As businesses in Asia progresses in the seafood industry, the advancing technology provides better solutions for storage when dealing with rising demands. By Brian Miles, MD, SSI Schaefer. Asia Pacific & Middle East.

When it comes to seafood storage, Asia is still very much lagging behind the US and European markets in terms of the technologies invested. This is mainly because of the lower cost business models employed in the region where justification on a good Return On Investment (ROI) is difficult.

However, as Asia emerges to become the world's fastest growing region, steeper demands for more technology based systems and solutions in the supply chain industry for this sector increases.

COLD STORE SUPPLY CHAIN

With the multibillion dollar business in seafood production in Asia, food safety is an eminent concern. Traditionally in the rising markets here, there is a high spoilage rate from harvested seafood to tabletop. Having a cold store storage facility is the solution to raise the standard for domestic distribution of food to protect people's heath.

However, for a start, the investment cost to build and run a cold store can be up to 10 times higher than the east of running an ambient temperature warehouse. This is because it inherently requires more sophisticated technologies for handling goods.

The common approach is to try and reduce the initial set up outlay since variables such as higher operating cast are inevitable. This, of course, is not the smartest thing to do. This is especially so, in the long run, as space optimization and higher productivity achievable by using modern storage system, will pay for themselves, with lower running costs and eventually increase profit margins.

Stock rotation is a fundament al requirement in this case, as the shelf life of seafood is limited. With the high cost of building and running a cold store, it is essential that storage solutions offer maximum volumetric utilization.

MOBILE RACKING SYSTEM

Traditionally, while selective racks are a low cost option with full pallet access, it generally trades off with low storage density as it utilizes only around 32 percent of the actual storage area in the warehouse.

For double-deep racks and drive-in racks, the storage density is about 43 percent and up to 50 - 60 percent respectively. However, pallet storage flexibility and case picking opportunities are reduced in these cases.

Therefore, instead of the conventional storage systems, an electrical mobile racking system that provides operatives with up to 75 - 80 percent storage capacity, alongside with 100 percent selectivity, while allowing any pallet to be removed or cartons to be case picked on demand, would be the wiser choice, Previously believed to be far too expensive by the trade, mobile bases can double the storage capacity of the cold store, yet still provide all the facilities 01 selective racking.

For a 3PL in the seafood industry, that translates directly to more revenue, since more customer goods can be stored in the same facility. And for a manufacturer of seafood products, it means being able to store the same amount of pallets in a much smaller facility, something especially significant for expensive to build-and·run cold storage warehouses.

STORAGE & RETREVAL

Judging from the increase in number of warehouses built on very narrow aisle automated storage and retrieval sys tem (AS/ RS) recently; It Signifies that the usage of more sophisticated systems in the region are on the rise.

This is because many companies recognized that cold stores are far more difficult to operate manually. This is especially when the temperature generally hovers around -25 degrees C for frozen food, and therefore justification on the ROI for the usage of automated systems is easier.

AS/ RS is a high-density storage facility that is fully automated and transfer pallets via automated in-feed conveyor systems and transfer carriages to pallet racking serviced by storage and retrieval machines. It therefore reduces the need for labor and energy, while providing a high level or accuracy.

A lower cost alternative is to use aisle changing AS/RS system with picking tunnel s, and at present, there are two of such systems operating In South East Asia.

CONTRAL WITH RADIO FREQUENCY

In the current market, where fast and accurate stock replenishment using storage solutions are in demand, another high-density storage system that is generating interest in the region is the radio frequency controlled satellite system.

Unlike the conventional way of storage using drive in racking, where goods are moved manually into the storage lanes, the radio frequency controlled satellite that 15 suitable for usage in a deep freeze area travels down the lane automatically to load and retrieve goods pallet, when placed into the racking systems.

With this system, goods pallets can be placed concurrently into two or more storage lanes. This translates to a more efficient system for collection and retrieval of goods, which is especially crucial for the time sensitive seafood industry as it operates continuously in a loop cycle.

The cost of the racking for a radio frequency controlled satellite system is similar to a traditional drive-in system. Compatible for usage with all conventional forklift trucks, there is no additional costs needed to replace the existing equipment.

The cost of the satellite is also covered by the increase in efficiency of the forklift trucks, as it can now handle a far higher number of pallet cycles per hour. As such, using the system proves to be a much faster and cost effective alternative over the conventional storage systems.