Choosing the right racking supplier
Choosing the right racking supplier is not an easy task for any new buyer of racking and shelving products.
Any search on Google or other means will pull up a plethora of potential suppliers. However racking suppliers fall into various categories.
Racking Manufacturers
Many potential customers feel more comfortable buying from a racking manufacturer. They believe that they will get the best price as they are buying direct. This can be the case but most projects involve more than one type of product.
Certain manufacturers may be particularly good and economical at making pallet racking but not shelving for example. Others may be better at ancillary products. I give an example below for long span shelving with galvanized steel decks and pallet racking with mesh decks.
Supplier 1
Uprights and beams £27,000
Steel decks £20,000
Pallet racking £64,000
£111,000
TOTAL
Supplier 2
Uprights and beams £29,500
Steel decks £19,000
Pallet racking £63,000
£111,500
TOTAL
Supplier 3
Uprights and beams £32,500
Steel decks £17,500
Pallet racking £64,500
£114,500
TOTAL
All prices are very similar for the total package but buying the long span uprights and beam from supplier one pallet racking from supplier 2 and steel decks from supplier 3 gives a total of £107,500.
Now most buyers will not want the hassle of splitting their orders up but this is where a good distributor can play a part.
Racking Distributors
There are numerous racking distributors out there offering a wide range of services. They can tend to buy at slightly better prices than the end-user but they can source from more than one supplier and also can offer a better more personal service than the manufacturer so in the case above because of their better buying terms and their ability to mix and match they could offer a lower price than the three manufacturers and still make a margin to make it worth their while.
They can also possibly offer a mixture of new and used racking to make greater savings.
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