The harsh economic climate has forced all businesses to look for ways of maximising the cost and performance efficiency of their assets. People, processes and equipment are being scrutinised as never before as companies from all industry sectors seek to make the most of what they have. When it comes to the supply chain, one consequence of this 'asset sweating' philosophy has been a general reluctance to 'trade up' to bigger distribution centres. "Companies have chosen to look to increase storage density and pallet capacity at their current site without incurring the type of costs that a move to new, larger facilities would involve," says Steve Richmond, director of Jungheinrich UK Ltd's Systems and Projects Division. As a result of this approach, there has been a noticeable upturn in interest in Very Narrow Aisle (VNA) storage systems.
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