Vertical Storage

The Kiva solution operates on standard warehouse floors that are enhanced with a grid pattern of barcode stickers.  The stickers facilitate drive unit guidance in the Kiva zone.  There are no embedded wires, magnets or other special devices in the floor so the solution is capable of operating on any level of a multi-tier facility.

In geographies where distribution centers are relatively inexpensive to build or lease, clients typically choose to deploy the Kiva solution on a single level.  However, the solution is not restricted to operating on the ground floor.  Some clients make use of the vertical space above Kiva operating floors by utilizing mezzanines and equipment platforms or taking advantage of existing multi-floor buildings.  The Kiva solution operates on multiple levels through the use of Kiva Vertical Lifts (KVLs).  KVLs operate much like other equipment lifts, but travel twice as fast as the industry average for industrial lifts.  Kiva software enables drive units carrying mobile inventory shelves or moving without mobile shelves to access and operate the lifts without human intervention.  Thus, multi-level facilities may spread the Kiva solution vertically, and the software automatically incorporates vertical moves into normal pick, pack & ship workflows.

By enhancing a distribution center with equipment platforms or making use of existing multi-floor facilities, Kiva enables clients to make maximum use of the cube space in their buildings.  The flexibility of the Kiva solution allows for designs that incorporate work stations on multiple levels or restricts the upper levels to only accommodate storage.  Either way, once operational, the Kiva solution will dynamically store inventory shelves such that faster moving goods are slotted closer to work stations than slower moving goods.  The standard dynamic slotting algorithms in Kiva's software package operate in 3 dimensions to take advantage of multi-level implementations that feature KVLs.