Storage & Material Handling Blog

Practical guides on choosing, laying out and running industrial storage bins and shelving.

Dead stock and the red-tag clean-up: how to reclaim your stores and keep it clean — Every stores carries items that will never be used again. A red-tag audit finds them, a simple decision rule disposes of them, and a few standing habits stop the pile growing back, freeing space, cash and attention for the stock that matters.
How to plan stores and storage layout for a new factory: a step-by-step guide — Most factories design the machines first and find room for the stores afterwards. A step-by-step method to plan stores, line-side storage and tool rooms before the building is fitted out: space arithmetic, zoning, flows, aisles, standards and a phased fit-out.
Garage, workshop and auto spares storage ideas for India: a practical layout guide — Whether it is a two-wheeler garage, a home workshop, a car service bay or an auto spares counter, the problem is the same: hundreds of small parts and tools that vanish when you need them. Wall panels, bins, drawers and shelving, laid out the way that actually works.
FIFO and FEFO with storage bins: how to make sure old stock is used first — First-in first-out is easy to say and hard to keep. How bin layout, one-batch-per-bin rules, date labels and two-bin systems build the rule into the shelf, so stock ages less, expires less and gets written off less.
Why Alkon Supra Bins on a Single Sided or Double Sided Alkon Tuff Stand Are a Game-Changer — When it comes to high-efficiency material handling, inventory management, and workshop organization, clutter is the ultimate productivity killer. Enter the power duo of industrial storage: Alkon Supra Bins paired with the Alkon Tuff Stand
Pallet rack inspection checklist for Indian warehouses: daily, weekly and annual routines — Racking is the most expensive structure in most warehouses and the least inspected. A practical routine of daily walks, weekly checks and an annual formal inspection, with a damage classification, protection options and a log that holds up in an audit.
How to buy industrial storage bins in India: a specification checklist and RFQ template — Most bin purchases go wrong in the specification, not the price. A buyer's checklist covering sizes, material, loads, accessories, packing and supplier questions, with an RFQ template you can copy and send.
Setting up an ESD workbench: PCB carriers, conductive bins and a layout that works — Static damage is quiet, cumulative and expensive. A practical guide to building an electronics bench where boards and components are carried, stored and handled in the right containers, from workstation features to PCB carrier choice and daily routines.
The true cost of storage bins: how to compare quotes and build a payback case — The price on the quotation is the smallest number in the decision. A practical method for comparing bin quotes on a like-for-like basis and for putting search time, floor space and stock errors into a payback case a finance head will accept.
Line-side supply with trolleys: how to design a small-parts milk run — Small parts reach an assembly line one of two ways: the operator fetches them, or someone brings them on a schedule. How to size bins, build trolleys, set a route and work out the loop arithmetic so the line is never short and never cluttered.
Sliding, rotary or fixed: how to choose space-saving small-parts storage — When floor space is the constraint, the question is not which bin to buy but which arrangement of bins. A decision guide to fixed panels, sliding units and rotary stands, with the load, access and space arithmetic that settles it.
Tool room and tool crib organisation with trays, bins and louvre panels — A tool room is judged by how long it takes to find the right tool and how quickly a missing one is noticed. How to zone the space, choose trays and drawer containers, and run issue control that people will follow.
Why Alkon Bull Bins Belong on Your Shop Floor — If your facility deals with machine parts, fasteners, castings, or assembly kits, small-parts bins often fall short. You need something stouter, deeper, and capable of handling real weight without sacrificing single-person portability.
Cycle counting with storage bins: how to keep stock records honest — A stock record is only as good as the last time somebody looked at the bin. How fixed bin locations, a sensible count list and a short weekly routine replace the annual stock-take that nobody trusts.
Two-bin kanban with storage bins: a working guide — Two-bin kanban works when the empty bin is the only order you raise. How to size it, where to put the second bin, and why walking the round more often beats buying bigger bins.
How to choose shelving for a stores room — Slotted angle is the right answer more often than suppliers admit, and the wrong answer in ways nobody warns you about. Here is how to decide between angle, boltless and moulded bin shelving.
Maximising workspace efficiency: a working guide to Alkon Supra bins for industrial and commercial storage — Supra bins are easy to buy and easy to install badly. This is the application guide: how to lay out a bench or picking face, what the catalogue sheet actually promises, and how to keep the face alive.
Small parts storage for service workshops and garages — A service workshop is not a factory store. The same technician fetches, fits and returns parts all day, and jobs arrive unplanned. Here is what belongs at the bay, what belongs in the store, and how to keep both stocked.
Plastic vs metal storage bins: which one suits your store — Steel does not rust-proof itself and plastic does not hold a hot casting. A location-by-location comparison of moulded PP bins against fabricated steel, with a cost-per-location method you can fill in.
How to organise a maintenance spares (MRO) store — A maintenance store is not a small production store. Its demand comes from failure, not from a bill of materials. Here is how to classify, zone, code, trigger, protect and count one, with a 30-day plan.
5S on the shop floor: getting storage bins right — Most 5S programmes buy bins in week one and red-tag in week four. Do it the other way round. Here is how each S changes what you store, where it lives and what you should actually purchase.
Bin labelling and colour coding that actually holds up — A labelling standard is only as good as the Tuesday morning when nobody who built it is on site. Here is what goes on the card, what stays off it, and how to roll it out without stopping picking.
Stackable vs Nesting Bins: Which One Actually Saves Space — A bin cannot nest deeply and stack squarely at the same time. Here is how the trade-off plays out across full storage, empty return and freight, and how to settle the question from your own empty-to-full ratio.
Storage bins for automotive parts manufacturing: line-side sizing, kitting and standardisation — How to choose, size and standardise line-side bins in an auto or auto-component plant — takt-based coverage, two-bin kanban loops, kitting trays, oily and machined parts, swarf control, ESD sub-assembly and returnable packaging.
How to choose the right storage bin size for your shop floor — Bin sizing is arithmetic, not taste. Work from the part, the consumption rate and the shelf, using real ALKON dimensions, then trial three sizes before you commit a whole plant to one.
Supra vs Hippo vs Bull vs Rhino Tuff: Which Bin Suits Which Part — Four ALKON small-parts ranges look interchangeable in a catalogue and behave very differently on a rack. This is a working comparison by profile, stacking, mounting and part type, using real outside and inside dimensions.
Panda shelving for pharmacies and hospital medicine stores: a working layout guide — A medicine room is not a warehouse in miniature. A small pack has to be found in seconds, checked against an expiry date and handed over. Here is how to lay one out with shelf bins, pigeon holes and honest FEFO lanes.
ESD-Safe Storage: What Conductive Bins Actually Protect — A black bin is not automatically an ESD bin, and an ESD bin standing on an unearthed painted shelf protects almost nothing. Here is how to specify, ground, verify and maintain a static-safe store that actually works.
Cutting picking time with a better warehouse bin layout — Most picking improvement work fails because it treats picking as one number. Split it into travel, search and extract, measure each on your own floor, and the right bin layout falls out of the data.
Roo Tilt Bins vs Open-Front Bins: When Each One Wins — Tilt bins and open-front bins fail in opposite directions. Here is how to choose face by face — reach depth, pick frequency, mounting height, refill route, dust exposure and ESD — using real bin dimensions rather than guesswork.