Modular Drawers
DistribuTek Leaning Center
Modular storage drawers are considered modular because each cabinet houses drawers which are subdivided into separate compartments, or modules. Drawer heights range
from 3 in. to 24 in., and each drawer may hold up to 400 lbs. of material. Larger
and higher capacity drawers are available, but are not common for most applications.
The storage cabinets can be thought of as shelving units which house multiple sliding
The primary advantage of storage drawers/cabinets over bin shelving is the large
number of SKU’s which can be stored and presented to the order picker in a small
area. One drawer can hold from 1 to 100 SKU’s (depending on the size, shape, and
inventory levels of the items). Typically, a storage cabinet can hold the equivalent
of 2 to 4 shelving units worth of material. This dense storage stems primarily from
the ability to create item housing configurations within a drawer which very closely
match the cubic storage requirements of each SKU. Also, since the drawers are pulled
out into the aisle for picking, space does not have to be provided above each SKU
to provide room for the order picker’s hand and forearm.
Several benefits accrue from the high density storage characteristics of storage
drawer systems. First, and obviously, the more material that can be packed into
a smaller area, the smaller the space requirement. A second benefit resulting from
the use of such high density storage units, is a reduction in the travel time and
hence labor requirements for order picking.
Additional benefits achieved by the use of storage drawers include improved picking
accuracy, and protection for the items from the environment. Picking accuracy is
improved over that in shelving units because the order picker’s sight lines to the
items are improved, and the quantity of light falling on the items to be extracted
is increased. Item security and protection are achieved since the drawers can be
closed and locked when items are not being extracted from them. As one would expect,
these benefits are not for . Storage cabinets equipped with drawers are relatively
expensive. Price is primarily a function of the number of drawers and the amount
of sheet metal in the cabinet.
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