The pallets most commonly used in South African SFCG/retail supply chains are the CHEP Code 1 pallets, which are 1 200 mm in length, are 1 000 wide, have a capacity of 1 000 kg and allow for four-way entry.

Rack beams are required to support the pallets under the end blocks. This requires beams to be spaced at 1 100 mm if the pallet is stored with the 1 200 mm face to the aisle, or at 900 mm if the pallet is stored with the 1 000 mm face to the aisle.

If the pallets to be used vary from these CHEP standards, the racking should be designed accordingly.

However, if a variety of pallets is to be used, the racking should be decked to accommodate the various sizes.

Pallets may be fairly standard in size and capacity, but operational environments dictate the use of the handling equipment required to move and stack loaded pallets in the warehouse situation.

Various options are available, and include: walkie stacker trucks; internal combustion counterbalanced fork lift trucks; electric counterbalanced forklift trucks; reach trucks; four-way reach trucks; diesel side loaders; electric side loaders; man-down turret truck; man-up turret truck; and storage and retrieval machines.

Typically, each of these options is suited to a specific application and specific operational capacity, as shown in the table.