The Role of Warehousing In Business Expansion

For any business looking to scale efficiently, commercial warehousing is key to support growth. Whether you are part of a small online business expanding its product range, or a global brand planning to enter new markets, warehousing plays a pivotal part in any organisational structure. But just how important are warehouses in business expansion? Read on to find out!

Why is warehousing important for business expansion?

Warehousing serves the role of product storage, management and distribution. This makes it a key pillar of any business supply chain and operational processes. When looking to scale, businesses need to consider how inventory will be managed to accommodate projected growth. Warehousing can help in several ways:

Supply Chain Management

A business warehouse can centralise inventory to provide visibility over the supply chain. This allows for better forecasting, planning and decision-making. With a clear view of stock levels and product movement, businesses can adapt to changes and predict inventory needs more efficiently. This is particularly important for promotional periods and spikes of seasonal demand, as having a clear picture of product availability is crucial when determining stock levels online or in-store with flow-on effects for the entire supply chain.

Warehouses can also provide a buffer in a business supply chain by storing excess inventory or safety stock which can be used to fulfil demand uplifts, supplier delays or unexpected disruptions. When operating a business that relies on external vendors and suppliers to produce a product or good, it is impossible to continue to operate without the fulfilment of items if you have not planned for it. Warehousing gives businesses more freedom to pre-plan with space to store additional products to reduce risk and reliance on third parties in case of an emergency. This can help the whole supply chain to operate seamlessly and efficiently.

Inventory Control

Warehouses provide businesses with a centralised space to store goods to help maintain control over inventory to ensure products are accessible and reduce lost products, overstocking or last-minute replenishment. This visibility over inventory enables businesses to implement appropriate warehouse management systems.

A secure warehouse can also help to safeguard your inventory with surveillance and multi-level security systems. This can prevent theft, damage or environmental hazards from impacting inventory levels to avoid production delays, supply shortages or shipping issues.

Operational Efficiency

Whether it is a commercial self-storage space or a leased warehouse, having adequate storage for inventory can be invaluable for operating efficiently as an organisation. As businesses expand, a warehouse provides the necessary space to handle increased inventory without disrupting operations. This enables businesses to scale seamlessly based on seasonality or market growth.

Common business challenges without warehousing

Without warehousing businesses can have a number of flow-on effects, not only impacting the supply chain and operational efficiency, but the customer experience. A common challenge for businesses who do not use warehousing, or another inventory storage system, is a lack of space. Whether it is a brick-and-mortar business or an online retailer, having an oversupply of products and no space to store them can cause challenges down the line.

If a business does not have a centralised space to store inventory, this can result in the dispersion of products across multiple locations. This can lead to disorganised inventory management and reduced visibility over stock levels. Importantly, this will also slow down fulfilment times as staff source products from a range of locations to distribute and ship. Instead of being able to support growth efficiently, inadequate storage solutions can not only impact day-to-day operations but can stifle growth with logistical bottlenecks.

What are the benefits of commercial self-storage for warehousing?

For businesses looking for cost-effective warehousing solutions, commercial self-storage spaces provide an on-demand solution.

Flexibility

Unlike traditional warehouses, commercial self-storage offers businesses much more flexibility and freedom. With short-term and long-term contracts available and able to be cancelled or extended with ease, commercial self-storage can adapt to your business as it grows.

On top of this, businesses can increase or decrease their storage unit size or rent multiple storage units from one location. This allows businesses to expand as budget and growth allow, without any surplus space.

Cost-Effective

Commercial self-storage is a more cost-effective alternative to leasing a business warehouse. Particularly for businesses looking to begin using a warehouse or organisations operating on a limited budget, commercial self-storage has a lower overall cost to invest in as well as less upfront costs.

Accessibility

With the rent for leasing commercial warehouses in central areas continuing to soar, in comparison commercial self-storage remains accessible for businesses of all sizes. This means companies can store, stock and distribute from central and convenient locations without an expensive lock-in lease. Being close to transportation hubs such as highways, ports or airports, can reduce the time and cost of shipping products to customers and retail outlets. This, in turn, can result in faster order fulfilment to improve customer satisfaction as well as reduce delivery lead times and logistical costs.

How can self-storage units work for commercial warehousing?

Commercial self-storage spaces can be used for a range of reasons based on business needs.

Excess Inventory Storage

A popular use for commercial self-storage units when warehousing is for excess inventory storage. If a business is in a growth phase, it is likely the current inventory management and warehouse space may not be able to accommodate excess stock. A commercial self-storage unit can provide an organised and secure place to store more inventory whilst not disrupting current operational processes.

Seasonal Stock Storage

Prior to peak retail periods, sales periods or new product launches, businesses will place extra stock into a self-storage unit. This can free up space on the floor for current stock to sell-through or alternatively, ensure an existing warehouse space remains organised and uncluttered.

Equipment and Supplies Storage

For service-based businesses, commercial warehousing with a self-storage unit can be used to store equipment and supplies. Whether it is a sole trader with a work car and equipment looking to declutter their home, or a large-scale corporation requiring space to store supplies offsite, commercial self-storage offers a smart solution.

Discover smart commercial self-storage solutions with Loxon Storage

Investing in commercial self-storage as a business warehousing solution is cost-effective, flexible and efficient. Suitable for a primary commercial warehouse or used to support growth with seasonal storage and excess storage space, commercial self-storage can scale with your business and budget.

At Loxon Storage, we offer a variety of clean, convenient and affordable commercial storage spaces with locations across Queensland. Want to learn more? Contact us online today or visit your local facility to speak to one of our storage experts.