--- title: "Storage Capacity Planning: 5 Checks Before You Expand" description: Review vertical space, aisles, density, material movement, and future needs to decide whether you need more square footage or a smarter layout. image: https://blog.mcmurraystern.com/hubfs/MC%20MURRAY%20NOV%20BLOG%202.png --- [BE A PART OF OUR GRAND UNVEILING OF OUR STATE-OF-THE-ART TECH CENTER](https://mcmurraystern.com/techcenter/) [562.623.3000](tel:+496170961709) [![MMS\_Secondary-C-2](https://blog.mcmurraystern.com/hubfs/DigiTopia_2024/MMS_Secondary-C-2.svg)](https://mcmurraystern.com/) - [HOME](https://mcmurraystern.com/) - ABOUT US - [About us](https://mcmurraystern.com/about-us/) - [Events](https://mcmurraystern.com/events/) - [Purchasing Contracts](https://mcmurraystern.com/purchasing-contracts/) - [Careers](https://mcmurraystern.com/careers/) - [Manufacturers](https://mcmurraystern.com/manufacturers/) - [News](https://mcmurraystern.com/news/) - [MARKETS](https://mcmurraystern.com/industries/) - [SOLUTIONS](https://mcmurraystern.com/solutions/) - [BLOG](https://blog.mcmurraystern.com/en) - [CONTACT US](https://mcmurraystern.com/contact-us/) [FREE CONSULTATION](https://mcmurraystern.com/free-consultation/) ![Featured Image](https://blog.mcmurraystern.com/hubfs/MC%20MURRAY%20NOV%20BLOG%202.png) Table Of Content ### Subscribe to Our Newsletter #### Share This Blog - - - - [mailto:?subject=Storage%20Capacity%20Planning:%205%20Checks%20Before%20You%20Expand&body=Storage%20Capacity%20Planning:%205%20Checks%20Before%20You%20Expand%20https://blog.mcmurraystern.com/en/storage-capacity-planning-5-checks-before-you-expand](mailto:?subject=Storage%20Capacity%20Planning:%205%20Checks%20Before%20You%20Expand&body=Storage%20Capacity%20Planning:%205%20Checks%20Before%20You%20Expand%20https://blog.mcmurraystern.com/en/storage-capacity-planning-5-checks-before-you-expand) [industrial storage](https://blog.mcmurraystern.com/en/tag/industrial-storage) [high density mobile storage](https://blog.mcmurraystern.com/en/tag/high-density-mobile-storage) [Vertical Lift Modules](https://blog.mcmurraystern.com/en/tag/vertical-lift-modules) [Vertical Storage](https://blog.mcmurraystern.com/en/tag/vertical-storage) [pallet racking](https://blog.mcmurraystern.com/en/tag/pallet-racking) [aisle configuration](https://blog.mcmurraystern.com/en/tag/aisle-configuration) [material movement](https://blog.mcmurraystern.com/en/tag/material-movement) [storage capacity planning](https://blog.mcmurraystern.com/en/tag/storage-capacity-planning) [warehouse capacity](https://blog.mcmurraystern.com/en/tag/warehouse-capacity) [storage density](https://blog.mcmurraystern.com/en/tag/storage-density) # Storage Capacity Planning: 5 Checks Before You Expand ## **Before You Add More Storage, Check These 5 Industrial Capacity Pressures** ### **Introduction** When inventory grows, the natural response is to look for more room. A new building, an addition, or leased overflow space can seem like the only answer. Expansion is expensive, slow, and hard to reverse. Before committing to it, many facilities find that the space they already have is not being used as well as it could be. Capacity problems are not always space problems. They can be pressure points in how storage is arranged, how materials move, and how the operation expects to grow. Reviewing these pressures first helps manufacturers and distributors decide whether additional square footage is truly needed, or whether a different **storage capacity** strategy would solve the problem sooner. This guide looks at five areas worth checking before any expansion decision. ### **More Inventory Does Not Automatically Mean More Square Footage** Square footage is only one measure of capacity. Usable capacity depends on how much of the building’s volume holds product, how efficiently that product is stored, and how easily it can be reached. Two facilities of the same size can store very different amounts. One may use its full height, run narrow aisles, and store product in dense lanes. The other may have floor stacking, wide aisles, and half empty racking. When storage feels full, the cause may be layout rather than size. Identifying the real constraint is the first step toward the right solution. ### **Pressure One: Unused Vertical Space** Look up. In many facilities, the space between the top of the racking and the roof is empty. Building height is one of the most valuable and least used assets in industrial storage. Taller racking, high bay shelving, and vertical automated systems can turn that unused volume into storage without adding to the building footprint. Before using height, a few factors need review. Sprinkler clearances, lighting, building structure, floor conditions, and lift equipment all affect what is possible. Safe access to upper levels also matters, since items stored high still need to be retrieved efficiently. Vertical lift modules are one example of a solution built around this idea. They use the height of the room to store items in a compact footprint and deliver them to the operator at a comfortable working height. A simple place to start is to measure the clear height above your highest storage level and compare it with your sprinkler and lighting clearances. Even a few feet of usable height, multiplied across an entire floor, can add a meaningful number of storage positions. If your facility has height to spare, the answer to a capacity problem may be above you. ### **Pressure Two: Aisle Configuration** Aisles are necessary, but they are also unproductive space. Every foot of aisle is a foot that cannot hold inventory. Many facilities carry more aisle width than they need. Aisles may have been sized for equipment that has since changed, or laid out years ago for a different product mix. Reviewing aisle width against the equipment that actually uses it can reveal room to reclaim. Narrower aisles, paired with the right lift equipment, can fit more storage positions in the same area. For shelving and smaller items, **high density mobile systems** offer another approach. Instead of fixed aisles between every row, shelving moves on tracks to open an aisle only where access is needed. This can substantially increase storage within the same footprint. It also helps to look at how aisles are actually used. Some are busy all day, while others are rarely entered. Aisles that see little traffic are strong candidates for consolidation, while high traffic aisles may need to stay wide to keep people and equipment moving safely. Aisle changes should be balanced against access and safety. The goal is to reduce wasted space without creating congestion. ### **Pressure Three: Storage Density** Density describes how much product is stored in a given amount of space. It is shaped by the storage method as much as by the product. Selective pallet racking gives direct access to every pallet, but it uses a lot of space for that access. When a facility stores large quantities of the same item, deeper storage methods can make better use of room. Drive in racking and push back racking store pallets in lanes, which increases the number of pallets in a given area. Pallet shuttles take the idea further by moving loads within the lane, which reduces the need for lift trucks to travel into the rack. The trade off is access. Denser systems work best when the product mix suits them, such as many pallets of the same item or products with a predictable rotation. A review of inventory turnover and item variety shows where density will help and where it will not. Density also has an effect on labor and safety. Fewer, deeper lanes mean fewer aisles to travel and fewer points of congestion, provided the system is matched to how quickly inventory turns. ### **Pressure Four: Material Movement** Capacity is affected by movement as well as storage. When materials take long routes or wait for access, the facility feels full even when space is available. Signs of movement pressure include congested aisles, long travel times, repeated handling, and staff waiting for equipment or for a path to clear. These problems make storage areas harder to use at their full potential. Improving movement may involve placing fast moving items closer to shipping, separating inbound and outbound traffic, or reducing the number of times a product is touched. Automation can help in some cases. Autonomous mobile robots can move materials between areas, and goods to person systems reduce the walking required to find items. Slotting is a useful tool here. Products that move quickly belong in the most convenient locations, while slower items can sit higher, deeper, or farther away. Without that discipline, popular items end up scattered and every pick takes longer than it needs to. When movement improves, existing space often feels larger because the facility can use more of it with less effort. ### **Pressure Five: Future Capacity Requirements** A storage system that solves today’s problem can become tomorrow’s constraint if growth is not considered. Looking ahead means asking what inventory will look like in three to five years. New products, larger orders, seasonal swings, and changing customer expectations can all affect needs. This affects the expansion decision directly. If growth is modest, optimizing the current space may be enough for years. If growth is significant, a configuration that can expand in phases may be a better investment than a single move. Planning for the future also protects against overbuilding. Buying space for growth that never arrives is its own cost. ### **A Quick Capacity Checklist** Before approving additional space, teams can walk the facility with these questions: - How much of the building’s height is currently in use - Whether aisle widths match the equipment that uses them - Which areas could use a denser storage method - Where materials slow down, back up, or get handled repeatedly - What realistic inventory and order projections look like for the next few years Honest answers often show that one or two areas hold most of the opportunity. ### **Deciding Between More Space and a Different Configuration** Sometimes expansion really is the right answer. If a facility has used its height, tuned its aisles, increased density where it makes sense, and improved movement, and it still lacks room, additional space may be justified. But reaching that conclusion after review is very different from reaching it by assumption. A facility that optimizes first expands with better information, a clearer design, and often a smaller requirement. In many cases, reconfiguring storage delivers capacity faster and at lower cost than construction or leasing. ### **How McMurray Stern Helps Facilities Evaluate Capacity** McMurray Stern works with manufacturers and distributors to look at capacity as a system rather than a single number. As a specialty contractor with a fully integrated design build process, the company manages projects from concept through installation and service, with factory trained crews. Its solution range covers **pallet racking, high density mobile systems, and shelving**, along with vertical lift modules, ASRS, and pallet shuttles, which allows recommendations to be based on the facility’s needs rather than a single product. That range helps teams compare options fairly, whether the best next step is a different configuration, an automated system, or additional space. ### **Conclusion** More inventory is a sign of a growing business, but it does not always call for a bigger building. By reviewing vertical space, aisle configuration, storage density, material movement, and future requirements, facilities can find capacity they did not know they had and make better decisions about when expansion is truly necessary. The goal is not to avoid growth. It is to grow with a clear understanding of what the current space can still do. **Because the smartest square foot is often the one you already own.**   ## **Evaluate Your Capacity Before You Expand** If your facility feels full, McMurray Stern can help you evaluate your space, workflow, and growth plans so you can choose the right next step with confidence. Explore [McMurray Stern's](https://mcmurraystern.com/manufacturing-and-distribution-solutions/) manufacturing and distribution storage solutions and discover how a smarter storage configuration can help you get more from the space you have. ![Rudresh Jhaveri](https://blog.mcmurraystern.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Rudresh%20Jhaveri.png?width=160&name=Rudresh%20Jhaveri.png) [![linkedin logo](https://blog.mcmurraystern.com/hs-fs/hubfs/LinkedIn_logo.svg.png?width=90&name=LinkedIn_logo.svg.png)](https://www.linkedin.com/in/rudresh-jhaveri/) ##### About Rudresh Jhaveri Rudresh Jhaveri is an Automation Engineer and Design Consultant at McMurray Stern, where he focuses on developing and implementing automated storage and industrial solutions. Based in Santa Fe Springs, California, he contributes to projects involving warehouse automation, robotics, and high-density storage systems that improve operational efficiency. He began his academic journey at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, building a foundation in engineering and technical problem-solving. With a background that blends engineering principles and real-world design consulting, Rudresh supports clients in optimizing workflows and modernizing facilities. Known for his analytical mindset and hands-on approach, he plays a key role in translating complex operational needs into practical, scalable automation solutions within the material handling and storage industry. ## Recent blogs Explore Our Top Articles And The Latest Storage Trends, Where Industry Expertise Meets Innovation. [![Featured Image](https://blog.mcmurraystern.com/hubfs/MC%20MURRAY%20NOV%20BLOG%202.png)](https://blog.mcmurraystern.com/en/storage-capacity-planning-5-checks-before-you-expand) [industrial storage](https://blog.mcmurraystern.com/en/tag/industrial-storage) [high density mobile storage](https://blog.mcmurraystern.com/en/tag/high-density-mobile-storage) [Vertical Lift Modules](https://blog.mcmurraystern.com/en/tag/vertical-lift-modules) [Vertical Storage](https://blog.mcmurraystern.com/en/tag/vertical-storage) [pallet racking](https://blog.mcmurraystern.com/en/tag/pallet-racking) [aisle configuration](https://blog.mcmurraystern.com/en/tag/aisle-configuration) [material movement](https://blog.mcmurraystern.com/en/tag/material-movement) [storage capacity planning](https://blog.mcmurraystern.com/en/tag/storage-capacity-planning) [warehouse capacity](https://blog.mcmurraystern.com/en/tag/warehouse-capacity) [storage density](https://blog.mcmurraystern.com/en/tag/storage-density) #### [Storage Capacity Planning: 5 Checks Before You Expand](https://blog.mcmurraystern.com/en/storage-capacity-planning-5-checks-before-you-expand) Before You Add More Storage, Check These 5 Industrial Capacity Pressures Introduction When inventory grows, the natural response is... 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