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Storing in depth: the density you gain and the access you give up

High-density systems store goods in depth, inside the racking channel, rather than in single positions separated by aisles: you gain storage surface and you give up direct access to every pallet. STOKA designs, imports, installs and integrates the three variants that make sense in Argentina today, drive-in, push-back and pallet shuttle inside the channel, and chooses between them only after reviewing your product mix, your turnover and the real clear height of the building. Process comes first; depth comes afterwards.

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How much of your warehouse floor is being taken up by aisles?

An aisle stores nothing: it is simply the space the forklift travels through. In a warehouse fitted with conventional selective racking, a large share of the floor area is given over to circulation. Storing in depth reduces the number of aisles and hands that floor area back to your goods, without relocating or building a new shed.

What compact storage is: drive-in, push-back and pallet shuttle

In plain terms: instead of keeping every pallet within reach of an aisle, several pallets are stored one behind the other inside the same racking channel. Fewer aisles, more goods in the same building. This family is called compact or high-density storage, and it covers three solutions that differ in how the pallet reaches the back of the channel: the forklift drives into the channel (drive-in), the incoming pallet pushes the previous one along carts or rollers (push-back), or a motorised cart carries it to the back for you (pallet shuttle inside the channel). Within the ranges STOKA works with, compacting can multiply density by three and free up to 66% of the floor area occupied today. The price of that gain is always the same: you lose direct access to each individual position. That is why the decision does not start with the equipment, it starts with your product mix and your turnover.

Drive-in: the forklift enters the channel

In a drive-in system the racking forms continuous channels with no aisles in between, and the forklift drives inside the channel to deposit or retrieve the pallet. It is the variant that delivers the most density, because almost all the built volume is taken up by goods rather than by circulation.

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In exchange it behaves like a stack of crates: the last pallet in is the first that can come out. That logic is called LIFO, from last in, first out, which in plain terms means the last thing in is the first thing out. It suits operations with few distinct product references and high volume of each one, because every channel is dedicated to a single reference and is filled and emptied as a block. It demands operational discipline: driving a forklift inside the racking calls for training, good visibility and upright protection. Channel depth, number of levels and profiles are defined during the site survey and delivered in the technical sheet of the diagnosis.

Push-back: each load pushes the one before it

In push-back, every channel carries nested carts or rollers on inclined rails. The forklift places the pallet at the mouth of the channel and, as the next one comes in, the new pallet pushes the previous one towards the back; when one is removed, those remaining roll forward on their own by gravity.

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The forklift never enters the racking: it always works from the aisle, face on. That makes cycles faster than drive-in and sharply reduces the risk of impacts against the structure, which is where the hidden cost of a compact system usually sits. The trade-off is that the usable depth of each channel is shorter than in drive-in, and so is the final density. It also works in LIFO mode. It tends to suit operations with an intermediate number of references, each with enough volume to fill a whole channel, and operations with entry and exit peaks that punish handling times.

Pallet shuttle inside the channel: depth without the forklift entering

The pallet shuttle is a motorised cart that travels inside the channel, taking the pallet to the back and bringing it out again. The forklift only leaves it at the mouth of the channel and moves on to another task.

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Since nobody circulates inside the racking, channels can be designed far deeper than in drive-in without multiplying risk, and cycle times stop depending on operator skill. It is also the only one of the three variants that supports both logics: if loading and unloading happen at the same end it works as LIFO; if loading happens at one end and unloading at the opposite one, it works as FIFO, from first in, first out, meaning the first thing in is the first thing out, which is what goods with an expiry date require. It is likewise the variant best suited to cold storage: pallet shuttle systems operate down to −25 °C.

What changes in day-to-day operations

A compact system does not only change the racking: it changes how goods are located and counted. The unit of location stops being the individual position and becomes the channel, so the allocation rule has to be written down and respected, ideally supported by a warehouse management system, or WMS: the software that decides and records where each pallet goes.

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The fleet needs reviewing too, because each variant calls for a different type of forklift and mast height, and so does the floor, because flatness and permissible load condition how high the installation can go. The real gain does not appear on installation day, it appears once the channel rule is running steadily. That is why STOKA starts with a survey of the process and only then sizes the system.

Five criteria for choosing between drive-in, push-back and pallet shuttle

We do not publish model-by-model specification tables: the detailed sheet comes with the assessment, sized against your operation. These are the criteria the choice is made on.

References against volume per reference
This is the criterion that weighs most. Few references with high volume of each one justify deep channels; many references with low volume of each waste the channel and end up creating gaps that nobody uses.
Turnover and expiry dates
If goods expire or demand strict batch traceability, you need FIFO, the first thing in is the first thing out. Drive-in and push-back work in LIFO; the pallet shuttle supports both logics depending on how the channel is configured.
Available clear height
Height defines how far you can densify: the ceiling is multiplying what conventional racking holds by up to 3 times. How much of that margin applies to you also depends on the load unit and the access you need. It is measured during the survey.
Floor, fleet and people
Floor flatness, permissible load, forklift type and the training level of the team define which variant is realistic. The further the forklift enters the racking, the more training and protection weigh on the decision.
Working temperature
If the warehouse or part of it is cold storage, the range conditions the solution. Pallet shuttle systems operate down to −25 °C, and automated systems with stacker cranes reach −30 °C. Outside those ranges the approach has to be reviewed.

Engineering for your operation

When is a high-density system the wrong answer?

Our approach

It is the wrong answer when the business needs to reach any reference at any moment. If you hold many distinct references and orders are varied and small, depth turns into a problem: to pull the pallet you need you first have to move the ones in front of it, and that unproductive handling eats up the surface you gained. It is also the wrong answer when goods carry an expiry date and FIFO is mandatory, meaning the first thing in must be the first thing out, while the available configuration works in LIFO: the system then fights batch control instead of supporting it. And it does not pay off when volume per reference is not enough to fill a whole channel, because a half-filled channel occupies the full space anyway. In those cases the answer is usually well-designed selective racking, a separate order-picking area, or a combination of the two. Saying so before selling is part of the job.

Frequently asked questions

Can high density be combined with conventional selective racking?

Yes, and in most warehouses that is exactly what happens. References with high volume and little variety go into deep channels, while those with wide variety and low volume stay in selective positions with direct access. Where the line between the two zones falls comes out of the turnover analysis in the survey.

How long does an installation take?

The reference lead time STOKA works with is 3 to 4 months from the purchase order, covering manufacturing, importing, assembly and commissioning. The survey and the design come before that. If the floor or the fire protection system has to be reworked, that construction runs separately and is quoted apart.

Is this better than moving to a larger warehouse?

That is a calculation to run with your own figures. As a reference, premium industrial rent in Greater Buenos Aires averages USD 7.33 per sq m per month, with the city of Buenos Aires at USD 14.52 and the Route 9 corridor at USD 5.59 (CBRE, Q2 2026). Densifying what you already have competes with that rent every month.

What if we want to automate later on?

A compact layout is a natural step towards automation, because it settles the location rule and the channel logic before equipment is added. STOKA designs systems so that evolution stays possible, but does not recommend it by default: process first, robotics only where volume and repetition justify it.

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