Essential Tips For Choosing A Warehousing Solution For Your Business

If you run a business, you already know that it's not possible to produce goods and sell them all at once. Some have to be stored in a warehouse to be sold or distributed later. Also, surplus raw materials are stored in a selected storage facility for use at a later date. So, warehousing helps create time utility since goods and other materials are stored and only released when needed.

Why is Warehousing Important for Business?

A warehouse acts as a central storage location. Recent years have witnessed a rapid increase in the number of warehouses in the United States, especially following the current surge of eCommerce. Studies show the number of warehouses in the US has been growing at an increasing rate, reaching 19,190 in 2020.

Typically, warehousing serves the following functions:

  • Storage: You can use it to store surplus commodities that are not needed immediately.
  • Price Stabilization: You can store goods when supply is in abundance and sell them when there is scarcity.
  • Grading and Packaging: Warehouses serve as facilities for processing, packing, and grading of goods.
  • Risk Bearing: Goods stored in a warehouse are protected from a wide variety of risks, such as theft and deterioration.

As a central storage location, a warehouse helps to reduce the production gap. The facilities help simplify receiving, storing, shipping, and distributing processes, saving a lot of time and money.

Having a warehouse comes along with many other benefits, including:

  • Ability to ship goods to customers faster due to improved order processing
  • Better organizations of goods through the electronic warehouse management system
  • Less stress due to a well-organized distribution process

 Choosing a Warehouse

The main factor to consider when choosing a warehousing solution is location. Before selecting a specific warehouse location, you need to ask yourself a few questions, such as:

  • Where are your customers located?
  • How much storage space do you need?
  • Is it near major carrier services?
  • How accessible is it?

Other major factors to consider when choosing a perfect warehousing solution include:

  • Technology and Software: It's advisable to select a warehouse with fulfillment software to help track order shipments and inventory.
  • Employees: Take time and ask about the warehouse's employees. A good facility should have adequate and highly skilled workers.
  • Value-Added Services: Apart from shipment and storage services, a good warehousing solution should provide other services, such as packaging, inspection, reverse logistics, and labeling.
  • Experience: If possible, choosing a warehousing solution that has been in business for more than five years.

Conclusion

In business, there is always a time gap between the production and consumption of goods, and you need a warehousing solution to bridge it. A warehouse enables you to store products and make them available to customers when the need arises. For more information, contact a local warehousing company, like Flint Warehousing.


Share