diff --git a/etc/example.conf b/etc/example.conf
index c002a15..853d8b5 100644
--- a/etc/example.conf
+++ b/etc/example.conf
@@ -34,6 +34,14 @@
 ; which will cause problems.
 encrypt_messages=1
 
+; If the previous 3 letter store top directories, eg. /var/piler/store/00/5f4
+; are consolidated (1) to a single zip file or not (0).
+; Eg. cd /var/piler/store/00
+;     zip -r -0 5f3.zip 5f3
+; After the consolidation (ie. zipping the given directory) piler tries to
+; read the given file from the appropriate zip file.
+consolidated_store=0
+
 ; number of worker processes, ie. the number of simultaneous smtp connections to piler.
 ; This value should be the number of cpus + 1, ie. 2 for a single cpu host
 number_of_worker_processes=2
diff --git a/src/archive.c b/src/archive.c
index 237ae75..45d894d 100644
--- a/src/archive.c
+++ b/src/archive.c
@@ -300,12 +300,14 @@
    char zipfilename[SMALLBUFSIZE];
    struct stat st;
 
-   /*
-    * If the zip file exists, then fix the filename to be '<zipfile> <relative filename>'
-    */
    snprintf(zipfilename, sizeof(zipfilename)-1, "%s/%02x/%c%c%c.zip", cfg->queuedir, cfg->server_id, s[8], s[9], s[10]);
 
-   if(stat(zipfilename, &st)){
+   if(cfg->consolidated_store == 1 && stat(zipfilename, &st) == 0){
+      // If the zip file exists, then fix the filename to be '<zipfile> <relative filename>'
+      snprintf(filename, len-1, "%s %c%c%c/%c%c/%c%c/%s.m",
+         zipfilename, s[8], s[9], s[10], s[RND_STR_LEN-4], s[RND_STR_LEN-3], s[RND_STR_LEN-2], s[RND_STR_LEN-1], s);
+   }
+   else {
       snprintf(filename, len-1, "%s/%02x/%c%c%c/%c%c/%c%c/%s.m",
          cfg->queuedir, cfg->server_id, s[8], s[9], s[10], s[RND_STR_LEN-4], s[RND_STR_LEN-3], s[RND_STR_LEN-2], s[RND_STR_LEN-1], s);
    #ifdef HAVE_SUPPORT_FOR_COMPAT_STORAGE_LAYOUT
@@ -314,9 +316,6 @@
             cfg->queuedir, cfg->server_id, s[RND_STR_LEN-6], s[RND_STR_LEN-5], s[RND_STR_LEN-4], s[RND_STR_LEN-3], s[RND_STR_LEN-2], s[RND_STR_LEN-1], s);
       }
    #endif
-   } else {
-      snprintf(filename, len-1, "%s %c%c%c/%c%c/%c%c/%s.m",
-         zipfilename, s[8], s[9], s[10], s[RND_STR_LEN-4], s[RND_STR_LEN-3], s[RND_STR_LEN-2], s[RND_STR_LEN-1], s);
    }
 }
 
@@ -327,7 +326,11 @@
 
    snprintf(zipfilename, sizeof(zipfilename)-1, "%s/%02x/%c%c%c.zip", cfg->queuedir, cfg->server_id, s[8], s[9], s[10]);
 
-   if(stat(zipfilename, &st)){
+   if(cfg->consolidated_store == 1 && stat(zipfilename, &st) == 0){
+      snprintf(filename, len-1, "%s %c%c%c/%c%c/%c%c/%s.a%d",
+         zipfilename, s[8], s[9], s[10], s[RND_STR_LEN-4], s[RND_STR_LEN-3], s[RND_STR_LEN-2], s[RND_STR_LEN-1], s, attachment_id);
+   }
+   else {
       snprintf(filename, len-1, "%s/%02x/%c%c%c/%c%c/%c%c/%s.a%d", cfg->queuedir, cfg->server_id, s[8], s[9], s[10], s[RND_STR_LEN-4], s[RND_STR_LEN-3], s[RND_STR_LEN-2], s[RND_STR_LEN-1], s, attachment_id);
 
    #ifdef HAVE_SUPPORT_FOR_COMPAT_STORAGE_LAYOUT
@@ -336,9 +339,6 @@
             cfg->queuedir, cfg->server_id, s[RND_STR_LEN-6], s[RND_STR_LEN-5], s[RND_STR_LEN-4], s[RND_STR_LEN-3], s[RND_STR_LEN-2], s[RND_STR_LEN-1], s, attachment_id);
       }
    #endif
-   } else {
-      snprintf(filename, len-1, "%s %c%c%c/%c%c/%c%c/%s.a%d",
-         zipfilename, s[8], s[9], s[10], s[RND_STR_LEN-4], s[RND_STR_LEN-3], s[RND_STR_LEN-2], s[RND_STR_LEN-1], s, attachment_id);
    }
 }
 
diff --git a/src/cfg.c b/src/cfg.c
index 0c40b70..8143abf 100644
--- a/src/cfg.c
+++ b/src/cfg.c
@@ -48,6 +48,7 @@
    { "clamd_addr", "string", (void*) string_parser, offsetof(struct config, clamd_addr), "", MAXVAL-1},
    { "clamd_port", "integer", (void*) int_parser, offsetof(struct config, clamd_port), "0", sizeof(int)},
    { "clamd_socket", "string", (void*) string_parser, offsetof(struct config, clamd_socket), CLAMD_SOCKET, MAXVAL-1},
+   { "consolidated_store", "integer", (void*) int_parser, offsetof(struct config, consolidated_store), "0", sizeof(int)},
    { "debug", "integer", (void*) int_parser, offsetof(struct config, debug), "0", sizeof(int)},
    { "default_retention_days", "integer", (void*) int_parser, offsetof(struct config, default_retention_days), "2557", sizeof(int)},
    { "enable_chunking", "integer", (void*) int_parser, offsetof(struct config, enable_chunking), "0", sizeof(int)},
diff --git a/src/cfg.h b/src/cfg.h
index 03ea7d1..4019b83 100644
--- a/src/cfg.h
+++ b/src/cfg.h
@@ -23,6 +23,8 @@
    int clamd_port;
    char clamd_socket[MAXVAL];
 
+   int consolidated_store;
+
    int encrypt_messages;
 
    int enable_chunking;