How to Choose the Best Warehouse and Distribution Service Provider
Tuesday, January 7, 2020, 6:00 AM | Leave Comment
Are you in the process of choosing a service provider for your business and you are stuck on acquiring the right warehouse for your business?
The peculiarity of your business might differ greatly from a host of others, but no matter how complex the needs you hope to be met, getting it right is not as daunting as it might look.
The right industrial warehouse service is crucial, and the process should be treated with strategic consideration of the nature of your business, and the uniqueness of the warehouse and distribution service.
Below are some tips that would guide your decision-making process:
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Location
Undoubtedly, this is a major consideration and should be addressed before other factors are put in place. It will affect the ease with which you can convey your goods and store your products.
Questions to be asked could include these:
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Is the warehouse abutting a convenient transport route such as a railway, a highway, or a port?
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Is your business a stand-alone company, or integrated into a larger company?
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If integrated, is your warehouse in an environment close to a geographical axis where your primary buyers are centralized?
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If you operate on a larger scale, does the warehouse fall between regions such that meeting regional demands wouldn’t be challenging?
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How large is the warehouse and would it be effective in storing all your goods?
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Would workers find it convenient to resume at the warehouse due to its location?
You should also consider the growth scheme and strategy of your business, and ensure the warehouse would meet up to both short and long-term goals.
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Services Provided
A warehouse should offer not only space for products’ storage but other necessities – amenities – such as equipment and staff. These features will help in determining whether they are suited to handle the variety, quantity, and unique requirements of your products. Are the warehouse staff familiar with the handling and usage of your products?
The staff must be equipped with the knowledge of handling products, safety considerations, the must-have before packing and sorting, effective loading methods and the likes. You should not have to be troubled at the thoughts of who is handling the sorting of your business.
Likewise, you must crosscheck that the warehouse will provide additional requirements that might be handy for your products such as climate control (maintaining the humidity and temperature levels of the warehouse space), sterile storage facilities (for delicate products for which risks of exposure can be critical). Does the warehouse keep an efficient inventory management system? Do they bear the risk of products leaving and entering into the warehouse?
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Type of Warehouse
Public warehouses are the come-to-mind recommendation for most businesses. They are geared towards short-term storage and charge usually monthly. They are advisable for seasonal inventory and are efficient in minimizing the expenses incurred in keeping a large warehouse.
An alternative is keeping private warehouses which are often owned by wholesalers and retailers near their selling centers, or warehouses constructed by manufacturers near-production outlets. Except for certain circumstances, most private companies would rather engage public warehouses due to the expenses of maintaining a private one.
A third suggestion is the contract warehouse which operates on a long-term contract basis. Clients are asked to commit for a specified time and charges are based on more than just storage spaces. You could consider a distribution center especially if your products are fast-moving, perishable goods that would come into the center by morning and would go out before day wraps up. Summarily, the timeframe is pivotal in determining the warehouse service employed.
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Access
You should be able to access your goods based on their nature, and this is a factor to examine in choosing a warehouse. You should know if others unrelated to your business would also have access to the warehouse, and decide how you can address any potential conflicts that might arise from this.
If you have to frequent your products, does the warehouse policy make allowance for that, or would you have to be satisfied with having your products handled by an external facility? Your shipping schedule should agree with the warehouse’s schedule to counter cases of denied access to your products.
Outsourcing your warehousing and distribution can be a fulfilling move if undergone procedurally, perfect for your business and able to meet the daily requirements while accommodating futuristic goals.
The warehousing is related to the logistics of your business, and when this aspect is gotten right, you can then direct your focus to produce and developing the core of your business.
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