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Storeganizer Cost and ROI — What Drives Price and What It Replaces

An honest look at what a pocket-storage conversion costs, what it is actually competing against, and how to build a payback case that survives a finance review.

Before and after comparison showing stock held in the same footprint rising from 10 to 25 percent of total stock

4

cost drivers

$0

ongoing maintenance

10 yr

textile warranty

Weeks

not months, to install

Cost driversCost per locationThe real alternativeBuilding the caseTotal cost of ownershipWhy no price listFAQs

What actually drives the cost

A Storeganizer quote is built from four variables. None of them are surprising, and knowing them in advance makes the conversation faster:

Driver What it means How to influence it
Number of bays The unit of purchase. Cost scales close to linearly with bays converted. Convert the zone with the worst location-to-item mismatch first, then extend.
Pocket sizes Smaller pockets mean more pockets per bay. Size follows the item, not the budget. Group SKUs by geometry so you buy the sizes you need, not a compromise size.
Textile grade Grades differ in abrasion resistance, rated in abrasion cycles — not in load capacity. Match the grade to pick frequency and part sharpness. A weekly-picked polybag does not need the heaviest grade.
Options Dividers, front covers, front stops, label and barcode holders, specified per pocket size. Specify per pocket group rather than across the whole installation.
Diagram of the five standard US Storeganizer pocket sizes XS to XL with opening dimensions and pick locations per 96 inch bay
Pocket size drives both cost and location count — which is why sizing to the item rather than to the average matters commercially as well as operationally.

Cost per square foot is the wrong metric

Price the addresses, not the area

Storage systems get compared per square foot because that is easy. For small parts it produces the wrong decision, because the thing you are short of is not floor — it is distinct places to put a distinct SKU.

Divide the system cost by the number of pick locations it creates and the comparison inverts. A shelving bay might cost less than a converted bay and still cost several times more per address, because it delivers a fraction of the addresses in the same cube.

That single change of denominator is usually what settles an internal debate about whether pocket columns are “expensive”.

Diagram comparing pick locations in one pallet rack bay as pallet storage, shelf levels and Storeganizer pocket columns
The same bay, priced per address rather than per square foot.

Do this before you request a quote

Count the discrete pick locations in one representative bay today. Then configure the same bay in the Storeganizer Designer. The ratio between those two numbers is the number every cost conversation should start from.

What the conversion is really competing against

Almost no one buys high-density storage instead of nothing. The real alternatives are more space or more labour, and both are more expensive than they look on a spreadsheet:

Convert existing bays Lease additional space Add more shelving
Up-front System plus modest install labour Deposit, fit-out, racking, moving costs Shelving plus install
Recurring None Rent, utilities, taxes, insurance — for the lease term None
Lead time Weeks Months Weeks
Effect on travel Falls — SKUs get closer together Rises — the operation spreads out Rises — more aisle to walk
If your needs change Columns unhook and rehang elsewhere Committed for the term Steel to dismantle and re-erect
Structural work None New rack, permits, possibly seismic Depends on height and seismic zone

One reference operation makes the point better than a table: Everten Supplies was actively exploring a move out of its 1,056 m² warehouse, then absorbed continued growth by converting 50 m² into 2,759 storage locations instead. The relocation was postponed — which is a cost avoided rather than a saving claimed. Full case study.

Building a payback case that holds up

Three components, and it is worth calculating all three rather than leaning on whichever one is largest:

🏢

Space avoided

The bays or square footage you do not have to add. Where a lease is the alternative, use the full occupancy cost, not just the rent line.

⏱️

Labour recovered

Travel time falls when pick density rises — measured at around 42% less travel and 26% better picking efficiency in independent University of Leuven research (2013).

❌

Errors avoided

One SKU per labelled pocket removes the shared-bin ambiguity behind most mispicks. Everten reported its mispick rate halving. Cost per mispick is usually already known internally.

What not to put in the model

Leave out anything you cannot source. Do not model the manufacturer’s average percentages as though they were your building — use them as evidence that the mechanism works, then calculate your own location counts from your own bay dimensions. A business case built on measured inputs survives scrutiny; one built on brochure averages does not.

Total cost of ownership over ten years

Storeganizer columns installed in existing pallet rack in an operating warehouse
Nothing drilled, anchored or powered — which is why the ownership cost after purchase is close to nil.

What is not in the running cost

  • No service contract. There are no moving parts to service and no annual inspection tied to a warranty.
  • No power. Unlike carousels and vertical lift modules, nothing draws electricity or needs a controls upgrade.
  • No software. Nothing to license, integrate or upgrade; labels and barcodes work with the WMS you already run.
  • No consumables or spares inventory.
  • No stranded asset if you move. The system relocates with you.

This is where pocket columns separate from automation on cost rather than on capability. A carousel or VLM will out-pick them in the right application and should be considered seriously — our comparison page sets out where. But automation carries a decade of service, power and integration cost that a textile pocket does not, and that gap belongs in the comparison alongside the throughput figures. For a broader framework, see our total cost of ownership guide.

Why there is no price list on this page

Because any number we published would be wrong for most readers, and we would rather be useful than easy to compare on a search results page. The suspension hardware is manufactured to your beam profile; the pocket sizes depend on your SKUs; the textile grade depends on your pick rates. A single headline price implies a standard product, and this is a configured one.

What we can do without a sales conversation is give you the physical answer for free. The Storeganizer Designer takes bay dimensions and a pocket size and returns columns, pockets and total pick locations, with no login and nothing to submit unless you want to. Take that number into your own cost comparison before you speak to anyone — including us.

Storeganizer cost and ROI — FAQs

How much does Storeganizer cost?
We quote per configuration rather than per pocket, because cost is driven by the number of bays, the pocket sizes chosen, the textile grade appropriate to your pick rates and the options specified. Send bay dimensions and a SKU profile and you will get a firm figure. What we will not do is publish a price that turns out not to apply to your rack.
What drives the cost of a Storeganizer system?
Four things: how many bays you convert, which pocket sizes those bays use, the textile grade needed for your handling intensity, and options such as dividers, front covers, front stops and label holders. The suspension hardware is made to your beam dimensions, which is included rather than extra.
Are there installation costs?
There is labour to hang the columns, and it is modest — one person hangs a column in minutes, with no drilling, anchoring, permits or electrical work. Many customers install their own after we set the first bay; we install where that is preferred.
What are the ongoing costs?
None that we are aware of. The system is maintenance free: no motors, no controls, no software, no annual service contract and no consumables. The textile carries a warranty of up to 10 years against rips and cracks.
How does the cost compare with shelving?
Per square foot of floor, shelving is usually cheaper. Per pick location, pocket columns are typically far cheaper, because the same bay yields many times more addresses. Which comparison matters depends on whether you are short of floor or short of locations — and in small-parts storage it is almost always locations.
What is a realistic payback period?
It depends entirely on what the conversion is replacing. Where it avoids leasing additional space, payback is usually driven by the rent avoided and can be quick. Where it improves picking productivity in an existing zone, it is driven by labour hours. We build both into the quote rather than quoting a generic figure.
Do you offer a way to estimate before talking to sales?
Yes. The Storeganizer Designer returns pocket sizes, column counts and total pick locations for any bay dimensions you enter, with no login and no obligation. It deliberately does not price, because pricing without knowing your rack and textile grade would be a guess.

Get a configured quote, not a guess

Send bay dimensions and the SKUs giving you trouble. You will get pocket sizes, a location count, a firm price and a straight view of the payback.

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