If your business holds enough products to require a warehouse, you will sooner or later run into the question of whether you should buy, lease, or build a space that accommodates your inventory. Construction may not be your first thought – but perhaps it should be? Here are 4 considerations to help you optimize your warehouse construction project.

1) Finding the Ideal Location

In warehouse construction, location is an absolutely crucial consideration. You need to make sure that it’s in the right spot for your business to save both time, and resources. A number of variables play into whether you get your location just right:

  • The price. Obviously, property values can differ greatly. Finding a location that does not cut into your construction costs is crucial.
  • The business proximity. The closer the warehouse is to your business, the more resources you will save in transporting your goods to and from the storage space.
  • The surrounding area. You do not want to locate your warehouse in the middle of a residential area, which may lead to complaints.

2) Accommodating Supply Chain Partners

In addition to the right location, your warehouse should also accommodate every partner in your supply chain that might touch it. In other words, you need to make sure that any deliveries can be made easily and without problem.

This consideration, in fact, is an extension of finding the right location. Do delivery professionals have the space they need to load and unload? Can they find your warehouse easily? Answering these questions is crucial to making sure your warehouse helps, not hinders your business growth.

3) Will You Need Office Space?

Your core business location probably already has at least some office space. But will your warehouse need that space as well?

The answer to that question, of course, depends. Many furniture stores, for example, allow customers to pick up products directly in the warehouse, which requires a member of your personnel to be stationed at the location and process any requests.

If, on the other hand, you simply use your warehouse for internal storage that only you (or another company official) will access, office space on site may not be necessary. Making that determination early helps you design and construct a warehouse that accommodates your needs.

4) Optimizing the Internal Logistics

Finally, your warehouse should absolutely be optimized to help you maximize your resources. Depending on the products you sell and store, you need to make sure that they are easily deliverable, storable, and accessible. The more thorough you plan your interior warehouse space according to your internal logistics needs, the more successful your construction project will be.

Even small considerations, such as door width, aisle space, and headroom, are dependent on this variable. Especially if you have not used a warehouse before, understanding your exact needs may be difficult – in that case, talking to external professionals about it is key to your success.

Ultimately, you may be hesitant to build your own warehouse. But if you lease of buy, you often don’t get to choose many of the above options. Building your own warehouse, on the other hand, allows you to make sure you get the exact building you need to maximize your business processes and grow your company.

Of course, you still need to find a partner that can help you make sure that everything about your warehouse construction project is exactly how you need it to be. That partner should have experience in similar projects, along with knowledge of the local area that allows them to help you in the above considerations. To talk to us about building a warehouse designed specifically for your needs, contact us.

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