Push back rack is a relatively new concept that has gained tremendously in popularity, especially in warehouses, auto factories, and storage facilities. It permits storing 2-7 pallets of identical products in a lane. It differs from pallet flow rack in that the pallets are deposited and picked from the same aisle. The pallet rack is angled toward the aisle and uses a series of roller sleds. The forklift truck depositing a load literally pushes the pallets already stored on the sleds back up the incline and deposits the new load in front of them. This process is done in a cascading fashion until all loads are stored. Retrieval is simply the reverse of the process in which a load is removed from the front slot, and the remaining pallets gravitate toward the aisle.
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This method does create a last-in, first-out (LIFO) situation, so care must be taken concerning shelf life for time-sensitive products. However, it is a popular concept since storage and retrieval are done from the same aisle, and the push-back rack significantly improves storage density for pallet loads of the same SKU.
