Do you need a warehouse for your constantly growing business? A warehouse is a facility used to manage and store finished products and raw materials. Nowadays, as most people prefer to stay at home, it’s said that the number of people doing online shopping continues to rise. This results in the increasing demand for additional warehouse space for distribution and other business logistics concerns.
While the trends that ensure the growth of the industry and economy are crucial, nothing is more important than optimizing a business’ warehouse layout for successful and efficient management. That’s why a well-designed storage facility is essential if you’re looking for a cost-effective and more productive system.
If you need a new warehouse for your business, you may check out your local builders or visit World Wide Steel Buildings and see if they have what you need.
In addition, the following steps will provide you with pieces of the crucial information you need in building a cost-effective storage facility and optimizing your warehouse operations:
1) Select The Right Location
The right warehouse location is where your main source of income lies. You want to make sure that your warehouse has good access to public roads, highways, seaports, and airports. This is to help you meet your consumer demands by being in a logistics sweet spot.
Remember, people want to receive their goods as soon as possible. So, you need to make sure that your warehouse is near where your target market is to deliver your products and services faster and more efficiently.
In addition, you might need to make sure that your warehouse is at a proper distance from your main production plant. This is to reduce the costs of transporting goods from the production plant to your storage facility.
2) Leave Space For Expansion
If you have a long-term plan for your business, you might have already thought about its expansion. According to experts, it’d be best to leave extra space necessary for future use. Also, make sure that your warehouse can accommodate changes in shifts, increase in production, inventory changes, and business upgrades.
To make sure you have extra space, you may install pallet racks or an additional immediate floor. This will help you avoid unnecessary expenses and time-consuming expansion, such as building an adjacent warehouse.
Also, the type of construction may affect your expansion. For example, traditional buildings made from concrete may not provide the ease of expansion you need, especially when you don’t have enough time to facilitate it. In this case, it may be better to use modular structures that would allow you to be flexible when expanding your warehouse’s working space.
In addition, these structures may come in handy, especially when you have used all the extra space you plan before.
3) Map Out Your Process Flow
To build an efficient warehouse, you’d need to plan out how your warehouse will work daily. This will help you remove all the possible issues that may slow down your production. In addition, creating a process flow will help you optimize your system, resulting in a smooth and efficient operation.
You may start by determining each section of your warehouse. Then, check the areas that need extra attention and changes.
After that, create a new process flow that includes all the necessary changes. For instance, if you notice some possible flaws between the production and packaging line, you may create a zone that would help them meet your company’s increasing production demands.
4) Analyze The Flow Of Shipments
When building a warehouse, you shouldn’t only focus on analyzing how to keep your items properly, but also on how they move in and out of your facility. You need to make sure that your layout will help your workers ship your products effortlessly. Therefore, there should be a clear path that will ease the movement of your cargo and address consumer demands as quickly as possible.
Further, you might need to consider checking your docking capacity. Make sure that the dock of your warehouse can facilitate increased production. Remember, insufficient warehouse docks may result in delayed operations and loss of profit.
5) Use The Best Technology
In today’s age of digital advancement, almost everything is said to rely on new technology for a more productive and efficient operation. However, if you’re not choosing wisely, these technologies may break your wallet, which may result in detrimental financial problems.
One of the best ways to use technology to your advantage is through automation. This process will help you reduce repetitive processes that waste time and effort, often resulting in productivity problems. In short, this will significantly increase your productivity, leading to an increase in revenue and more efficient staff.
To boot, make sure that every area is equipped with the right equipment. This will ensure a smooth and efficient workflow. So, before optimizing your warehouse design, you need to make sure that all zones feature a proper system for better operation.
Moreover, make sure that every piece of equipment functions well and works properly without issues. You may run tests to ensure that they will not be a headache once your warehouse is done. Also, this will allow you to replace or repair them immediately to avoid interrupting your operation, which often results in costly expenses.
6) Check The Temperature And Humidity
Lastly, one of the main goals of building a warehouse is to extend the shelf life of your products by storing them under controlled environmental conditions. These include the temperature and humidity of the facility.
Most products need to be stored in a cool and dry area, such as pharmaceuticals. In this case, you might need to install devices that’d monitor and maintain the temperature and humidity of the warehouse, like a thermostat and humidity meter and other related instruments.
It’s best to keep in mind that you might need to install cold storage facilities if you’re dealing with food products, especially perishable goods, such as meat, seafood, and the like.
Furthermore, proper storage conditions will help you save a lot of money as they prevent your goods from possible damages caused by sudden temperature changes.
Final Words
A cost-effective and efficient warehouse is generally known to play a vital role in the success of every business. You’ll know if your storage facility is a success if it increases productivity, promotes smooth movement of shipments, and reduces and eliminates unnecessary costs. If you’re still in the process of planning, you may use the points mentioned above as a guide to help you optimize your company’s future warehouse.