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Challenge

                A well-established heavy duty truck dealer group with multiple locations across the United States operates at a demanding pace. With heavy traffic between their service departments and parts departments, it’s essential that these facilities have an efficient and long-lasting setup to best serve their customers online and in person.

To meet their growing demands, several locations required new setups for their parts departments. These new layouts were aimed at streamlining workflows and maximizing their storage capacity to create long-term solutions for handling growth in their operations. This case study highlights the custom industrial shelving setup implemented at one of these truck dealer group locations.

                To better support this truck dealer group with their operational flow- including mobile services, cleanings, triage, and a robust parts inventory- this facility needed a space-optimized parts department. This truck dealer group partnered with Industrial Shelving Systems to deliver and install a storage solution that would enhance efficiency and support this team to set them up for success in the future. The final design included a combination of custom heavy duty shelving including, industrial pallet racks, high density storage cabinets, and a free standing mezzanine, also known as a storage platform.

By integrating a combination of warehouse shelving, free-standing mezzanines, and warehouse pallet racking, this solution laid the foundation for a cohesive setup customized to meet the unique needs of this parts department. From warehouse pallet racks to heavy duty shelving, the result was a truck parts department equipped to handle this nationwide operation.

Solution

To kick off this truck dealer storage solution, the automotive team at Industrial Shelving Systems began by evaluating their inventory. By understanding what needed to be stored, our team was able to determine what combination of storage was needed and how much. By evaluating this facility’s daily operations and workflow, our team used AutoCAD to determine the layout of these storage solutions. This ensured that the warehouse shelving would maximize the available space and improve accessibility for daily use.

One primary need in this truck parts department was to be able to store large and bulky items. To meet this need, we installed pallet racks in strategic rows to accommodate their stock. This heavy duty pallet racking was designed to take advantage of the facility’s vertical height as it extended to the ceiling, making sure to accommodate the current pipes and structural elements on the ceiling. Outfitted with wire racks, this pallet racking offers a strong way to hold items. These three level pallet racks will be great for storing a wide range of parts while keeping everything organized.

After measuring the floor to ceiling height, our team identified the opportunity to continue building up to optimize their vertical space. We installed a free standing mezzanine near the pallet racking. By building up instead of out, this dealership was able to increase their storage capacity without compromising valuable floor space.

This free standing mezzanine created a second level for this parts department to store items, allowing them to be better able to streamline their workflow. Using vertical space is a great scalable solution for high traffic facilities wanting to maximize their use of industrial shelving units and heavy duty storage racks.

The addition of the free standing mezzanine, allowed this truck dealer group to make the most out of their available space, including the floor space beneath the mezzanine. Underneath the mezzanine, we installed bright red high density storage cabinets. These storage cabinets were equipped with sliding drawers and open shelving above, providing a versatile way to store items that won’t fit in the drawers. These cabinets were thoughtfully placed between the mezzanine’s structural beams, not wasting any valuable space. The anchor of the mezzanine was flush with the drawers to create a space saving setup while also ensuring easily accessibility.

Results

            By combining three different storage solutions: pallet racking, high density storage cabinets, and a free standing mezzanine, this heavy duty truck dealer group now has an efficient solution. These customized solutions work together to enhance workflows and organization, ensuring this team will be able to quickly access their parts.

                If your truck dealer group, dealership, office space, or warehouse is in need of a more effective storage solution, whether it’s industrial shelving, heavy duty shelving, or a mezzanine, reach out to our automotive or industrial department. Contact us today here or give us a call at 1-314-310-2446.