Distribution Center Design: See Clever, Cost-Saving DC Consolidation Project | Apex Project Spotlight
Apex Helps Personal Care Products Co. Streamline Operations, Cut Costs & Tackle Inventory Fluctuations
The Apex team recently completed an impressive project, bringing to life a new distribution center design for a leading personal care products company. This project involved consolidating raw materials and finished goods from multiple locations throughout the Chicagoland area into one optimized facility.
The company required a highly versatile storage system to manage fluctuations now and in the future, such as FIFO or LIFO inventory rotation, varied product dimensions, and changing SKU counts. The Apex team kept it simple with single selective racking, which is known for its easy reconfiguration and reprofiling compared to other types, such as push-back, pallet flow, and double-deep racks. This solution ensures that the DC can adapt smoothly to any future changes in storage requirements.
Distribution Center Design Specs
- 180,000 square ft. facility
- Selective pallet rack
- 1572 pallet positions for aerosol products
- 9,572 for non-aerosol products
- Material handling equipment – reach trucks, order pickers & rider pallet jacks
Clever Solution Beats the Heat
In-Rack Fire Suppression
A notable highlight of this project was the innovative fire containment design for aerosol storage. Traditionally, such storage requires a floor-to-ceiling partition fence to separate aerosol products from non-aerosol items. However, this would have disrupted rack spacing, increased project costs, and resulted in the loss of approximately 500 pallet positions and productivity losses from having to access the gated location dozens of times per shift.
Instead, Apex proposed an alternative fire suppression design. It may have taken a little extra work to secure approval from the city fire inspector, but it was ultimately approved and implemented. This fire suppression system preserved the rack layout and maintained productivity without compromising safety.
By configuring the rack rows back-to-back, the number of aisles required was cut in half, creating more space for storage racks and operational activities. Pallet stops between the rows keep pallets from being pushed too far back into the flue space between the rack rows.
Other standout features of this distribution center design include steel containment panels and end-row guarding to protect vulnerable areas of the selective system. Wire decking and corrugated steel decking also prevent falling items from the pallet rack bays.
 Steel Containment Panels & Rack Guards |
 Back-to-Back Rack with Flue-Protecting Pallet Stops |
Apex Get’s Results
By centralizing its storage, the company has significantly improved efficiency and eliminated the freight costs previously incurred from transferring products between multiple warehouse locations. The Apex team’s expertise and innovative solutions have ensured a robust, flexible, cost-effective distribution center ready to meet the company’s evolving needs.
Let’s talk about your future project plans —Contact the Apex team today!
