Safer Storage Systems has engineered and reconfigured warehouse storage solutions for some of Australia’s most trusted retailers including Reece plumbing, JB HI-FI and Dulux. Brittany Coles reports how the business is putting Australian manufacturing back on the map.
The increasing number of warehouses and distribution centres in Australia is driving global industrial racking systems. The boost in the e-commerce sector and rise in automated material handling equipment has made the racking market a competitive landscape. Customers are wanting industrial racking systems installed by a company who can offer the most cost-effective and fastest method. However, Matt Bell, Managing Director and James Hardy, Sales Director at Safer Storage Systems says rather than agreeing to fit a stock stand racking system, the primary focus should be on finding the right solution that is customised to what the customer needs.
According to a 2019 Transforming Australian Manufacturing report by PwC, the last 30 years have seen a reduction in the size of the Australian manufacturing workforce. In the last decade, the workforce decreased by over 100,000 people. When compared to the international landscape, this pattern is not the norm. Matt says Safer Storage Systems is proud to be one of the few racking companies manufactured in Australia and is passionate about growing Australia’s manufacturing presence through the company’s new global partnership with Gonvarri Material Handling (GMH).
“We like to consider ourselves as the biggest racking company you’ve never heard of,” Matt says. Safer Storage Systems provides ongoing scalable solutions to some of Australia’s most trusted retailers including Reece plumbing, JB HI-FI, Dulux and Footlocker. Its solutions range from $500 pallet racking fitting to $5 million. The company, which has been operational for the past 14 years, believes that warehouses are just for keeping the rain off the storage solutions inside, which are the number one asset for efficient operations.
Global presence for local attendance
Matt and James have worked on the tools and have been involved in the industry for over 25 years. Matt says he knows the importance of the customer requiring a good quality experience all the way through from design to the completion of the job. Partnership is highly valuable for Safer Storage Systems, which is why they teamed up with Gonvarri Material Handling (GMH) last year.
World leading provider of industrial storage systems, GMH, is a division of Gonvarri Steel Services. The European company’s five business lines operating as Gonvarri Industries are estimated to be worth over €3 billion (AU$4.9 billion). James says that GMH has a product range that suits Safer Storage Systems well, providing them with direct access to manufactured products with no additional margins.
“We’re proud to be an independent business and distribute the global GMH range to our customers,” James says. He explains that the global giant never saw Australia as a target market when they approached GMH. Since forming the partnership last year, Safer Storage Systems has become GMH’s biggest export partner outside Europe.
Due to the Australian company’s exclusive access to the GMH product range, they have imported materials from Germany, Romania and Finland. This enables Safer Storage Systems to manufacture customised solutions including static and dynamic pallet racking, mobile racking, fully automated pallet shuttle systems and vertical lift machines.
Matt says Australia’s presence in the market has weakened due to the demands to keep up with international manufacturing speeds. With recent government interventions and currency shifts, local manufacturing is highly competitive. He says Safer Storage Systems’ focus is on manufacturing a high quality and efficient product, but above all, offering customers an entire qualified solution from its sizeable product range that extends beyond pallet racking.
Engaged and customised
Typically, once a customer identifies how many pallets required, the weight and dimensions of the rack they need, they’re usually after the fastest and cheapest option James says, which isn’t the ideal approach. Matt agrees with James in saying that decision may not be qualified. James says there is a process to go through in order to come to an efficient end solution and it’s about staying involved and staying engaged with the customer.
“We concentrated on the principle of balancing productivity with storage. Ideally, before we even think about designing the warehouse layout, our first process is to take a step back, analyse their data, understand their logic and get a snapshot of stock on hand, the fundamentals in warehouse design” James says.
Safer Storage Systems base their recommendations for customers on warehouse design, data, observation and logic. “It can be a scary thing for customers, because we can end up knowing more about their business then they do,” James says. Following an in-depth analysis of past and current operations, the team at Safer Storage Systems figure out the best solution to achieve the customer’s desired results.
“A lot of companies try to keep racking to a standard size because it suits its manufacturing, whereas sometimes the solution for a customer isn’t a standard size. That’s why having a scalable solution according to every customer’s needs sets us apart from the rest,” Matt says.
“We use a different logic, examining efficient operational processes. We don’t ignore customer requirements for the sake of flipping some steel. We tell customers that they may not need to install all at once, it can be phased in and scalable to the future as the business and warehouse demands grow,” James says.
Qualified and independent
As time goes on and businesses evolve, Matt and James say the Safer Storage Systems team continue to work with clients to grow their capabilities. Safer Storage Systems has found that most customers are tired of being offered the same standard racking layout, and it’s about offering the one solution they need.
Safer Storage Systems is currently adding value to JB HI-FI’s new $44 million distribution centre in Truganina, Victoria following the successful solutions implemented at the home entertainment retailer’s distribution centre in Sydney.
“JB HI-FI is an interesting client as they require a minimal amount of pallet racking. Through labelling, line marking, guard rails and walkway protection we are giving them a fully functional storage solution, not just pallet racks,” Matt says.
Safer Storage Systems can be looking after up to 250 stores nationwide for major accounts and have a dedicated team on location at over 50 sites a day. The team visits previous sites of clients, assists in the deconstruction of the old racking and recycles the asset to be reused again. “We’re not just doing the layout, we’ll hold their hand all the way to execution, down to traffic management plans and servicing our automation systems,” James says.
“The most important part of installing a new solution are the years to come to ensure services, maintenance and smooth operation processes are in place for the customer,” James says. Safer Storage Systems has seen an increase in semi-automation systems for pallets including mobile and pallet shuttle racking, especially in temperature-controlled environments, vertical lift modules and autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) for high density picking where goods to person solutions are increasing.
“With the increase in semi-automated solutions, it is important to have a national support network which guarantees local support and response quickly. We operate strong “RAM” principles, reliability, availability and maintainability, which is critical in supporting these systems,” James Says.
“Our move in the market is very deliberate. Customers engage with us because they want a qualified solution with future capabilities, and our ability to reconfigure a whole warehouse with storage systems becomes their best value.”
“We’re proud to manufacture quality products right here in Australia. We use high quality steel and manufacturing processes that exceed Australian standards. We track coil to projects and have a robust QC program, our customers know we do things thoroughly and properly,” Matt says.