storage

Making big infrastructure decisions for your business is a complex and sometimes daunting task, with storage units being hard to choose at times. After all, every company has different needs, and meeting these needs is an essential part of doing business. Thankfully, there are only a few steps to take when choosing the right storage unit for your business. Find out more about how to choose the perfect storage unit, and some of the things to consider when making your decision.

Assessing Your Business Storage Requirements

The first step in the process is assessing the storage requirements that your business has. First of all, think about how secure you need the storage to be, and the length of time you can store various items for. There’s no use in trying to work out if the storage area is big enough if you can’t keep all of your items there for long enough. Think about how long you need to store items and the sort of environment they need storing in before anything else.

Determine the size and quantity of items

A large scale plant business will have vast storage requirements where a company that works on small scale clothing production likely has much smaller requirements. Think about all the items that you will need to store, the floor space that it will take up and the height of storage necessary. Balancing all these factors can help to narrow down your requirements.

Choosing the Right Storage Facility

There are a few major factors that you need to consider before you start going into more depth about storage plans and other strategic factors. Some of the main features to look at when choosing the right storage facility include:

Location considerations

Look at where the storage facility you are considering is based. For example, if you’re a London-based company and you’ve searched for storage businesses, one based in Aberdeen is far from right for you. Examine your company’s location against the storage location for a better idea of whether they’re a practical choice.

Consider proximity to suppliers, customers, and employees

Location considerations go beyond where your company is. Think about how easy it will be to move items from suppliers to storage, or from storage to your customers. There are a lot of factors to think about when looking at location, and by balancing all of them you make your processes as simple as can be.

Security features

Security is essential for every storage facility. You want assurances that your products, manufacturing equipment and data are as secure as can be, so ask storage facilities about what measures they have available to keep the space secure. Top-of-the-line security can cost more, but is well worth it if your goods are protected.

Accessibility and convenience

Being able to access your storage is something that differs from company to company, with some needing to pick up stock to sell on a regular basis and others putting machinery away for entire seasons at a time. Storage companies use their own unique set of policies and strategies in a range of circumstances, with some focusing on letting people in at any time and others requiring that you book a slot to access storage. Work with a storage company to create a plan that suits these bespoke requirements wherever possible.

Budget Considerations

As with any company decision, you have budgetary considerations to account for. These range from having an initial startup cost to smaller monthly fees that might be added on for individual security features or services that companies use. Establish exactly what your storage budget is and if it’s likely to change, which should narrow down your range of storage options to a final simple shortlist.

Take a Tour of the Facility

Finally, take a complete tour of the facility. If all your company’s goods are going to be stored there, you want to be sure that it’s a safe facility with plenty of security features. Ask for a detailed tour that shows you the ins and outs of the space, where your specific items are going and why they are being stored there. The more detailed the better, as this stage removes any doubt about the facility from your mind.

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