| | Because they help shops meet the requirements for lean manufacturing, vertical storage and retrieval systems can have a verifiable positive return in terms of improved operating efficiency if they are properly configured for specific applications. However, as with any major investment, a comparison of the costs of a new system versus the old system must be considered. Sitting down with an installation specialist and putting the numbers into a standard return on investment/internal rate of return (ROI / IRR) formula is one way to do this. Another way is to use an ROI/IRR calculator that allows users to enter the appropriate data that automatically computes the daily costs of the current system and the new system. The calculator also computes dollar savings from reduced space requirements, cost savings from improved employee productivity, depreciation savings, and total annualized savings. From this information, the shop can determine the payback schedule for a specific installation. | |
