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Bulky parts on the floor: Flat Storage with rail tracks and LED navigation

For bulky parts stored on the floor, Pick to Light in the form of Flat Storage guides operators by light to the right lane and container instead of leaving them to search rows of crates. Rail tracks keep containers in a fixed layout and LED gates show where to go. The same area holds up to 30% more, and picking bulky parts gets faster.

At a glance

  • Up to 30% more capacity on the same floor area
  • 3 hardware options: manual, P2L navigation, P2L + e-ink
  • Flat Storage from our own P2L development, running since 2018

Why loose floor storage wastes space and time

Bulky parts and large containers do not fit standard racking, so they stand loose on the floor. Without a fixed layout, rows drift apart, unused gaps appear and operators have to read labels to find the right crate. In automotive and manufacturing these parts often go straight to the line, so every search delays supply.

Bulky parts on the floor: Flat Storage with rail tracks and LED navigation

What Flat Storage with LED navigation delivers

Rail tracks

Rails guide containers in precise rows, so the floor is used fully and every container has a clearly defined place.

LED navigation gates

Gates with LED strips above the lanes show which row to enter and which container to take. Operators follow the light, not labels.

Three equipment levels

From manual rails without electronics, through software-controlled light navigation, to e-ink displays showing exact quantities.

Proven at scale

At Witte Automotive, flat storage with LED navigation was part of a material flow redesign with 5,000 positions deployed in 6 weeks.

How it works

  1. 1A parts request arrives from the WMS, ERP or production control.
  2. 2The gate above the relevant lane lights up to mark the row.
  3. 3At the lane, a light or e-ink display shows the container and quantity.
  4. 4The operator confirms the pick and the next target lights up.
  5. 5The confirmation is written back to the host system in real time.

WMS and ERP integration

Gates and displays are driven by a controller connected over Wi-Fi or LAN, which talks to your WMS, ERP or production system via REST API or MQTT. With the manual option you can start with rails only and add light navigation later, without changing the floor layout.

Software

What to prepare for an inquiry

  • Container or part dimensions and weights
  • Available floor area and a floor plan
  • Number of different parts and positions
  • Desired equipment level (manual, navigation, e-ink)
  • The system that issues requests

Recommended products

Pick to Light Floor

Smart solution for efficient floor-level storage

Product details

In practice

Witte Automotive

10,000+ Pick to Light positions in automotive production

Read the case study

Frequently asked questions

Loose containers need spare room because rows shift and operators must be able to read labels. Rails hold containers in exact lanes, so rows can be placed closer together and the floor used better. Light navigation replaces searching, so there is no longer a need to leave space between crates just to read markings.

The manual system without electronics suits you if you mainly want to organise the floor and operators work from plans. The P2L navigation option adds software-controlled light and suits sites where parts change often. The top level with e-ink displays also shows exact quantities, which helps where several pieces are frequently picked at once.

No. Automotive JIS/JIT supply is a typical application, but it works just as well for supplying other production lines, packing and sorting centres, or anywhere bulky goods need high-density floor storage. What matters most is whether you have large containers that do not fit racking and must be found quickly.

You can start with a pilot on one area, usually done in 2–4 weeks. At the other end are projects such as Witte Automotive, where a material flow redesign including flat storage with LED navigation deployed 5,000 positions in 6 weeks. The result was 60% faster processes, a 20% capacity increase and ROI under 2 years.

Other applications

All applications

Shall we look at your operation?

Send us your number of locations, orders and shifts – we will propose a setup and a payback estimate.

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