Stackable plastic storage bins are a huge help for anyone looking to organize items at home or the workplace. Available in many different styles, with different functionality and characteristics, stackable storage bins provide a solution for any all kinds of storage challenges. As a supplier of industrial material handling products, we'll walk you through some of the applications our clients use stackable plastic bins for and how they have helped them improve storage and organization in the workplace. We have been providing customers with these bins for years and some of the most common uses/locations we've worked with include warehouses, distribution centers, hospitals, retail locations, quick serve restaurants and repair shops.
Types of Stackable Storage Bins
Open Front Stacking Bins
Open-front stacking bins are exactly what they sound like. They are designed with a front opening that allows you to quickly reach in grab items from the bin without needing to remove any other bins from the stack. They are designed with rear lips on the back of them so they can also be hung from louvered panels and rail systems. Most of our open front stacking bins have optional dividers, labels and windows or lids.
Stackable Storage Containers
Stackable storage containers are what we call our stacking bins that have four equal-sided walls. There is no front-opening, they look like your everyday standard containers. Within this category of stackable storage containers we have multiple different options such as attached lid containers, straight wall stacking containers, stack and nest containers and dividable grid containers.
Benefits of Stackable Bins and Containers
Maximize Floor Space
In any setting where floor space is limited, stackable storage bins are the best option. By stacking bins on top of one another, you are only using the footprint of one bin instead of multiple. Stacking bins vertically allows you to continue adding more capacity without needing more floor space. If you're using open-front stacking bins, you can maintain access to the parts inside even while stacked, that's the beauty of the open front bins. See the image below for an installation we did for a customer who had limited floor space and opted for open front stacking bins.
The ability to continue stacking modularly provided them with much needed flexibility and capacity to grow. This customer is a retailer who primarily serves customers who place online orders and then come pickup in store. These bins are in the back-of-house holding all the products. The ability to easily see whats inside and grab it without having to move the other bins is the main reason they opted for the open front stacking bins. The image above (view more photos here) are from a cannabis dispensary but we've done similar setups for clothing retailers, home goods stores, collectible shops and many others.
For other customers who are not in the retail sector, visibility and ease of grabbing products quickly is not as critical, so they often times opt for stackable storage containers with equal sides. These bins are slightly more heavy duty and are preferred for shipping and handling applications. The image below shows how some of our customers use stackable storage containers in their facilities to move around items from one area to another.
Increased Efficiency
Color Coded Inventory: Stackable plastic storage bins have proven to increase efficiency for our clients, and their business metrics and KPIs have improved across the board. The ability to customize the configurations for your specific application makes these a game changer for a variety of reasons. One of the biggest cheat codes for retailers is a proper inventory management system, and many of our customers have decided to color code their inventory, making it so each bin color is for a specific product or type of product. For example, one of our beauty store retail clients stores all cosmetics in blue bins, skincare products in yellow bins, hair care items in green bins, nail polish in black bins and fragrances and perfumes in red bins. After one minute in their inventory storage room, you see how this color coding setup helps employees quickly locate items in the back that might appear out of stock in the front of house. The quicker this employee can find the item the customer wants, the higher the likelihood of that customer purchasing and being satisfied with their experience in your store, leading to customer retention.
Labels: Most stacking bins are designed with slots in the front to accomodate labels. When color coding is not ideal, or even as an additional enhancement to color-coded bins, using labels to identify the contents of each bin provides a huge boost to efficiency. There's no such thing as being too efficient, so adding identifying labels helps save time and reduce the risk of errors when you need to locate specific items.
Durable & Cost Effective
In addition to their space-saving and organizational benefits, stackable storage bins are also known for their durability. They are typically made of strong, durable materials such as plastic, which can withstand heavy loads and resist wear and tear. This makes them ideal for use in settings where items need to be stored and transported frequently.
In terms of cost-effectiveness, stackable storage bins are a great option. They can be easily reconfigured and repurposed to meet changing storage needs, making them a cost-effective storage solution compared to more traditional options such as shelving or pallet racking systems. The fact that they are reusable and easily washable makes them a much more cost effective solution than cardboard or corrugated boxes. Purchase once and forget about having to replace them ever again.
Want more information related to Stackable Storage Bins and Containers? Read our other blog posts here:
- Industrial Use Cases for Open-Front Bins
- Guide to Choosing Warehouse Containers
- Most Popular Bins and Containers for Warehouses
- 10 Benefits of Using Storage Bins in Your Warehouse
- Safe and Secure Storage for Cannabis Dispensaries