The beginning stages of starting and planning a business can be exciting. This is where you begin to dream up future possibilities and map out a clear path ahead in order to ensure your new company’s success in the marketplace. Start-up companies needing to house massive amounts of inventory, however, may stumble into some complications. On top of getting all the right licenses and legalities out of the way, you need to find a warehouse that allows you to efficiently manage inventory without going broke in the process. With a well-planned space, you can work alongside your warehouse manager to improve your bottom line. Let’s take a look at some of the logistics involved in setting up a great warehouse space.
Design and plan
Assuming you and your team have hit the pavement and found that magical warehouse facility, it’s time to hit the drawing board pretty hard. The first step in setting up any warehouse space is drawing up the perfect floor plan. Odds are your building’s lease is based on raw square footage. When you come up with a master list of what your warehouse needs to function, ensure you’re maximizing every inch of the warehouse space. This will give your designers ample information to help them along their way to customizing your workspace.
Get your needs in order
After you’ve drawn up a dynamic floor plan, figure out what you’ll need to effectively manage inventory in this new space, including proper shelving, hand trucks, machinery to move pallets around, and power supplies to keep your industrial equipment running at peak performance. Plan wisely and make sure you differentiate between needs and wants, such as purchasing an electric forklift before you can actually benefit from its purchase.
Safety considerations
Having effective safety measures in place are not just a good idea, they are required by law. This is especially true if you’re running an industrial warehouse where forklifts and other types of heavy machinery are involved. Observe the safety regulations required by your city, state and/or local region. Ensure the building itself is up to code for the type of inventory you are managing.
Setting up office space
Every warehouse facility should have a dedicated office space to handle the administrative tasks of running the facility and keeping detailed records of all inbound and outbound inventory. You and your team should have planned-out space for an office build-out in the beginning stages of the facility’s development. In general, the office space should be kept away from the rest of the warehouse so records, permits and other paperwork can be easily accessed and managed without distraction or disruption.
It’s important to remember that setting up and maintaining a quality warehouse space is an ongoing process. Get a basic plan in place and execute it promptly and precisely. As long as the initial plan is put together well, any changes that need to be made will most likely be easier to implement.