As a pallet is loaded from the front of the rack system onto a nesting cart, it pushes the pallet behind it back one position. The reverse happens when you unload the front pallet, the pallet behind it will automatically move forward to the front picking position.

This type of system is called Last-In-First-Out (LIFO) inventory management. Typical systems can store pallets 2-6 deep, with front-only loading and unloading from a single aisle. Unlike Drive-In pallet rack, the driver never enters the pallet rack system, and each lane, and each level, flow independently of each other, allowing you to store a variety of SKUs without disturbing product in the other lanes.

Push back rack systems can be installed against a wall and operated as a single-sided system or located in the middle of an area and operated as a double-sided system. Due to each lane flowing independently, push back pallet racking allows you to store more pallets, but with better selectivity than drive-in pallet rack. Compared to standard selective pallet rack, push back racking can save you up to 90% storage space.

The main component of push back pallet racking is the carts. The carts are moved along the inclined rails by gravity, with the rails being adjustable vertically to control the pitch.The carts nest on top of each other and slide back one pallet position when a new pallet is added, and slide forward one position when one is unloaded. Each pallet has its own cart, with the last pallet resting on the rails running the length of the bay. Each cart is equipped with four wheels allowing them to flow smoothly along the rails.

As each pallet is unloaded, all pallets behind glide forward gently until they come to rest on the rubber bumpers at the front of the pallet rack system.

With the LIFO stock rotation of push back pallet racking systems being automatic and the pallet loads easily accessible, push back is an ideal high occupancy storage application.