When you want to create a working, properly organized inventory system, you need the right storage area to start with. There’s no way to manage your business’ inventory in a productive and easy way if you don’t have the right foundation to build from.
As such, you’re going to need to set up an overall storage system that’s been made to last. Both indoors and outdoors, your storage areas need to work hand in hand, be well kept and maintained, and be designed to scale with your business.
But this isn’t an easy thing to achieve. If you started off with an ecommerce business being run out of your home, and the only storage you had was the understairs cupboard in the hallway, creating a large storage area like this will seem impossible.
And it is quite the jump! You’re unlikely to think you may ever need a moving chain like this either.
So, creating a storage area that spans the premises and works well into the future – impossible? We’re here to let you know it’s not.
Here’s what you need to do to make sure your business inventory is safe, secure, and doesn’t cost you an arm and a leg to keep.
Business Storage in General
No matter what kind of storage your business needs, these are the general management tips you’ll need to remember:
Use software to manage from afar
No one has the time (or energy) to keep an eye on their inventory 24/7. You’ll need to use software to do this for you.
Inventory management software can do pretty much everything you need it to. This includes tracking inventory as it comes both in and out, as well as notifying you when you’re holding stock that’s close to expiration.
You can also track when and where your employees are rotating stock, as updates can be added in real time. This helps both you and the team stay on task with preventing loss and keeping your warehouse and work yard organized.
Consider off-site storage
It might sound counterproductive, but you may want to consider off-site storage for the more hefty stock items.
This way you can save money on scaling inventory beyond your budget, as you may not carry much stock that requires this kind of space or controlled storage.
Paying for these items to be kept elsewhere both keeps your own costs low and makes sure you can make a healthy profit off of the more valuable products in your inventory.
Indoor Storage and Stock Rooms
Here are a couple of important things to remember about creating an indoor storage area or stock room:
Use the same labelling system for everything
Don’t overthink your labelling systems. Go by colors, numbers, and names.
When the labels are the same across the site, there will be no confusion in placing stock in the right places or updating details as time goes on.
Vertical storage is essential
Don’t let yourself think that the ceiling is just space above you. Build up as often as possible! Set up shelving units and racks that let you use it for practical purposes.
Vertical storage makes organizing a warehouse as easy as possible, and simply because you’re making use of all the space you have available.
Your shelving units should be tall, and you should be placing products according to weight and size from the bottom upwards.
Outdoor Storage and Work Yards
Your business might not have any external storage areas as yet, but you may need to build them in the near future.
If you’re thinking of putting together a company fleet, for example, you’ll need a parking lot to keep your vehicles.
Here’s what to remember about designing any outdoor storage and work yard areas:
Be mindful of the weather
Outdoor storage areas will always be at risk of being flooded out, becoming icy and dangerous, or being overrun with sludge, moss, and other outdoor debris.
As such, you’ll need to set up proper roofing that prevents run off, and you’ll need to run trenches around the edges of your work yard.
Make sure you get the trench drainage sizing right for both the size of the storage area and the climate of the region you’re working in.
Consider light levels
Outdoor storage also tends to get a lot darker and more obscured than warehouses. External areas are subject to foggy and misty conditions, as well as rain and wind.
All of these weather types make it harder to see, especially if your team needs to wear safety equipment like goggles. Because of this, you’ll need to consider the way light changes as the day goes on, whether or not your team work later shifts.
Motion activated lights are good to install, as are automatic lights that come on at certain times. You’ll need to make sure your health and safety signs are designed to work in low light levels too.
Set up security cameras
All storage needs security cameras, but outdoor storage has more blind spots than indoor storage. Your CCTV system needs to be placed in key areas to cover all of these spots.
With this in mind, you may need to purchase more cameras than you first thought. That’s a cost that’ll need to be factored into the budget early on.
Business Storage That Works: What to Remember
If you want to set up the kind of business storage that’s always moving, always feels well organized, and keeps your business under control without much effort, these are the tips to keep in mind.
Make sure you use the same labelling both indoors and out, use a software management app to keep you and your team in the loop, and protect your outdoor storage against the external elements.
And don’t forget, use vertical storage as and wherever you can. There’s nothing like being able to use all of the space when it comes to scaling your inventory in a budget-friendly way!
Photo by cottonbro studio
