If you’ve got to the point of your business journey where it’s time to rent space and start stocking your inventory yourself, then congratulations. This means you’re growing out of your spare room or your garage and you’re finally getting somewhere with your business. which can feel momentous for your professional career.
But what does it mean for your warehouse to be successful and what should you be considering when choosing warehouse spaces for rent? There are so many factors to consider, especially when making improvements or finding new warehouse space. Inventory that has to move through a warehouse has to be dealt with in a way that is secure, expedited, and keeps up with customer demand. That creates a lot of issues when it comes to choosing your warehouse space. We’ve put together some considerations that can help you to determine whether your warehouse is going to be successful.
- The standards of the warehouse itself. There has to be rules and guidelines, unexpected results when you’re running a warehouse. If you’re renting the space, you need to be well versed in how to keep it a safe place for staff, for customers and for the boxes moving through it. The standards that you set are the very baseline of management, and that should be made as policy to go unchanged for as long as possible.
- Streamlined processes. The processes that are in place, receiving, picking, and shipping all must have streamlined processes. If there’s any confusion in the chain of events, things slow down and your business efficiency decreases rather than increases. As a business leader, you have to continue to retain high efficiency, which means that processing stock has to run smoothly at every level. Receiving lanes should be clearly marked, delivery areas should be clearly marked, and areas for stocking and picking should be done in a way that means that the flow through the warehouse is cohesive.
- Deciding the right model. A reactive warehouse responds to stock as it comes in and makes plans accordingly. A proactive warehouse plans and considers what can come in and has plans in place to make sure all stock can be accounted for. A model that is predictive, understands what’s coming in based on trends and timing, and doesn’t require excessive planning. The type of warehouse that you run will really depend on what type of business you have and what model you’re most comfortable with.
- Hiring Labour. When you rent a warehouse space, it doesn’t come with a team of people to help. Labour is a vital part that keeps your warehouse and your supply chain running. Without your warehouse people won’t have a job, and without your labour you won’t have a happily running warehouse. You need to make sure that you have a balance between the well seasoned workers who know how a warehouse runs and new recruits that you can train from the ground up. Your business will be unique to them, but the processes may not be.
- Think about zoning. We talked about streamlining your warehouse and zoning comes in as part of that. Warehouses will also always function best when they can be sectioned into the proper zones so that everybody understands how things should move. There should be loading and unloading zones for zones for storage, and all zones have to be clearly marked. It’s also essential to zone for traffic so that you can prevent any accidents. People will need to move around your warehouse, so you have to make it clear how they should do that.
- How secure is it? When you’re renting a warehouse space, you need to find out whether the warehouse comes with additional security measures or whether you need to implement them separately. It’s not just about whether the doors will stay locked when the work is done, but cyber security is critical, especially if you’re using automation programs and data management processes for inventory management. If this information is breached, there’s a lot of confidence from your customers, clients and a loss of personal data which can end your business and end your partnerships. Locks are a must, but they should be both digital and physical.
- Where is it located? It’s all about location when it comes to your warehouse. You want to be far enough away that you’re not being encroached on by competition, but not too far that you can’t send things out because it’s too expensive. Location also needs to be considered when it comes to clients visiting the warehouse to see how processes are done. Determining which location fits the focus of your warehouse is important.
- Technology. Successful warehousing teams will always stay up to date with the latest and most useful technologies so that things can be expedited and streamlined as necessary. Not all warehouses require full automation or proprietary data tracking, but relying on older technology for too long can open up holes in the flow of work, and it can cause security risks. Supply chain technology, especially that which is automated, should be updated regularly and keeping up to date on labour technologies such as power lifters and electric vehicles keeps your warehouse forward in the industry.
- Emergencies. When you’re considering renting warehouse space, you need to make sure that there are strict protocols in place for dealing with emergency situations. If you have bigger machinery and more labor staff, then it’s going to be different than running a business from your garage. You have to keep your systems updated and secure as well as backed up. Maintaining stability can keep uncertain times from impacting your business and its people.
- Customer service. Warehouse management is a consumer driven business and while you are the person in charge, you won’t be dealing with any consumers directly. However, everything that your warehouse does and everything that happens in your warehouse impacts your consumers. While consumer needs may differ depending on their industry, you need to make sure that your warehouse is able to facilitate the needs of those businesses. Running a warehouse and building up your warehouse into something amazing takes time. Renting the right space is the first thing to do.
