Pallet Racking or Drive-In? Which One Suits You?

One of the most common questions in warehouse investment is: “Pallet racking or drive-in?” Both can be the right answer — but to different questions. In this article we compare the two on capacity, access, cost and operation.

The basic question: access or density?

Pallet racking system gives direct access to every pallet. The forklift enters from the aisle and takes whichever pallet it needs. The price is aisle space: roughly %40–45'i koridora gider.

A drive-in system removes the aisles altogether. The forklift drives into the racking and pallets are stored in depth. Aisle loss falls to up to 15% — but you can only reach the pallet at the front.

A comparison in numbers

Assuming 1,000 m² of covered area, 8 metres of clear height and standard Euro pallets, we get roughly the following:

These are approximate figures from typical projects; exact capacity is calculated at the design stage from the building dimensions and load type.

When should you choose pallet racking?

• If you store a large number of different products (high SKU count)
• Son kullanma tarihi takibi (FIFO) zorunluysa
• If order picking takes place inside the warehouse
• If your stock turnover is high

Hangi durumda drive-in?

• If you store few SKUs in large quantities (for example hundreds of pallets of a single product)
• If you hold seasonal stock
• If you operate in spaces such as cold stores where the cost per m³ is high alanlarda çalışıyorsanız
• If the goods are from the same batch and the order of retrieval does not matter

A middle way: double deep and narrow aisle

If you fall between the two extremes, there are two more options:

• Double deep: Pallets are stored two deep. Capacity increases by about 25% and access is partly preserved. A forklift with telescopic forks is required.
• Dar koridor: Access stays at 100% and aisles come down to 1.6–1.8 m. Capacity rises considerably, but it calls for special machinery and a flat floor.

On the 14,000 m² double deep project we delivered for Arcelik, this approach achieved 23.000 palet capacity was achieved. Projeyi inceleyin.

Karar verirken sorulacak tek soru

“How many pallets do I have to move to reach one pallet?” If the answer is 1, pallet racking is right. If it is more than 3 and that does not trouble you, drive-in is the right choice.

If you are not sure, send us your stock list and we will work out the capacity together based on your SKU count and turnover.