Warehousing Costs
Warehouse Costs Crippling Your Business? Here’s How To Make Big Savings
As your business grows and your sales volume increases, you need to start thinking about storage solutions for your stock. If you started out as a small business from home and you used your garage for storage, that isn’t going to cut it for too much longer. Instead, you need to start thinking about warehouses. Unfortunately, this is an added cost that a lot of businesses struggle to absorb, especially when they are trying to invest money in growth. However, a good warehousing system is crucial if you want to stay on top of orders and get products out to customers on time. So, how can you have the best of both worlds? Here’s how to reduce your warehouse costs in business.
Buying vs Building
If you need a large storage space, the first thing you do is start looking at local warehouses that are listed for sale. If you can lease or purchase a large warehouse, you can move your stock into it right away and start getting things organized. But is there a better way?
Although buying a warehouse is a relatively simple option and it works well if you need storage solutions in a hurry, it may not be the cheapest option. An old warehouse is likely to have a lot of maintenance issues, so the cost of upkeep will be high. You may need to invest a bit of money in the building right away before it’s actually ready for use, so you need to add that to the cost of buying the place too. In a lot of cases, it’s actually cheaper to build your own warehouse instead. Using affordable prefab metal buildings to build your own warehouse is quick and easy, and it won’t cost that much. You’re also less likely to experience high maintenance costs because you have a brand new building.
Maximize Storage Space
If you can make better use of storage space, you can make do with a smaller warehouse, which means lower costs. Unfortunately, a lot of businesses are very inefficient in the way that they use their warehouse space. The type of racking you use makes a big difference, so consider your product size and shape and find the most efficient shelving solution. You should aim to use every last bit of shelf space if possible. If you have a lot of unusually shaped items, it may be worth investing in custom racking.
Install Low-Energy Solutions
The running costs of the warehouse can cause problems with cash flow, so you need to find ways to cut them as much as possible. The easiest way to do that is to install low-energy solutions. Take a look at your heating system and upgrade it to something more efficient if necessary. You could even consider installing some solar panels to generate your own electricity. Don’t forget the small details like lights either because they can easily be switched out for a low-energy option.
Setting up a warehouse always comes with costs, but you can make it a lot more manageable if you follow these simple steps.
