Selection of a warehouse contributes directly to the business efficiency and also impacts upon the overall customer experience. If you are searching for purchasing or leasing a warehouse, you know how difficult it might get to make an appropriate decision with respect to its location and price. So, here are some factors that can be considered before making a choice for the right warehouse that ensures the ability of the company for serving to the desired customers in a profitable, effective and efficient manner.
Preferred Consumer Base
You need to keep a check on the locations of your targeted customers before choosing a warehouse. By determining a customer base, it enables the business to pinpoint the regions where the company is trying to serve. By acquiring a close location of the warehouse to the customer proximity allows the company to serve with faster delivery periods. It also helps in lessening the shipping costs due to closer proximity to the customer base which will eventually affect the overall customer experience positively leading him or her to be loyal to the brand.
Requirements for Storage
You may take an account on special accommodations (if any) that you maky have to create for your offered products such as are they inflammable or hazardous etc.
By ensuring the proper accommodations will help in making much better decision for the warehouse. You need to plan ahead for this for which resources and time cannot be wasted. You may consider some leasing options that permits storage space flexibility based on changing customer demographic that your business might experience. Also make an educated research for such factors for ensuring warehouse safety.
Nearness to Carrier Services
You have to consider the proximity of warehouse to the carrier services. For example, if your warehouse is near carrier facilities that the streamlining of the shipping processes for the products would be much easier while the customer will be much happier for this. In this way, it also creates a fine balance where the warehouse is able to serve with convenience and closeness to your customers. The carrier services near to the warehouse will make the shipping process fast for both customers and company. Hence, it is upon you to locate a reasonable balance of distance among the warehouse storage, manufacturing location, and customer proximity that goes with the shipping costs and transportation costs.
Longevity
The factor of longevity should also be considered while selecting a warehouse location. You need to focus whether the business will be able to cope with growth or the size of the business will shrink. You need to explore the potential growth of business and determine whether the selected warehouse has room for expansion (in case if needed). If the offered product is seasonal then you may consider the option of leasing a warehouse that offers seasonal or flexible leases. Also, you may work with companies that provide you with seasonal storage options. Thus, the warehouse potential has to be understood after planning for longevity.
Availability of Workforce
The warehouse location and its demographics can be more vital than the physical space. Identifying Your Work Needs is an important factor as not all geographic areas are able to provide the right people with the right skills and the right price. You have to determine the labor supply with respect to the demand because high demand and low labor availability will increase wages.
