Cantilever racking can make long goods easier to access, but a catalogue comparison cannot tell a UK buyer whether a particular installation suits the building and stock. The useful comparison is between complete proposals: what each supplier has assumed about the loads, how goods will be handled, who checks the site and what the installed price includes.
Use OHRA and Wickens as two starting points for the same written brief. Their public pages establish relevant product and project offerings; they do not establish an interchangeable load rating or an all-inclusive price for your warehouse. [1][2]
Where each supplier fits the enquiry
OHRA: compare the proposed configuration and project scope
OHRA describes individually planned systems and services spanning consultation through installation. That makes it a useful enquiry where the buyer needs the supplier to develop the layout as well as provide the equipment. Request a drawing, an explicit schedule of included components and a clear statement of any site work outside the supplier’s scope. [1]
Wickens: make custom features visible in the quotation
Wickens offers design and installation services and describes options including canopies, decking and guide rails. If an accessory matters to the workflow, include it in the initial brief rather than adding it after comparing headline prices. Ask which parts of the proposed installation are standard components and which are specific to the project. [2]
Build a load brief that suppliers can use
“Timber storage” or “steel stock” is too broad to support comparable proposals. Prepare a stock schedule showing:
- The product families, lengths and dimensions, including awkward or unusually flexible items.
- The mass and shape of the loads as actually stored, including bundles and packaging.
- The intended storage positions and how stock changes during a normal picking cycle.
- The handling equipment, attachment details and proposed loading approach.
- Whether the installation is indoors or outdoors and any known site constraints.
Include the credible peak stock profile, not just an average week. Give suppliers enough information to identify exceptions requiring separate treatment. Do not convert a published per-arm figure into a system capacity by multiplying the number of arms: the supplier must confirm the permissible loading for the complete proposed arrangement.
Compare layouts against the same warehouse conditions
Give each supplier the same site plan and arrange a site assessment where needed. Mark columns, doors, pedestrian routes, other storage, handling areas and any constraints on the floor or building. Ask who is responsible for establishing the suitability of the floor, anchors and any supporting structure.
During the layout review, walk through receiving the longest load, putting it away and retrieving a partly depleted bundle. Have the handling-equipment specialist and rack designer resolve access questions together. The objective is a workable proposal supported by the relevant assessments; a clear aisle on a sales drawing is insufficient evidence on its own.
A stocked rack and a bespoke rack both need to suit their eventual use and location. “Available from stock” describes availability, not an exemption from checking the installation.
Turn supplier quotations into a fair comparison
Request prices in GBP and show VAT consistently. For each quote, separate equipment, delivery, unloading, installation and any separately quoted site preparation. Record who provides lifting equipment and what access or working hours the installer assumes.
Ask each bidder to state the proposed configuration, accessories, programme, quotation validity and exclusions. Treat a lower equipment-only price as incomplete until the remaining work has been priced. If a supplier changes the arrangement to lower the price, have the revised design assessed before treating it as equivalent.
Resolve a changed-load example before ordering
Ask both suppliers what would happen if the stored product mix changed after installation. For example, a buyer might replace several light bundles with fewer heavier bundles of a different length. Request the information needed for reassessment, who approves the change and what documentation would be updated. This checks the support process without assuming that unused space or spare arms automatically permit a heavier load.
Agree the handover evidence before placing the order
Include an agreed final drawing, installation documentation, configuration-specific load information, operating instructions and responsibility for resolving defects in the purchase scope. Identify who will brief the team on permitted loading and who to contact before changing the arrangement or stored goods.
Choose the supplier whose documented proposal satisfies the stock, handling and site requirements at an acceptable total installed cost. If two proposals remain difficult to compare, ask for clarification of their assumptions. Unsupported capacity claims or an unexplained price gap are reasons to resolve the scope, not reasons to guess which rack is stronger.
References
- OHRA UK — Cantilever racking (ohra.co.uk)
- Wickens — Cantilever racking systems (wickens.co.uk)
