The Supply Chain Consulting Group Design Unique Storage Optimisation Model For The Drystack
The Drystack is the UK’s largest indoor boat storage facility and holds around 180 boats. The facility provides a range of services to its clients, including a one hour launch service from a telephone call, to your boat in the water.
Boat storage is in racked bays which hold two or three boats per level, depending on the width of the boat. There are up to six levels of racking, each with a different weight limit, but due to the range of boat heights and weights, some levels are not available for use.
There is a continual need to re-assign storage slots for different boats which may have a different configuration of height and weight. The spacing between levels can be varied to accommodate this, but these changes take time to undertake and can result in remaining slots being of limited use due to the height restrictions. Additionally, the movement of boats is highly seasonal with retrievals varying significantly between summer and winter and some boats require more frequent access than others.
The Drystack management team selected The Supply Chain Consulting Group (SCCG) to undertake a review of the current racking configuration with a view to understanding how best to allocate boats to bays to maximise the storage capacity, improve access to more frequently used boats and increase total storage capacity and therefore potential revenue.
The SCCG team of Specialist Supply Chain and Logistics Consultants approached the task by initially identifying an optimal configuration of racks for the existing profile of boats. Having effectively created the base model they then looked to develop an operational model for ongoing use.
Having undertaken these two phases SCCG were able to produce a clear definition of the new proposed racking configuration and the extra capacity provided.
In addition, a user guide with operating instructions to allow for ongoing use of the operational spreadsheet was provided, supported by training for key users at The Drystack.
“Working with The Supply Chain Consulting Group was very straight forward and easy. The storage optimisation model could add as much as 5% to our bottom line profit. I would highly recommend their services to anyone looking to optimise their storage system.” – Managing Director – Drystack
