carousels
Curious about how one or more vertical carousels can benefit your business?
The most common advantages of vertical carousels are:
- Space savings
- Order and structure
- Efficiency
- Protected environment
- Ergonomics
If you or someone in your company is considering investing in vertical carousels, we highlight the five most obvious benefits of this type of storage system in this text.
Happy reading!
Space savings with vertical carousels
For many, the primary reason for investing in a vertical carousel is the space savings it offers. The principle is very simple—a vertical carousel consists of tightly packed shelves, allowing you to utilize the full height of your warehouse or factory.
Goods stored on shelves often work exceptionally well in a vertical carousel, with small to medium-sized items providing the highest return on investment.
To easily calculate the potential space savings, we can compare shelves with a vertical carousel featuring the following configuration (standard vertical carousel):
| Outer dimensions vertical carousel | 3 500 mm x 1 700 mm |
| Height | 8 000 mm |
| Shelf width | 3 000 mm |
| Shelf depth | 600 mm |
| Number of shelves | 80 pcs |
| Distance between shelves | 200 mm |
On a corresponding area, you can fit one row of shelves, assuming a typical warehouse design requires 2 m between shelves:
| Height | 2 400 mm |
| Shelf width | 3 500 mm |
| Shelf depth | 600 mm |
| Number of shelves | 12 pcs |
| Distance between shelves | 200 mm |
Calculation of storage capacity in m²
Vertical carousel:
| Floor space | 3 500 mm x 1 700 mm | 6 m² |
| m² storage area | 3 000 mm x 600 mm x 80 shelves | 144 m² |
Shelves:
| Floor space | 3 500 mm x 1 600 mm* | 5,6 m² |
| m² storage area | 3 500 mm x 600 mm x 12 shelves | 25,2 m² |
*2 m between shelves, with one side of the shelves taking half the distance.
In the above example, the storage system provides 5-6 times higher storage capacity than the shelves. In terms of storage per m², the vertical carousel’s key figure is 24 m² / m² floor space, while the shelves offer 4.5 m² storage area per m² floor space.
Order and structure
Improved inventory control is a benefit users of a vertical carousel quickly notice after installation. Order and structure, or improved inventory accuracy, often result not only from implementing system support like WMS/inventory management but also from consolidating items and transactions in one place.
By consolidating goods, storage, and picking in one location, it becomes easy to keep a workstation nearby, allowing warehouse/factory workers to record all transactions in real-time.
The alternative is often running around shelf aisles with a pick list that must be recorded later—and perhaps forgotten because of a coffee break or an approaching weekend…
Efficiency
If you’re in the market for a single vertical carousel, the primary arguments are often the space savings and the order it creates. However, if you purchase two or more, you can also highlight picking efficiency as a strong argument.
Efficiency can result from order and structure even when purchasing a single vertical carousel, but a picking station where one picker handles three storage systems ensures a constant and fast picking flow.
Depending on the type of goods and picking method used, efficiency in terms of pick lines/hour varies, but here are some approximate benchmarks for e-commerce picking:
| Pick from pallet rack | 20 - 40 picking rows / h |
| Picks from shelf racks | 40 - 70 picking rows / h |
| Picking from vertical carousels / vertical lift | 120 - 360 picking rows / h |
*when using 2 or more vertical carousels per picker.
Protected environment
Unlike shelves, where products are openly stored in the warehouse or production area, a vertical carousel creates a protected environment for the goods. When goods are stored in a vertical carousel, the amount of dust and dirt reaching the goods is significantly reduced.
A vertical carousel is also suitable for storing high-value or theft-prone goods. It’s easier to control potential theft as both storage and picking always occur from the same opening, and the carousel can be locked when not in use.
Ergonomics
The working opening of a vertical carousel is typically 1,000 mm above the floor, making it ergonomically ideal for both storage and picking. Compared to shelves, warehouse or factory workers don’t need to perform heavy lifting from floor level or climb shelves to reach items on the top levels.
Get help finding the right vertical carousel
Want to know more about how a vertical carousel can help you? Contact us via the form below or email info@relevator.se, and we’ll assist you in finding the right machine!
