Narrow aisles, even very narrow aisles, are becoming more and more the norm in warehouses across the United States. As demand for faster shipping of single items increases, the need to stock a lot of items that can be quickly accessed increases, too. Most warehouses (at least those that weren’t built in the last five years or so) haven’t been built to manage this kind of high-speed on-demand service. But one way to get around it and reconfigure your warehouse to meet that demand is by narrowing your aisles.

Is this the right move for your warehouse? Check out this list of benefits and see if it’s something that could help your warehouse increase its productivity and meet growing customer demands for next-day and same-day delivery.

Looking for other ways to increase efficiency? RMH Systems has the warehouse equipment that you need. Get in touch with our team today to learn more. 

Benefits of Narrow Aisle Warehouse Layouts

Reclaim unused floor space.

When you narrow your aisles, you’ll be maximizing the use of your floor space. A lot of warehouses have aisles that are much wider than they need to be, meaning there is precious square footage that’s going to waste and could be used for a better purpose.

Make room for more storage racks.

When you reclaim that square footage, you’ll be making room for more storage racks. That’s important, especially if your warehouse has been struggling to increase capacity. By narrowing your aisles, you increase capacity without requiring a move to a new facility. That could be tremendous cost savings for your business!

Fewer steps to get items out the door.

Narrow aisles mean fewer steps to get to the next item on a packing list. That means it takes your team less time and less effort to complete an order and get it out the door. That helps speed up the entire process inside of your warehouse.

What You Need to Create Narrow Aisles

Narrow aisle racking systems.

Not all racks are made for narrow aisles, so you won’t want to just jump in and start pushing your existing racking closer together. You’ll want to talk to an expert at RMH Systems to see if your warehouse equipment will work for a narrow aisle or very narrow aisle setup. If it doesn’t, we can help you get the warehouse equipment that you need to get it done.

Narrow aisle forklifts.

When you set up your warehouse with narrow aisles, your old forklift is probably not going to work in the narrower environment. Most forklifts need enough room to turn and raise the lift. However, narrow aisle forklifts have been built specifically to handle the demands of a narrow aisle and still give you the lift equipment you need. We can help you find the retrieval equipment you need in order to make the best use of your narrow aisle layout.

Are Narrow Aisles Right for Your Warehouse?

Narrow aisles aren’t right for every warehouse. It’s going to depend on your product line, warehouse size, and many other factors. So how will you know if it’s the right decision for your space? RMH Systems can help you make that determination. We’ve been working with warehouses across the country for decades, helping them create optimized layouts with their existing warehouse equipment and discovering new equipment that can help them do their jobs better. We can do that for you, too. Just get in touch with our warehouse consultants and let’s get to work. You can give us a call or contact us through our website to get started.