As a business owner, chances are that you are always looking for ways to run your business more cost-effectively while improving the speed of your operations and your customer experience. Advancements in AI and automation can help to achieve this, but there is another option that is more low-tech that can add value to your business – warehousing.
What is warehousing?
When most people think of warehousing, they think of it in terms of large retailers like Amazon and Wal-Mart who need to store massive amounts of stock. But warehousing is a strategy that can be employed in almost any business for storing merchandise – but also other items like office supplies and branded swag for giving away at trade shows.
In short, warehousing is the part of the logistics chain between manufacturing and consumption. It is also where information about the items themselves – how many are in stock, their condition, etc., is stored.
So how can warehousing help make your business more successful? Here are a few examples:
Save Real Estate.
Let’s face it. Commercial real estate is expensive. So, the less you have to clutter your business’s primary location with stock, the more useful workspace your company will have.
Save Money by Buying in Bulk
Since warehousing allows you to store items offsite, your business will have more room for these items. This means you will be able to make more bulk purchases – and reap the savings that come along with this. If your business has several locations, then you can order stock for all locations at once and have it stored at one central warehouse.
Lower the Cost of Shipping and Handling
Because warehousing centralizes your stock, it provides you with greater control of tracking inventory, orders, etc. This, in turn, helps you to lower the cost of your shipping and handling.
Protect Against Demand Fluctuation
Most businesses have busy periods as well as slower periods. Especially, if you are storing products that have longer lead times on orders, warehousing can serve as a buffer when there is fluctuation in demand.
Improve Customer Service
When a consumer orders an item, they generally expect to receive that item quickly and without error. This is especially true in the age of e-commerce. Warehousing helps to ensure that the item is not only in stock and ready for transport, but also that there is accurate information about the product so that the customer will not be disappointed by a delayed delivery or an error in shipment.
Allows You to Focus on the Bigger Picture
Warehousing makes the day to day (inventory, tracking orders, shipping and handling) aspects of your business much more convenient. This allows you more time to focus on the macro issues that face your business such as your strategic direction, expansion into new markets, and so forth. Your day to day operations become more automated, while you can focus on making your company grow.
If you are interested in learning more about how warehousing can help your business succeed – or about any other aspect of the logistics system – we would be happy to help. Contact us today for more information.