Rack System — Statewide Delaware
Carton Flow Rack in Delaware
Gravity-fed case-pick rack — rear-loaded, front-picked, pick-to-light ready, 2–3× the pick velocity of static shelving.
ENGINEERED — Carton Flow Rack
Rack System — Statewide Delaware
Gravity-fed case-pick rack — rear-loaded, front-picked, pick-to-light ready, 2–3× the pick velocity of static shelving.
Carton Flow Rack supplied and installed across Delaware. Free, no-obligation quotes.
// Overview
Carton flow rack is a gravity-fed dynamic storage system built for case and carton picking — not full pallets. Cases are loaded from the rear onto inclined roller or skate-wheel tracks and flow forward automatically to a pick face presented at ergonomic waist height. As a picker pulls a carton, the next one rolls into place. Because replenishment happens from the opposite side of the rack, pick operations never pause for restocking — a structural advantage that delivers 2 to 3 times the pick velocity of static shelving for the same operator. Carton flow is the default front-line pick medium for Delaware e-commerce fulfillment, auto parts distribution, pharmaceutical case-pick, and apparel DC operations. Delaware Pallet Racking designs and installs carton flow systems integrated with pick-to-light, WMS zones, and takeaway conveyor throughout Delaware.
// What you get
// Spec sheet
A replenishment operator loads cases onto the rear of the inclined track from a dedicated restock aisle — typically while pickers are actively working the front face on the other side.
Cases roll forward on steel rollers or plastic skate wheels pitched 3 to 5 percent. A front lip stops the leading case at the pick face, held in position and ready to pick.
Tracks are typically set at waist height (40–54 inches) in the main pick zone, with secondary levels above and below. Pickers never reach above shoulder or below the knee in the fast-moving zones.
// Fit check
// Where we install it
E-commerce and 3PL fulfillment centers in the Christiana/Middletown corridor use carton flow as the main pick-face medium for small-parcel order picking. Rear replenishment lets the pick wave run uninterrupted during peak.
NAPA regional DC operations and regional auto parts warehouses use carton flow for the middle SKU tier — fast movers on the pick face, slower SKUs on adjacent static shelving.
Delaware pharma and life-sciences operations use carton flow for fast-moving generic and OTC SKUs in the DEA-scheduled case-pick zones, paired with pick-to-light for lot-level accuracy requirements.
Regional apparel and retail DC operations run carton flow in seasonal fashion pick lines where SKU turnover inside the bay is high and static shelving can't keep up with replenishment cadence.
Sysco and regional grocery DC case-pick zones in Delaware use carton flow for high-velocity shelf-stable SKUs where full pallet picking does not make sense but static shelving can't sustain the rate.
// Straight answers
Standard steel-roller tracks handle 50 to 100 lbs per case comfortably, which covers the vast majority of e-commerce, auto parts, pharma, and apparel case weights. Heavy-duty tracks push that to 250 lbs per case, typically used in foodservice and industrial distribution where cases are denser. Above 250 lbs, pallet rack or heavier dynamic systems are the right call.
No — carton flow works fine with paper pick lists or RF scanners. But carton flow is the native home of pick-to-light because the fixed pick face makes display mounting and light mapping clean. Most Delaware operations that install carton flow add pick-to-light within 12 to 18 months because the combined productivity gain is hard to ignore.
Skate-wheel tracks handle irregular carton shapes better than solid rollers because the wheels flex slightly to carry the load. For consistent rectangular cartons, solid rollers are faster and lower maintenance. A hybrid layout is common in mixed-SKU zones.
Typically 10 to 12 feet of rear aisle is enough for a walkie pallet jack or small hand truck to operate safely. Some high-volume operations dedicate a full 14-foot replenishment aisle if they want to stage pallets directly behind the flow bays during peak wave replenishment.
Yes, and it is a common pattern. A typical Delaware pick line runs carton flow for fast movers on the front bay face with full selective pallet rack behind for case-pallet replenishment and slow-mover bulk storage. The full rack system gets engineered as a single structure.
A basic 20-bay carton flow pick line runs roughly $25K to $60K installed depending on track type (rollers vs. skate wheels), tier count, and integration scope. Adding pick-to-light and WMS integration typically doubles the project cost — but also roughly doubles pick velocity, which is why the math usually wins in Delaware operations.
// More from us
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