Retail Stockroom Mobile Shelving Case Study: Centerville, Utah

How a Utah retail build-out gained a full stockroom of hand-pick storage on a ramped mobile shelving system, without adding a single square foot to the building.

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Rows of high density mobile shelving carriages in a retail stockroom with one aisle open

Customer

A Utah architecture firm’s retail project

Location

Centerville, Utah

Product

Mobile shelving with a twin ramp and laminate board decking

Application

Retail stockroom inventory storage

About the project

This project was part of a retail build-out in Centerville, Utah, coordinated through a Utah architecture firm on behalf of the store. The scope covered the stockroom behind the sales floor, the part of a retail space that almost never gets enough attention during design even though it holds most of the inventory.

The firm brought Material Handling USA in to fit a mobile shelving system into a stockroom footprint that was fixed by the building shell. The project closed in April 2025 and was installed as part of the store’s opening timeline.

The situation

Retail stockrooms are usually the smallest room in the building and the one everyone wishes were bigger. A store needs backstock for every size, color and seasonal item on the sales floor, plus supplies, fixtures and packaging, all in a space that was drawn last on the floor plan.

Static shelving on fixed aisles wastes most of a small stockroom on walkways. Every aisle needed for access is square footage that cannot hold product. In a build-out where the room size cannot change, the only way to add capacity is to remove some of those aisles.

The other constraint was the floor itself. Many mobile shelving installations call for a recessed track set into a new sub-floor, which is a heavier construction step to add to a retail build-out schedule. This project needed the storage gain without that extra construction phase.

Aisle of mobile shelving carriages in a retail stockroom with one moving aisle open

What Material Handling USA supplied

We supplied a mobile shelving system built to match the stockroom’s footprint, with a twin ramp at the aisle openings and laminate board decking on every shelf level.

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Mobile carriages on rail

Shelving units mounted on carriages that roll on a floor-mounted rail, so multiple rows of storage share a single moving aisle instead of each needing its own fixed aisle.

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Twin ramp transition

A ramp at the entry points instead of a recessed track, so the floor stays level with the surrounding room without cutting a new sub-floor into the building.

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Laminate board decking

A solid, flat deck on every shelf level so boxed stock, folded goods and loose items all sit flat instead of shifting on an open grid.

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Full-height shelf runs

Multiple shelf levels per section reaching from near the floor to well overhead, so vertical space in the room is used along with the floor space freed up by the aisle sharing.

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Aisle labeling ready

A layout planned for simple location coding, so backstock keeps a fixed, findable home even as the seasonal mix on the sales floor changes.

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Building-fit design

Section widths and run lengths sized to the stockroom’s actual footprint rather than a generic layout, so the room was used to its edges.

The rail and drive components come from the same product family covered on our recessed vs. surface-mounted rail and manual vs. mechanical assist vs. powered mobile shelving pages.

Why a ramp instead of a sub-floor

Mobile shelving needs a rail for the carriages to roll on, and that rail has to sit flush with the surrounding floor so nothing catches a cart wheel or a foot. There are two ways to get there: recess the rail into a new sub-floor, or keep the rail on the surface and ramp up to it.

A recessed track looks the cleanest once it is finished, but it means cutting or building up the slab before the shelving goes in, which adds a construction trade and time to the schedule. That is a reasonable trade-off for a long-planned records room. It is a harder one to fit into a retail build-out where the general contractor’s schedule is already tight.

A surface-mounted rail with a ramp skips that step. The shelving sits on top of the existing floor, and a short ramp on each side carries foot and cart traffic up and over the rail. For this project, the ramp option meant the stockroom went in on the same schedule as the rest of the build-out, with no separate floor construction phase.

We cover both options in more detail on the rail comparison page if you are weighing the same decision for a build-out or a retrofit.

Ramp transition where a mobile shelving carriage rail meets the surrounding floor

Stockroom layout and pick flow

A stockroom lives or dies on how fast a stocker can find and pull an item during a busy shift. Three questions shaped this layout.

What sells fastest? High-turn sizes and seasonal items were placed nearest the stockroom door, so the most common trip stays short.

How many aisles are open at once? A mobile system only needs one aisle open at a time, which is what frees up the floor space a fixed-aisle layout would have used on walkways. The row count was set so a stocker rarely waits on someone else to move a carriage.

Where does new stock come in? The layout kept a clear path from the receiving door to the shelving, so put-away does not have to cross the sales floor.

The result is a stockroom that holds noticeably more backstock than the fixed shelving it replaced, in the same four walls.

Benefits the store gained

More capacity in a fixed footprint. Sharing one moving aisle across several rows of shelving turned a small stockroom into a much larger storage volume without any construction to the building envelope.

No sub-floor construction. The ramp approach kept the shelving install on the same schedule as the rest of the build-out.

A flat, usable deck at every level. Laminate board decking meant boxed and folded stock could sit anywhere on a shelf without special containers.

Room to reorganize. Shelf levels and section layout can be adjusted as the product mix on the sales floor changes season to season.

A cleaner backstock process. A single, findable home for every item makes restocking the sales floor faster during busy periods.

Diagram comparing fixed-aisle shelving rows against mobile shelving rows sharing one aisle in the same footprint

The cost case for mobile shelving in a retail stockroom

We never publish project pricing, but the reasoning behind this kind of decision applies to most retail build-outs with a fixed stockroom footprint.

Compare cost per square foot of usable storage, not cost per shelf

A mobile system trades aisle space for shelf space. Once that trade is counted in square feet of usable storage, the comparison against fixed shelving changes.

Weigh it against leasing more space

Adding square footage to a lease is an ongoing cost. Adding storage density to the space already leased is a one-time project.

Count the ramp against the sub-floor

A surface-mounted rail with a ramp avoids a construction trade and schedule risk that a recessed track would add to a build-out already on a deadline.

Value the flexibility

Shelf levels that move and sections that were sized to the room mean the layout can change as the store’s product mix changes, without a second construction project.

How the project ran

The sequence on this project matches most Utah build-out installs we run.

Measure the room

The stockroom footprint, door locations and any structural constraints were confirmed against the build-out drawings.

Design the layout

Row count, section widths and the ramp locations were laid out to fit the space and the expected inventory mix.

Quote and confirm

One quote covering the shelving, ramp, decking, freight and installation, matched to the attached drawing.

Deliver and install

Delivery and installation timed to the store’s build-out schedule so the stockroom was ready with the rest of the space.

Where a project needs a crew rather than a self-build, our installation process page covers what to expect from measurement through anchoring.

Employee accessing mobile shelving in a stockroom with one aisle open for retrieval

What this means for Utah retail and build-out businesses

Material Handling USA has served Utah since 1997 from Salt Lake City. Retailers, architecture firms and general contractors across the Wasatch Front run into the same problem on almost every build-out: the stockroom is the last room sized on the drawing and the first one that runs out of space once the store opens.

Mobile shelving is often the most direct fix, because it adds storage density without asking for more square footage. It works the same way in Centerville, Bountiful, Layton, Ogden and Salt Lake City, and local stock and delivery keep a project moving on a build-out schedule.

If you are planning a similar project, see our Salt Lake City mobile shelving page, then look at mobile shelving cost and budget drivers and the installation process for planning.

Material Handling USA, 222 S. Main St., 5th Floor, Salt Lake City, UT 84101. Call (801) 328-8788 for a Utah project.

Frequently asked questions

Does mobile shelving always need a recessed track in the floor?

No. A surface-mounted rail with a ramp at the aisle openings avoids cutting a new sub-floor, which is often the better fit for a retail build-out on a tight construction schedule.

How much more storage does mobile shelving add over fixed shelving in the same room?

It depends on the room, but sharing one moving aisle across several rows of shelving typically adds a meaningful share of the room back to storage that fixed aisles would otherwise use for walkways.

Can a mobile shelving layout be adjusted after a store opens?

Yes. Shelf levels adjust and sections can be reconfigured as the product mix on the sales floor changes, without redoing the whole stockroom.

What kind of decking works best for retail backstock?

Laminate board decking gives a flat, solid surface that works for boxed, folded and loose stock without needing special bins, which is why it is common in retail stockrooms.

How long does a stockroom mobile shelving install take?

A stock configuration like this typically installs within a couple of weeks of ordering, and can be scheduled to match a store’s build-out timeline.

Do you deliver and install mobile shelving in Centerville and the surrounding area?

Yes. We stock and deliver locally across the Wasatch Front from Salt Lake City and can supply the shelving only or supply and install with our own crew.

What information do you need to quote a retail stockroom project?

The room’s footprint, door and structural locations, what is being stored, and whether the project needs to avoid floor construction, as this one did.

Planning storage for a retail build-out or stockroom?

Tell us your stockroom footprint and inventory mix, and we will lay out a mobile shelving system that fits the room. Salt Lake City delivery and installation available across Utah.

Request a Quote Call (801) 328-8788