Expanding online trade and limited space capacity characterize warehouse technology worldwide. Despite these increased requirements, the technical design of racking structures has hardly changed. The potential of modern high-strength steel is not fully exploited in modern warehouse technology, due to the lack of scientific studies, although thin-walled cold-formed sections, in particular rack uprights, are predestined for the use of high-strength steel. The research project presented in this paper dealt with the development of manufacturing and design fundamentals for the use of high-strength steel in shelving. For this purpose, the properties of various complex-phase steels, dual-phase steels and high-strength structural steels were first tested with regard to their material and forming behavior. Demonstrator uprights were then manufactured from best suitable high-strength steel. The cross-sectional thickness of the demonstrator uprights made of high-strength steels was reduced in such a way that comparable load-bearing capacities could be achieved with similar components made from steels currently used on the market. To analyse the highly complex stability behavior of thin-walled cold-formed steel sections, the demonstrator uprights were investigated in compression tests with regard to the load-bearing capacity, the governing failure modes and the utilization of the high-strength steel. In addition, numerical parameter studies were used to further optimize the cross-sections for the use of high-strength steel. It could be shown that by using high-strength steel material saving and thus sustainable and economical cross-sections of the rack uprights in shelving can be achieved.