Columbian Logistics Network - Project Profile

Columbian Logistics Network drive-in storage project profile

Drive-In Storage with Space Saver Rails Delivers Maximum Cube

Drive-in pallet rack at Columbian Logistics Network

Columbian Logistics Network operates more than 1.4 million square feet of ambient and temperature-controlled warehousing space, along with more than 50 trucks and 300 trailers, to meet regional and national clients’ distribution and business-strategy requirements.

As a third-party logistics provider, Columbian works with customers to determine their capacity, layout, and flow requirements, then develops solutions that control costs and optimize efficiency. Its warehouse-management technology provides visibility and control with custom integration, while safety and product integrity remain core priorities.

Project Requirements

The addition of another national retailer required reconfiguration of Columbian’s 15-acre, 500,000-square-foot warehouse on 36th Street in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The facility contained 20,000 racked pallet positions and was divided into suites with different ceiling heights and access points.

Columbian’s warehouse team worked closely with Progressive Handling to ensure its facility and storage rack would remain flexible and durable as client requirements evolved. The project required a system that maximized pallet positions while allowing for future changes in product rotation and storage needs.

RIDG-U-RAK Solution

The 36th Street project included more than 10,000 pallet positions of high-density, back-to-back, six-deep drive-in storage rack in a suite with a ceiling height just under 22 feet. RIDG-U-RAK’s Space Saver rails allowed an additional pallet-position height, increasing storage capacity by 25% while maintaining only four inches of ceiling clearance.

The drive-in rack uses roll-formed uprights with structural-angle Space Saver rails. Each of the more than 439 bays includes floor guides to reduce potential forklift damage as trucks enter and exit the six-position-deep structure. Every upright includes 36 inches of reinforced Column Sentry protection at floor level for additional rack-damage protection.

Columbian’s distribution plan is a first-in, first-out operation. Its truckload-quantity shipment allocation, approximately 50 planned SKUs, and common pallet and carton sizes made drive-in rack the optimal solution for maximizing the storage density of high-volume food products. The reconfigured space also included an additional 10,000 pallet positions of RIDG-U-RAK Tear Drop 100% Selective Rack.

“RIDG-U-RAK helped create a storage system with the most pallet positions possible… a full third more than a competitor.”
— Jim Gadziemski, CSCP, Chief Operating Officer, Columbian Logistics Network

Drive-In and Drive-Thru Storage

Drive-in rack is a high-density, last-in, first-out system well suited to periodic inventory shipments and low-SKU storage. Drive-thru systems are similar, but can be accessed from either end to support first-in, first-out operation. Both systems use narrow pallet-storage lanes that run perpendicular to the working aisles, with pallets stored on the floor and parallel rails.

Features & Benefits

  • Maximum storage density with fewer aisles
  • Last-in, first-out or first-in, first-out options
  • Easy lift-truck access
  • Space Saver rails reduce vertical clearance by three inches per pallet level
  • Roll-formed rails provide high load capacity and low torsional rotation

Distributor

Progressive Handling, Inc. of Allendale, Michigan, worked with Columbian Logistics Network for three years before installation to identify the most efficient pallet-rack storage system for the customer’s delivery and storage needs. The company has partnered with Columbian for more than 25 years and also provides pallet-rack damage inspections, conveyor systems, and packaging systems.

Learn more at Columbian Logistics Network.