Warehouse shelving refers to the racks used in warehouses for placing goods. It is widely used in industrial warehouses and focuses on developing upward, making full use of storage space, with heights that can reach more than 40 meters. Supermarket shelving is generally the tallest, while ordinary shelving is generally 3–5 meters high. Warehouse shelving usually has three main accessories: uprights, beams and shelf plates. This refers to heavy-duty, medium-duty and light-duty warehouse shelving; for extra-heavy-duty and mezzanine-type warehouse shelving, the accessories are mostly uprights and beams.

The functions of warehouse shelving are:
1. Its three-dimensional structure makes full use of warehouse space, raises the utilization rate of warehouse capacity and expands storage capability;
2. Goods are easy to put in and take out, allowing first-in-first-out operation and smooth inventory turnover;
3. Goods on warehouse shelving are visible at a glance, which facilitates very important management work such as counting, dividing and measuring;
4. It meets the need for storage and centralized management of large quantities and a wide variety of goods; combined with mechanical handling equipment, it also keeps storage and handling work orderly;
5. Goods stored on the shelving do not press against one another, so material loss is small, the functions of the materials themselves are fully preserved, and losses during the storage stage are reduced;
6. It safeguards the quality of stored goods: measures such as moisture protection, dust protection, theft protection and damage protection can be adopted to improve the quality of material storage;
7. It meets the management needs of a modern enterprise logistics supply chain with low cost, low loss and high efficiency.
8. Large load capacity, not easily deformed, reliable connections, easy to assemble and disassemble, and highly diversified.
Warehouse shelving plays a huge role in the development of modern industry. With the development of modern industrial civilization, the structure and functions of warehouse shelving are also constantly improving.
Warehouse shelving can be divided by load type into:
1: Light-Duty Shelving
Plug-in modular structure with standard modular fittings, requiring not a single connecting bolt, so assembly and disassembly are convenient and fast. It has a closed-section steel shelf plate structure, and the shelf height can be adjusted freely in increments of 50 mm, with a load of 150–250 kg per layer. Light-duty shelving can be used for assembled light-duty material racks, workbenches, tool carts, suspension systems, safety guard nets and support frames.
2: Medium-Duty Shelving
This shelving adopts a structure combining beams and shelf plates and can carry 300–500 kg. The beams come in cross-sections of many specifications, the structural parts can all be assembled and disassembled freely, and the shelf height is adjustable in increments of 50 mm. Medium-duty shelving has a rational structure, is easy to assemble and disassemble without screws, and is sturdy and solid with a large load capacity; it is used in shopping malls, supermarkets, enterprise warehouses and public institutions.
3: Heavy-Duty Shelving
It adopts a structure combining beams and uprights, with a single-layer load of up to 1–3 tons. It can hold pallets or be fitted with shelf plates, the shelving can be assembled and disassembled freely, and the adjustment increment is 75 mm. It makes full use of warehouse space, and goods are easy to put in and take out and convenient to count and divide.
Among these, beam-type shelving is convenient, suits all kinds of warehouses and allows direct access to goods. It is the simplest and also the most widely used type of shelving. It makes full use of space. It adopts a convenient pallet access method and works effectively with forklift loading and unloading to improve operating efficiency. Mechanical equipment requirements: reach trucks or stackers. A stacker can raise the utilization rate of floor space by 30% and operate at heights of more than 16 meters. The features of beam-type shelving: smooth inventory turnover. It can provide 100% picking capability. It raises the average picking rate. It provides excellent product protection. Because beam-type shelving is suitable for storing goods in many varieties and large batches, and more aisles are designed for convenient access, the floor utilization rate is relatively low.