Squeeze The Air

It drives me crazy to walk through a warehouse and see an inefficient use of space. One of the most valuable things you can do is simple - Squeeze The Air.

Everyone talks about needing more space - more racking - more square footage - more buildings. But the truth is, most warehouses aren’t running out of space. They’re running out of usable space.

Look up. All that empty air above the pallet? Above the case pick slots? Above the reserve locations? That’s capacity you already own - you’re just not using it yet.

When you properly engineer vertical space, you unlock:
Higher storage density without expanding your footprint
Better cube utilization and smarter inventory positioning
Shorter travel paths because product is stored closer to the action
Lower cost per unit stored (the metric most operations overlook)

I’ve seen teams go from “we need a bigger building” to “we have room for another six months of growth” simply by optimizing vertical clearances and slot heights.

The best operators don’t just manage floor space. They manage airspace. If you want a more efficient warehouse - don’t start with construction. Start with a tape measure and the space right above your head.