All businesses need to lower their costs. If you don’t have your eye on your expenditure, then the profitability will suffer over time. For nearly all UK-based businesses there are costs that are associated with storage. The following 6 tips will not only lower your overhead costs but also improve the storage infrastructure of the business.
Palletise Everything
If you look at large and efficiently run warehouses, nearly everything is palletized. This doesn’t mean you only might store goods that are bulky enough to require a pallet – often smaller items go on pallets too – but because one system works more efficiently than many.
A genuine business secret, pallets, and pallet racks can improve the efficiency of even smaller companies that only have modest stock rooms. With a fully palletized system, your deliveries can go into stock more quickly and order fulfillment can be seamlessly integrated when you pick items from the storeroom. WSSL in Nottingham supplies all forms of pallet racking suitable for your business type.
Rent Extra Temporary Space
If you need to store some larger items temporarily until an order is fulfilled, you may think that you are completely out of capacity and cannot cope. However, temporary storage facilities can bridge the gap meaning that you don’t need to sign long-term leases for space that won’t be used very much. Remember that they are for businesses just as much as individuals. Give Henfield Storage a try because they have a lot of self-storage units in London.
Archive
These days, most companies keep their customer files and records on a computer. However, a lot of businesses require paper copies of certain documents, for example, technical drawings and legal paperwork. If so, use an archiving facility for items that aren’t used every day and free up valuable space. Paper records should be converted to zero-space electronic scans as soon as possible.
Mezzanine Floors
If your business operations take up so much space that your storage room is overflowing and poorly organised, then you may consider moving to larger premises. Instead, discover just how much additional floor space a mezzanine floor can give you. When installed, you can use one floor for a stock room and the other for operational matters.
Do an Inventory More Often
One of the problems with many businesses’ expenditure levels is that they buy things unnecessarily. If your pickers cannot find components, then your entire production line can grind to a halt. Equally, if you cannot fulfill a customer’s order because their item has slipped down the back of a shelf, then you are going to waste time and money. Annual stock checks are not enough. Save money in the longer run by conducting inventories each quarter at least.
Use a Shipping Container
Most companies on industrial estates make little use of their car park. If you have room outside, but not enough on the inside of the unit, then you should use a temporary structure to provide additional local storage. The ideal thing for this job is a shipping container. Found everywhere, they are relatively cheap to buy and are structurally sound. Even high-value items should be secure in them overnight so long as you lock up the container each evening.