Is your business booming? Need a warehouse space to store inventories? Numerous options are available, but not all would drive you towards better results.
Like your office space, warehouse space is also an essential aspect of the business. And it is more important that you find the right warehouse (a warehouse that can benefit your business).
The right warehouse is hard to find. A simple mistake can lead to worse. A wrong warehouse can make your business break. How? Wrong warehouse space can lead to
- Inefficiency
- Low productivity
- Higher operational costs
- Late deliveries
- Less customer retention rates and more
All of these can be avoided by choosing the right warehouse. Need any help? No worries, we got you all covered. Read on and find out how you can choose a warehouse that can prove extremely beneficial for your business.
Why Is It Important To Choose The Right Warehouse For Business?
The right warehouse comes with better results.
It’s not just a myth but a reality. Warehouses are not only storage units now; their functionalities have expanded much more than that. Warehouses have become an essential aspect of all trading businesses and supply-chain networks.
Finding a warehouse is crucial for any business. The right warehouse has a direct impact on your business and sales growth. It can also facilitate the flow of the supply chain.
You all must be thinking about how to find the right warehouse. It’s simple; find one that meets all the below-mentioned objectives.
- Efficient accessibility to transportation and workforce
- Increases the inventory turnover rate
- Safety features
- And helps in increasing productivity
7 Factors To Consider When Choosing A Warehouse
One thing: finding an ideal warehouse that helps your business to thrive is an overwhelming task. There are plenty of options available for you to choose from, but you have to be precise here.
Firstly, only location won’t help; similarly, only services won’t help. You have to find an intermediate option with a better location and services.
Here are a few factors to consider while choosing a warehouse. It will help to find a perfect warehouse for your business.
1. Warehouse Location
Location! One of the most important factors when choosing a warehouse. Why? Everyone wants to be close to their customers and deliver the products as quickly as possible.
No matter what business you operate, warehouse location plays a crucial role in executing all the logistic activities.
A simple mantra in every business is faster the better. which executes that if a business can deliver the products faster, it will indirectly raise customer satisfaction and retention rates.
It is important not only to be close to customers but also to dealers and transit locations. It would be easy to refill and save on some of the transit costs.
For example, if your business mainly deals with air freight, consider a warehouse easily accessible from the airport.
There are also certain factors to consider while choosing a warehouse location;
- Proximity to roadways, railways, airways and ports.
- Traffic flow in the city (traffic speed, volume, etc.)
- Highway interconnectivity
- Road conditions and signs
2. Access To Workforce
After selecting the location, see whether the place is easily accessible or not. Do employees find it hard to reach the spot? Or the main question: Is the workforce available in that area?
These are the important questions to answer. It is challenging to find a skilled workforce in every geographical location. So it is better to look at the local demographics of the area.
For example, you are looking for a warehouse in Surat, India. Then search the local website of surat to see the local demographics, which will depict the males, and females, literacy rates, income levels and all the required data.
A workforce with qualifications and thorough training can increase the productivity and efficiency of the warehouse.
3. Warehouse Layout
Another thing to consider while choosing a warehouse is its layout and flow. Nowadays, warehouses serve more than storage purposes, and to run all the other logistic operations smoothly, we need a warehouse with proper management and layout.
A warehouse layout specifically designed to conduct all the logistic operations seamlessly without any hindrance.
Warehouse layout depends on the type of business you operate. If you own an eCommerce business, you need a U-shaped warehouse layout to ease out all the logistic activities.
A warehouse layout directly makes your warehouse more
- Productive
- Efficient
- Organised
- Makes operations faster
- Reduces the operational costs
4. Size Of The Warehouse
The size of the warehouse depends on what type of business you operate. For instance, if you need a warehouse to run your eCommerce business, it requires more inventory, packaging, reception, office space, and shipping area.
Or if you are a small business that just started, you need a smaller space. However, it is also necessary to consider future growth and seasonal peaks, and you need extra space to store the products.
Before signing the lease, ensure that you confirm with the warehouse owner if space is available for future expansion. This will come in handy when your business is thriving towards success.
5. Technology
Technology! We live in a time when gadgets are available for all day-to-day work. You may be reading this article on your phone or computer, which is also a gift of technology.
And incorporating this technology into the logistics world has made its operation a lot easier to handle. So it should be the first thing to consider when choosing a warehouse.
A warehouse management system is an example of technology in the warehousing business. It helps in
- Streamlining the process
- Keeping things organised
- Maintaining the inventory
- Improves productivity
- Reduces errors
- Establishing better communication
Before signing the lease agreement, check whether they have updated the warehouse management system. If they don’t have updated WMS, strike them out from the shortlist.
6. Service Add-Ons
Remember, many warehouses only offer store and shipping services, which may not be adequate for certain businesses and their logistics activities. So look for the warehouse that provides the service add-ons like
- Picking and Packaging
- Labelling
- Shipping
- Return management
- Quality control
- Light fabrication
- Light manufacturing facilities, etc.
Finding all these facilities in a warehouse will save you a lot of time and money.
7. Risk Factors
See, if you sign the lease with the warehouse service provider, your goods become their responsibility. That means they are responsible for receiving, handling, storing and shipping your product.
Therefore it is essential to look at all the safety and security arrangements and ensure their proper working.
But you could lose a great deal of your product because of natural or man-made calamity. Before signing the lease, you should ask
- If they provide compensation for their products if something happens.
- Or is there any insurance available?
Take Your Business To New Heights With The Right Warehouse
Selecting the wrong warehouse can have a destructive impact on your business. So it is essential to choose a warehouse which will benefit you in several ways.
We hope this blog has helped you to shortlist your ideal warehouse. Remember, the right warehouse with the right facility and location can boost your business and lead you to success.
