This question usually gets answered by looking at the parts, which is why so many stockrooms end up with five bin sizes and shelves full of gaps. A better way in is to ask what the shelf can hold, how often each part gets picked, and how many bin SKUs you are willing to manage.
Question one: what does the shelf allow?
Measure the usable depth of the shelf and the clear width between uprights. Divide the clear width by candidate bin widths and look at the remainder. A clear run near 46 in takes seven bins at about 6.5 in with a small gap left, or five at 9 in with a wasted column. The bin width that wastes the least is usually the right answer, and since the die is included at iBox you can cut a bin to a width that suits your racking rather than accepting a stock size.
Question two: how fast does it move?
| Pick pattern | Bin sizing logic | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Picked many times a day | Size to about a day or two of stock, replenished often | Smaller bins, more of them, less reaching |
| Picked a few times a week | Size to a replenishment cycle | Medium bins, the workhorse size |
| Slow moving or seasonal | Size to the whole holding | Larger bins, often on higher or lower shelves |
| Bulky but light | Size to volume, not to count | Deep bins, watch the lift out clearance |
A bin sized to a whole month of a fast moving part is a bin whose front half is empty and whose back half is unreachable.
Question three: how many sizes can you live with?
Every extra bin size is another SKU to reorder, another shelf layout to maintain and another chance of a gap. Most stockrooms run well on two sizes, sometimes three: a small bin for loose fasteners and components, a standard bin that fills the majority of the shelving, and occasionally a tall or deep bin for awkward items. Resist the urge to size a bin for every part.
Height, and the clearance nobody plans for
The bin has to come off the shelf, not just sit on it. Leave enough vertical clearance that a picker can get a hand over the top edge and lift, which in practice is a couple of inches above the bin. If the shelf pitch is adjustable, set the pitch to the bin rather than buying a bin to a pitch you have not fixed yet.
Board grade for a bin that gets handled daily
A bin box is pulled, pushed, dropped and refilled far more than a shipping box, and the front cut down face is the weak point. Single wall is fine for light parts sitting on a supported shelf. Double wall is worth the money where bins stack on each other or hold anything heavy. Ask for the board grade and the maximum gross weight to be written on the quote. Plain corrugated bins are available on our corrugated boxes page.
Ordering and lead time
Minimum order is 100 boxes, from about $0.48 per unit at bulk volumes, confirmed on your written quote. Die and plates, design support, US shipping and a digital proof are included. Turnaround runs in three lanes: rush (expedited production with air freight), standard (air) and cost saver (sea), from about 7 business days plus 2 to 5 for delivery, with specialty imported items up to about 12 weeks. Rush carries a premium of about 7 to 25% depending on the job. We produce in West Chicago and in Guangzhou.
For the measuring method itself, see our guide to sizing a bin box.
Measure one bay of shelving, decide how many bins you want across it, and request a quote. Tell us the clear run and we will work the bin width back so the row fills it.
