Remember the last time you were trying to organize a smaller space (like your kitchen or closet)? If you do, we assume you know the magic of thinking vertically.
Now, imagine taking this idea and applying it to a warehouse in the middle of a busy city, where space is expensive, and every square meter matters. It can help save you a lot of money.
Warehouses today face a unique challenge. They’re dealing with limited space (the costs are through the roof) and with a rising demand for faster and more accurate order fulfillment. Combine these two things together, and what do you get? Well, stress.
So, you can’t exactly knock down a wall or expand outside of your business premises, so the only way out is up. That’s how they came up with vertical storage solutions. It’s a convenient and practical solution, perfect for making the most of every inch of your space.
And if you’re not sure what solution is the best choice for your business, we recommend you check out the Vertical Lift Modula.
These systems are designed to use your warehouse’s height to their advantage, not just the floor. Instead of spreading inventory across long aisles, items are stacked vertically and accessed with the help of lifts.
This kind of setup also helps you save on time. These solutions help improve work safety and organization, as well as reduce the need for manual labor.
What urban warehouses need to know
Customers nowadays expect perfect service. They want quick deliveries, and personalization is the new currency. They also want to know exactly where their orders are at any given time.
And here’s the thing. If your competition is investing in the best solutions for meeting those demands and you’re not, you’ll be left behind. That’s why investing in your business (according to your budget) is important in 2025.
Also, urban areas are growing fast, and with that growth comes a higher demand for quicker deliveries and efficient logistics. But unlike warehouses located in more rural or suburban areas, warehouses that are based in cities are often squeezed into smaller buildings with much higher costs. That means that using your space efficiently has become a real survival strategy.
Since you are working with a small amount of space, every bit of floor space needs to be optimized. It is harder to organize your space in such an environment (especially your warehouse), but if it isn’t organized, it will slow everything down.
Order picking will take longer, mistakes will happen more often, and your employees will have to waste time navigating through piles of inventory.
The real cost of wasted space
Let’s break it down. Let’s say that you’re renting a 5,000 square-foot warehouse in a city where rent is $2 per square foot per month. That means that your rent is $10,000 a month (make that $120,000 a year). If poor organization is causing you to waste just 15% of your space, that’s like throwing $18,000 annually down the drain.
Now, let’s add in the labor costs. If your team is spending extra time locating items or moving around inefficiently, you’re paying more in wages for less productivity. Over time, this really adds up.
Vertical storage in action
So, what happens when you go vertical? Here are a few benefits that warehouses experience when they implement these solutions:
- You save on floor space: You can free up 60-90% of your floor space. That means you can have more room for additional stock or you can downsize to a smaller, cheaper place.
- Your picking times become faster: With vertical storage systems, items can be delivered directly to the operator easily, so your workers don’t need to walk down long aisles or search through shelves. This speeds up the picking process, reducing labor costs and increasing overall efficiency and productivity.
- Accuracy increases: These solutions often use precise software to manage inventory, which reduces errors a lot. This leads to better tracking and fewer mistakes in fulfilling orders, which is important for business.
- Your warehouse becomes safer: Since you won’t need to use ladders, forklifts, or other potentially dangerous equipment in tight spaces, your workers can have a safer environment.
For example, Perufarma installed three Vertical Lift Modules, and their order processing speed significantly improved, leading to a productivity increase of 30% and drastically reducing picking times.
How do these systems work?
There are different types of these solutions. Some are operated manually, while others are completely automated. The two most common types are:
Vertical Lift Modules (VLMs)
VLMs have two columns of trays and an inserter/extractor mechanism in the center. The system automatically retrieves trays and delivers them to an access window.
Vertical Carousel Systems
These rotate trays in a vertical loop (kind of like a Ferris wheel) and bring the selected item to the access point.
Both types help you keep a lot of dense storage of small to medium-sized items, which makes them great for anything (spare parts, tools, pharmaceuticals, electronics, and so on).
Choosing the right system for you
If you’re thinking about adding vertical storage to your warehouse, here are a few things to keep in mind:
- Inventory type: You have to think about what you’re storing. Heavy items? Fragile? Odd shapes? Different systems meet different needs.
- Available height: The higher your ceiling is, the more value you’ll get from vertical systems.
- Software integration: Look for systems that work with your existing inventory management software.
- Your budget: Prices vary widely depending on the size, features, and level of automation. But remember, it’s an upfront investment that will help you save money in the long run.
