Can Your Existing Racking Work Harder? Reconfiguration Before Peak
Most warehouse managers, when they think about increasing capacity, think about adding more racking. More bays. More aisles. More investment.
But in many cases, the capacity is already there. It's just not being used as efficiently as it could be.
A reconfiguration review looks at your existing racking installation and asks a straightforward question: could this work harder? In our experience, the answer is often yes — and the changes required are often less disruptive and less expensive than adding new racking.
What reconfiguration actually means
Reconfiguration covers a range of changes to an existing racking installation. The most common are:
Beam-level adjustments — Moving beam levels to better match the actual height profile of the stock being stored. If your racking was configured for a stock profile that has since changed, there may be significant wasted space above pallets at every level. Adjusting beam heights to match current stock can recover meaningful capacity without adding a single new bay.
Pick-face changes — Adjusting the configuration of pick faces to better match picking patterns. In a warehouse where picking has evolved since the original installation, the current configuration may create unnecessary travel, inefficient pick sequences, or underutilised locations.
Layout review — Looking at the overall layout of the warehouse to identify whether the current arrangement of aisles, bays, and access routes is making the best use of the available floor space. In some cases, a layout change can recover significant capacity — particularly in warehouses where the original layout was designed around a different operational model.
Aisle width review — In warehouses where forklift equipment has changed since the original installation, aisle widths may be wider than necessary for the current equipment. Narrowing aisles where safe to do so can create space for additional bays.
Why the window before peak matters
Reconfiguration work takes time to plan and implement. Components need to be assessed. Changes need to be designed. The work needs to be scheduled in a way that minimises disruption to your operation.
If you're considering a reconfiguration, the window before peak is the right time to do it — not because the work is particularly disruptive, but because the capacity you recover needs to be available when you need it most.
A reconfiguration completed in October is capacity available for November and December. A reconfiguration started in November may not be complete until January.
What the process looks like
A reconfiguration project with True Space Solutions starts with a review of your existing installation. We look at the current configuration, the stock profile, the operational patterns, and the available space.
From that review, we identify the changes that would deliver the most capacity improvement for the least disruption. We present the options clearly, with an honest assessment of what each change would involve and what it would recover.
If you decide to proceed, we plan the work in detail — sequencing changes to minimise operational impact — and carry out the installation to manufacturer specification.
At the end of the project, your racking is reconfigured, your capacity is increased, and you have a written record of the changes made.
Reconfiguration and inspection together
A reconfiguration review is most valuable when it's combined with a formal inspection. The inspection gives you a complete picture of the condition of your existing racking — identifying any defects that need to be addressed before reconfiguration work begins. The reconfiguration review then identifies the changes that would make the most of the installation once it's in good condition.
At True Space Solutions, we carry out both. If you're thinking about reconfiguration before peak, the most efficient approach is to start with an inspection — so you know what you're working with — and then move to the reconfiguration review.
The straightforward question
Could your existing racking work harder?
If you haven't reviewed your configuration recently — or if your stock profile, picking patterns, or forklift equipment has changed since the original installation — the answer may well be yes.
The window before peak is the right time to find out.
Talk to us about a reconfiguration review and we'll give you an honest assessment of what your existing racking could do.