Business
Starting Your Warehouse Expansion: Where to Begin?
Warehouse Expansion
As a business grows, the owner often finds they need to expand the warehouse. This allows the organization to keep up with increasing operations demands and ensure the business runs smoothly. Not only will the additional space improve existing systems, but it will boost the ability and flexibility of the workforce. What should a business owner know when taking this step?
The Benefits of Warehouse Expansion
With a warehouse expansion, a company finds it gains a competitive edge, as workers are more productive and efficient. This expansion, with the help of shelving and liquidations services and other providers, improves existing deficiencies and allows the company to meet higher standards in its operational processes.
This is an excellent time to reevaluate the existing technology infrastructure and make changes where needed. A properly executed expansion improves the customer experience while saving the company money. In addition, it increases capacity. However, the business owner must consider certain things when taking this major step.
What Every Business Owner Should Know?
Before undertaking a warehouse expansion, the business owner needs to know how this step will increase sales. Will it allow for freight savings, and how will the additional inventory be managed? Next, the owner must learn whether the existing warehouse management system can handle this expansion. If not, the purchase of a new system and its implementation will add to the cost. The next step involves executing the warehouse expansion, which takes time and money.
The expense associated with expanding the warehouse must be considered when determining if this is the right move. In addition, this process doesn’t happen overnight. Making the decision to expand to a completed building ready for occupancy will take months, if not years. The owner must factor this timeline into the decision and determine whether stop-gap measures will be used until the building is complete and ready for use.
Expanding the Warehouse
Once the decision has been made to expand the warehouse and a budget has been set for the project, the design process begins. This design needs to streamline the order fulfillment process while optimizing storage. The layout of the warehouse plays a role in supply chain efficiency, so this step of the process can never be rushed. The business owner might wish to consult with outside experts to help in achieving the highest level of efficiency.
In addition, a contractor must be selected to handle this project. It’s best to work with a contractor who has experience with the industry, as a pharmaceutical company typically has different warehouse needs than a toy manufacturer. The contractor can also offer suggestions on how to make the most of the space in the warehouse thanks to this prior experience.
A location needs to be found and secured for the warehouse if one isn’t already available. Plans must be selected or an architect hired, and more. The warehouse expansion project is one that should never be undertaken lightly, as there are so many steps involved. The business owner must ensure this is the right time for the organization to take on a project of this size.
A business owner might find the time is not right to expand the warehouse. This is beneficial to know, as it is wiser to hold off on the expansion and make use of third-party logistics providers until everything is in place for the expansion. This ensures the process runs smoothly from start to finish and the end result is everything the owner imagined when embarking on the journey.
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