Warehouse Space Estimator (Pallet Storage)

This free tool provides a high-level estimate of the warehouse floor area required to store palletised goods in racking.

It is designed for UK warehouse planning, feasibility studies and early option comparison,  before committing to detailed warehouse design.

This tool is an early-stage estimate. If you want a quick sense-check, contact me with your results.

Warehouse space estimator – indicative warehouse footprint and area planning

What the warehouse space estimator does

The warehouse space estimator helps you quickly assess:

  • Required warehouse storage area (sqm / sqft)

  • Pallet storage capacity using Euro or GKN pallets

  • The impact of wide aisle, narrow aisle and VNA racking strategies

  • Typical aisle widths linked to reach trucks, articulated trucks and VNA trucks

  • The effect of pallet levels and utilisation (e.g. 85%)

  • A practical allowance for non-storage warehouse space

This is particularly useful for early feasibility checks, comparing layout concepts, and sense-checking headline pallet capacity requirements.

Important limitations

This tool provides an order-of-magnitude estimate only and does not replace detailed warehouse design.

It does not account for:

  • loading docks and yard interface

  • goods-in / goods-out and marshalling areas

  • MHE parking, charging or battery change

  • offices, welfare or plant rooms

  • fire aisles, columns or building inefficiencies

  • throughput, congestion, SKU velocity or picking profiles

  • structural, fire or sprinkler constraints

Final layouts, aisle widths and levels must always be confirmed during detailed design and supplier specification.

Why 85% utilisation matters

Warehouses operating close to 100% full typically suffer from congestion, poor slotting and double handling. For this reason, a maximum operational utilisation of around 85% is commonly used in practice to allow for replenishment activity, SKU spread and demand variability.

The estimator makes this assumption explicit so the impact on space requirements is clear.

Want a quick sense-check?

If you share your pallet count, SKU profile, throughput and any constraints, I can sense-check whether your assumptions are realistic (utilisation, aisle strategy, levels and allowances) and advise on the next design steps.