What Is Material Handling Equipment?
Material handling equipment is the equipment used in loading, unloading, and moving goods within your warehouse or factory. Material handler equipment includes:
- Pallet Racks: Adjustable racking designed to hold standard pallets.
- Push Back Racks: High-capacity warehouse racks optimized for single-SKU pallet storage.
- Drive-in Racks: Forklift-accessed racking for dense bulk load pallet storage.
- Stack Racks: Basic floor-level vertical racking used for hand-loaded storage and order picking.
- Cantilever Racks: Racking good for storing long items like pipes or bulky materials.
- Wire Decking: Shelving topped with wire mesh panels ideal for hand-loaded loose parts in pick modules.
- Mezzanines: Vertical platforms that effectively double floor space to expand storage density.
- Conveyors: Moving rollers designed to automatically transport items through the warehouse.
- Pallet Flows: First in, first out selective racking for efficient order picking.
- Carousels: Automated rotating vertical shelving for parts and item storage and batch picking.
- Lockers: Secured compartment shelving for storing valuable items or tools.
- Lifts and Machines: Equipment, like lifts, hoists, and cranes, used to transport loads vertically or horizontally.
- Pick Modules: Optimized shelving and workflow islands facilitating rapid order fulfillment.
Guide: Buying Material Handling Equipment
When looking to buy material handling equipment, start by thoroughly assessing your operations.
Assess Your Equipment Needs
Take stock of current workflows, inventory volumes, throughput rates, seasonal fluctuations, safety requirements, and potential bottlenecks. This analysis can help you decide which equipment specifications will best fit your environment and objectives.
Evaluate New vs. Used Options
You will want to think about whether your needs would be better met through new or quality used equipment. While used equipment may not have the latest and greatest features, warranties, and lifespans, it often results in significant cost savings over new, often 30–50% less. Used equipment can help meet tight budget constraints.
Find the Right Vendor
When selecting material handler equipment vendors, choose partners rather than just suppliers. Look for consultative teams focused on solving operational challenges, beyond just selling equipment. Companies like Conesco can help you make the best decisions about equipment to maximize your warehouse design and workflow.
Avoid vendors who try to sell you equipment before understanding your unique needs.
Guide: Selling Material Handling Equipment
If you are looking to sell material handler equipment due to closure, liquidation, or excess capacity, there are some key steps you will want to take to maximize your value.
Determine Fair Market Value
Start by determining fair market value for your used equipment, matching its age, capability, and condition. Consult industry valuation guides, auction sale price indexes, and equipment appraisers to understand reasonable asking prices.
You also need to consider the current state-of-the-art in the industry. High-quality used equipment may not meet current standards, which can diminish its value. However, items like pallet racks and storage typically work in nearly every warehouse environment and hold value.
Keep in mind that market value can fluctuate greatly. Large liquidations, consolidation, or warehouse shutdowns can flood markets with used equipment at times, reducing prices for a period.
Catalog Equipment
You will want to itemize your equipment, providing as much detail as possible. For example, listing manufacturers, models, serial numbers, pictures, and prices can help buyers get a better idea of what you have to sell. Noting item conditions accurately and providing maintenance and use logs can also help buyers make a better assessment.
Use an Experienced Reseller
You will also want to work with an experienced liquidator like Conesco to get maximum value. One of the industry’s largest warehouse equipment liquidation specialists, Conesco can find buyers for your equipment or buy it from you directly at fair market value.
Conesco can also help with the disassembly, packaging, and transportation of equipment to ensure you get a safe and damage-free move. We can also supply the labor, using experienced material handler equipment crews to expedite the process for faster sales.
Optimizing Your Warehouse
Regardless of whether you are a buyer or seller, optimizing your warehouse layout and equipment for optimal workflow is essential to maximize operations. Working with experienced warehouse design consultants like the Conesco team can help you create the most efficient workflow to improve throughput and improve efficiency.
Conesco prioritizes the three fundamental principles in warehouse planning: safety, cost reduction, and sustainability. From conceptual development to automated storage and retrieval systems to installation and system upgrades, Conesco is here to help.
Call the Conesco team at (303) 690-9591 or request a consultation online to discuss your material handler equipment needs today.
