Let's be honest, if your warehouse has a small parts problem, you already know it.
The shelves are packed, the bins overflow, pickers walk halfway across the building for a single fastener, and nobody can find anything quickly.
Small parts typically represent a large share of SKUs and daily picks, yet they can also take up an outsized amount of floor space and picker time. The way most warehouses store small parts (static shelves, drawer cabinets, bins crammed into whatever corner is available) makes sense when SKU counts were low, and order volumes are manageable. But as operations grow, that approach breaks down fast.
Warehouse and fulfillment operations can get control of their small parts problem with a centralized automated storage hub built around Vertical Lift Modules (VLMs). The result is a tighter footprint, faster picks, fewer errors, and a layout that scales.
We want to show you what that transformation looks like, from the problems with traditional small parts storage to a practical roadmap for making the shift.
We’ll also give you a real-world example from All World Machinery that includes hard numbers to help you truly see the difference.
Traditional small parts storage isn't broken. Until it is.
Static shelving and drawer cabinets work fine at small scale, but they have some fundamental limitations that compound as your operation grows.
Think about how small parts typically live in a warehouse:
Scattered across deep shelving, drawer cabinets, and "overflow" racks.
Located wherever space was available, not where picks happen.
Mixed in with bulk storage, making them harder to locate.
Frequently reorganized or not organized at all.
The operational cost shows up in three ways. First, when pickers walk further per pick to find small parts, that’s time lost. Second, search time also climbs as SKU counts grow and organization degrades. Third, accuracy often suffers because small parts are easy to mispick, especially under volume pressure.
These problems only compound as order volumes rise, space gets tight, and your workers are picking more and more orders.
According to our data, replacing modular drawer cabinets with Vertical Lift Modules can help you save big.
| Ceiling Height | Eliminated Drawer Cabinets | Approx Floor Space Required for Cabinets | Space Savings with Kardex Automated Storage | Space Savings (Percentage) |
| 15' | 26 | 260 | 140 | 54% |
| 20' | 36 | 360 | 240 | 67% |
| 25' | 48 | 480 | 360 | 75% |
| 30' | 62 | 620 | 500 | 81% |
| 35' | 74 | 740 | 620 | 84% |
| 40' | 84 | 840 | 720 | 86% |
NOTE: All numbers are approximate and assume that the Vertical Lift Module or Vertical Carousel Module will occupy approximately 80 square feet of floor space, and that modular drawer cabinets measure 25"x25"x60".
>>> Compare modular drawer cabinets to VLMs with this guide.
But what is the best solution for small parts storage? The ideal alternative is a small parts ASRS hub.
Vertical lift modules can provide you with a concentrated, purpose-built small parts storage zone.
What does an automated small parts storage solution look like?
VLMs or VCMs store the bulk of your small-parts SKUs in a compact vertical footprint.
The hub is positioned close to your packing, shipping, or assembly areas for easy access.
Goods-to-person picking delivers parts to the picker, eliminating walking.
Integrated pick-to-light and software guidance direct every pick, boosting speed and accuracy.
Automating small parts storage isn’t just a new system.
It’s a strategic layout transformation designed to optimize your operation.
By consolidating your small parts into a centralized Vertical Lift Module hub, your floor plan naturally reorganizes around it, creating a more logical, efficient, and operationally sound workflow.
The ASRS hub becomes the center of gravity for daily pick activity.
Carts, conveyors, or simple transport paths radiate out from that hub toward packing and shipping. Pallets and bulky goods move to outer storage zones where they belong, accessible by forklift and managed with traditional racking.
The result is a three-zone warehouse model:
• Zone 1 — Small parts ASRS hub: High-velocity picks, goods-to-person, software-guided.
• Zone 2 — Mid-range storage: Moderate-velocity items on conventional shelving or flow rack.
• Zone 3 — Bulk storage: Pallets and large items in conventional racking, picked less frequently.
This model is ideal for warehouses that are just starting their automation journey. And you're not alone. According to our research, 63% of warehouses describe themselves as fully manual.
Vertical Lift Modules are the perfect technology to start with.
They can start as modular, standalone systems to make storing your parts significantly easier, safer, and faster.
But over time, they can be easily integrated with other warehouse automation technologies, like conveyors, robotics, and more.
But how easy are they to integrate? And can they really make a difference?
For one company, All World Machinery Supply, they made all the difference.
Here's their story....
All World Machinery Supply, a fast-growing industrial distributor, went through this transformation when they ran out of space in their 112,000-square-foot facility. By consolidating small parts into a Kardex VLM hub, they:
Cut floor space by 75%.
Increased picking efficiency by roughly 400%.
Hit 99.8% pick accuracy.
All World Machinery Supply is an international machinery component distributor known for its high-quality machine tool parts and expertly crafted custom machine accessories. Their 112,000 sq ft headquarters in Roscoe, IL serves as a distribution center, service, and assembly facility. As a one-stop shop for almost every type of machinery component you can think of, All World carries small parts such as bearings, sensors, switches, and valves to larger components such as pumps and motors, hydraulic units, and oil chillers.
With such a diverse inventory, it’s no surprise that All World’s continual growth pushed their available floorspace to the limit.
To solve this space challenge, All World Machinery installed four Vertical Lift Module Kardex Shuttles with Kardex Power Pick System, reducing storage floorspace by 75%, increasing picking efficiency of small parts by 400%, and improving order accuracy to 99.8%.
>>> How many VLMs do you need? Find out.
All World has grown steadily since its founding in 1993, and their inventory counts have grown with them. This led them down a path familiar to many successful distribution businesses – a path that inevitably ends in a lack of floor space.
Kyle Koepp, Director of Logistics at All World, said,
“When we moved into this space in 2015, it was big and new, but we soon outgrew it. A good problem, but still something to resolve.” As the new Director of Logistics, Koepp immediately realized the pressing need to solve All World’s space problem. “When I took over the role, we were simply out of warehouse space. I looked at lots of different possible solutions, mainly different shelving, and mezzanine options, but also other ASRS. Nothing seemed to fit or make sense enough to justify the project. Then I found the vertical lift module and with the density and capacity it provided I knew it was the right technology for us," said Koepp.
Prior to their automation solution, All World’s storage zones consisted entirely of static shelving. There was high bay shelving for large items and pallets, and standard shelving for small parts. To solve their space challenge, All World transitioned from traditional static shelving to an automated storage solution from Kardex Remstar, initially comprised of three Vertical Lift Module (VLM) Kardex Shuttles.
They doubled down on their commitment to automation by adding another VLM a year later to further increase their storage capacity, and a conveyor system to effortlessly transport inventory through their warehouse.
Koepp commented, “We simply would not have had the space for our current conveyor system without the space freed up by the VLMs. We have centered the entire warehouse around the VLM zone because the majority of what we're doing happens in that zone.”
All World’s push for automation was met with some initial hesitation from the warehouse crew. They were used to the old manual shelving and order process, had concerns that the VLMs would be too complicated or end up causing unnecessary work, or as a worst case scenario might even replace the workers themselves.
“When I first told my distribution team that we were getting VLMs, not one of them was on board because they didn't understand the solution. Once they saw how easy it was and how parts could be retrieved with the simple push of a button, they got on board with the project fast,” said Koepp.
Their travel times to pick items are much lower and they’re not bending over or reaching up to pick items – reducing injury risk and making their jobs less physically demanding. Not only that, their team’s overall efficiency has increased dramatically because of the VLMs.
The best part? Not a single employee was out of a job. Because less people are required to perform the bulk of All World’s daily picks, more team members are free to handle other tasks around the warehouse. It’s truly a situation in which everyone wins.
“When I took over the role, we were simply out of warehouse space. I looked at lots of different possible solutions [...], Nothing seemed to fit or make sense enough to justify the project. Then I found the Kardex Vertical Lift Module, and with the density and capacity it provided, I knew it was the right technology for us.”
While they still have high bay shelving for infrequently picked large items and pallets, All World has been able to reduce the amount of floor space required for their small parts storage by 75%.
With this extra available space, All World installed its conveyor system, further increasing the operational efficiency of its distribution team. “We were able to take out three-fourths of the shelving units – all of that inventory is now managed in the Kardex VLMs. Since we've been able to open up that space, we've put in a conveyor system – it’s awesome - super efficient, super clean. We are loving it,” said Koepp.
Before automating, there needed to be a minimum of four workers walking thousands of yards daily, up and down rows of static shelving to keep up with order volume for small parts.
“The amount of steps required to pick an order and bring it to packing was just crazy. The VLMs have completely eliminated all of that unnecessary walking,” said Koepp. Now, a single worker is able to provide enough picking throughput to completely cover what used to take four, resulting in an approximate 400% increase in overall picking efficiency for 66% of their most-picked small parts.
The remaining three workers are now freed up to take care of other tasks around the warehouse.
Prior to implementing their automation solution, All World struggled with the usual suspects in inventory management for distribution centers with large, varied SKU counts.
As space became less and less available, their inventory tracking system was pushed to the limits. Now, with their automation solution, All World has achieved an astoundingly high 99.8% order accuracy rate.
Koepp put it best when he said, “Items would often end up in random places when there was no space on the shelf. One of the biggest perks of the VLMs is the Kardex Power Pick System, which provides a history list showing where each part has been and where it currently is. This system makes inventory control foolproof. Parts are scanned and directed to their exact location, greatly improving our accuracy.”
All World transitioned from an entirely manual picking and replenishment process to a highly automated batch picking system leveraging ASRS and conveyor to increase efficiency.
The warehouse is divided into three storage zones. The first zone is high bay shelving around the distribution center's exterior, storing large parts that don’t fit on shelves or in the VLMs. These large parts represent only 3% of the total SKUs but occupy 77% of the warehouse’s available floorspace. The VLM zone, centrally located and about 2,000 sq ft (10% of the storage space), stores all small parts, comprising 66% of the total SKUs and accounting for the majority of daily picks. The third zone is traditional shelving for unique or special small parts not yet integrated into the VLMs, occupying 13% of storage space and 31% of SKUs.
All World handles two types of orders: customer parts orders (81%) and assembly orders (19%). Customer parts orders come through online ordering or direct contact with customer service, while assembly orders are for internal use by the Assembly team. The picking process is the same for both, differing only in the post-picking phase.
All World employs a batch picking process. Every ten minutes, a printer near the VLM zone prints a set of pick tickets. A worker collects these tickets, waiting for 12 tickets to form a complete batch. The process begins in the VLM zone, where the worker scans the tickets and places each in a tote to create the batch.
Each ticket represents an order and is assigned to a specific order tote. The Kardex Power Pick System software prompts the VLMs to work simultaneously, delivering the required parts.
The worker picks the parts from the VLMs and places them in the correct totes at the batching station, guided by pick-to-light displays on the VLMs and put-to-light displays at the batch station. This process continues until all parts for the batch are picked and placed in the order totes. The worker confirms completion with a button push, and the order totes move onto the conveyor.
If additional parts from other zones are needed, workers manually push a cart to pick the necessary items. Once all parts are picked, customer orders proceed to the manifest area for final distribution, while assembly orders go to the new builds area of the warehouse for assembly and subsequent shipping to the customer
>>> Learn about production line automation by combining VLMs with Robotics to take the next step.
All World Machinery has come a long way from its humble beginnings in the back bedroom of an Illinois home in 1993. They’ve grown into an international powerhouse providing high-quality machinery components and top-notch service for businesses around the world.
Their commitment to innovation and efficiency through automation has positioned them as a leader in the industry, capable of meeting the demands of their diverse customer base with the speed and accuracy they’ve come to be known for.
This transformation underscores their dedication to providing exceptional service and quality, ensuring their continued growth and success for many years to come.
The All World Machinery results aren't an outlier. Operations that make this shift consistently report improvements across four core areas. Here's what you can expect:
VLMs use vertical space in a way that conventional shelving simply can't. By consolidating small parts into a VLM hub, many operations hold the majority of their SKUs in a fraction of their previous floor space. All World's VLM zone, for example, holds 66% of their SKUs in roughly 10% of their prior storage area. That reclaimed space can go toward new product lines, expanded pick operations, or eliminating costly off-site storage.
Goods-to-person picking eliminates the biggest time waster in small-parts operations: walking. When the machine brings the tray to the picker instead of the picker searching the shelves, small-parts picking that once required four people can often be handled by one. Efficient storage fundamentally restructures how labor is deployed, resulting in faster picking and higher throughput.
Pick-to-light guidance and software-directed retrieval can deliver up to 99% accuracy and real-time inventory visibility. Cycle counting becomes faster, replenishment is triggered automatically, and you always know exactly what's in stock and where. For operations with high-value parts or tight inventory budgets, that control delivers strong ROI.
Perhaps the most underappreciated benefit is what happens to the rest of your warehouse. Moving small parts into a centralized hub gives you the opportunity to rethink your entire layout, pushing bulk storage to appropriate zones, tightening pick paths, and creating a facility that flows logically from receiving to shipping. The warehouse stops being a patchwork of workarounds and starts working as a system.
>>> Learn more about the benefits of Vertical Lift Modules for small warehouses.
Ready to take the first step?
Here's a practical roadmap for evaluating and implementing a small parts ASRS hub.
Before you can size the opportunity, you need to understand what you're working with. Walk your small-parts area with these questions in mind:
How much floor space does small parts storage currently occupy?
What percentage of your total SKUs are small parts?
What percentage of daily picks involve small parts?
How far do pickers walk per small-parts pick, on average?
How often do you lose time to mis-picks or missing inventory?
Even rough estimates here will tell you whether the opportunity is significant. Most operations are surprised by the numbers.
Look for a location that has ceiling height (VLMs typically need 14–24 feet of clear height), an open footprint, and proximity to packing, assembly, or shipping. Think of this as staking out the future "small parts hub" for daily pick activity.
How do you want picks to move through the hub? Consider:
Will you batch pick or pick to order?
Will totes feed a conveyor, carts, or direct-to-packing?
Do you need to support kitting, assembly, or production staging?
Answering these questions upfront shapes the configuration of your ASRS system and the layout around it.
Before committing, build a rough ROI case. Estimate:
How many shelves and cabinets could be consolidated into VLMs.
The floor space you'd recover.
The reduction in walk time per shift.
The labor hours you'd redeploy or reduce.
>>> How much does a Vertical Lift Module cost? Our guide breaks it down.
This doesn't need to be a precise financial model; a directional estimate is enough to validate the business case and build internal support. Kardex's Cost Justification Calculator can help you structure this analysis.
Once you have your audit data and workflow requirements, bring in a specialist. Share your numbers, your layout constraints, and your goals. Ask for a concept design built around a VLM or VCM hub. A good partner will help you model the configuration, size the system correctly, and identify any integration requirements (WMS, ERP, conveyor) before you commit.
Your small parts catalog is probably your highest-SKU, highest-pick-frequency product category, and in most warehouses, it's also the most poorly optimized. Static shelves and scattered bins made sense as a starting point. They don't scale.
The shift to a VLM-based ASRS hub isn't just about technology. It's about treating small parts the way their operational importance demands, as the center of daily pick activity, not an afterthought in the corner. When you do that, the space savings, labor efficiency, accuracy, and flow follow naturally.
>>> Learn how to organize your Vertical Lift Module inventory like a pro.
Want to see how a Kardex VLM hub could work in your operation? Schedule a facility visit or request a concept layout from a Kardex automation specialist. We'll help you size the opportunity, model the impact, and design a small parts storage solution that actually scales with your business.