Nothing satisfies you more as a business owner than seeing your business grow. But you know what they say: “More money, more logistics problems.” As your business brings in more customers, the only way you’ll keep them is if you scale your ability to deliver products quickly and in volume. As your business grows, the warehouse you’ve been using that seemed so vast a few months ago looks smaller and smaller every week.
Your business needs a dedicated inventory fulfillment services management plan in place to maintain its momentum. Warehouses are critical to this, but they’ll likely play a different role than what you’ve been used to so far. Learn about their capabilities so you can choose the right ones for the next stage of your business’s growth.
Looking for storage warehousing services to grow with your business?
Warehouses serve as storage areas for large amounts of inventory that will typically have to wait a month or more to be shipped to customers. While other types of logistics facilities provide more timely service and a wider offering of services, warehouses still occupy a vital role in a growing business’s logistics chain. Quite simply, there are few other places that are safe and clean enough for businesses to store inventory.
With the growing sophistication of the logistics chain overall, warehouses have also diversified into offering different types of services. This process has accelerated as fulfillment centers arose to challenge the traditional dominance of the warehouse as the preferred storage option for inventory. Your business has more options to choose from than ever before, but choose carefully, because some warehouses are better suited for your needs than others.
Related: Help! I’m Outgrowing My Warehouse!
Self-storage warehousing is growing in popularity, but it has a number of drawbacks that make it ill-suited for businesses when compared to store warehouses. For one, these facilities often lack climate control capabilities, and those that include it typically aren’t calibrated to hold inventory for businesses. They can also be expensive over the long-term, especially if you’re renting a larger space to hold large amounts of inventory. Facilities with limited hours can also cause problems if you experience a surge in orders that need to be fulfilled now.
Storage warehouses are quickly diversifying to meet growing demand for their services across many industries, especially e-commerce. During 2020’s record year for e-commerce, Black Friday online sales zoomed to $9 billion, representing a 21 percent jump year-over-year. The trend is only set to continue, and yesterday’s sleepy warehouses are quickly adapting to the new reality.
Related: How to Shift Your E-Commerce Business to Succeed During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Public warehouses are owned by government entities and can be utilized by private sector companies. They’re highly competitive and are often rented out on a first-come, first-served basis. They play a vital role in supplementing the supply chains of companies due to their flexibility despite their limitations.
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A private warehouse is owned by wholesalers who rent out space on longer-term contracts to a limited number of customers. They typically offer a wider range of services than public warehouses, including greater access to and oversight of your goods. They usually include a more specialized workforce that can do more than basic storage warehousing tasks. Private warehouses may also be owned by a single company that uses it for its own purposes. However, those added benefits come at a cost, which could put them out of reach of some companies.
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Bonded warehouses are used to store, manufacture, or otherwise manipulate dutiable goods prior to their sale. Goods may be stored for import or export duty free until such a time as they are released to their buyers, at which time the customs fees are paid.
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Smart warehouses heavily utilize automation to minimize human interaction with products at every stage of the logistics process. They may integrate a wide range of technologies, including robotics, RFID tagging, artificial intelligence, warehouse management systems, and various online tools to make agile, efficient processes.
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The key to finding the right storage warehousing provider for your business is knowing what you need. Here’s a few questions to ask to guide your search.
Choosing the right logistics partner for your business isn’t easy. You don’t just need their storage and warehousing services – you also need to be able to trust them as a fulfillment expert. At Ship My Orders, we place a priority on building relationships that make us a true partner to every business we serve. Let us give your business the treatment it deserves to help you successfully grow into its full potential.