How much thought have you given to warehouses? They have been around for quite some time now, but why are they suddenly such a major deal, you may wonder.
That’s because warehouses are no longer just places where you store things, they are so much more. Warehousing these days come with inventory control, the possibility of tracking employee metrics, increased order accuracy, and the ability for quicker picking and receiving of items.
If you’re still wondering exactly why your business needs a warehouse, here are 8 reasons that can help you a lot.
1. Risk management and additional storage
What happens with the supply of products that have exceeded demand? You will sell a good part of products but what happens with those extra products? Do you get rid of them or do you suffer losses by selling them?
Of course not. None of that will happen if you have a warehouse. That’s one of the greatest reasons you need a warehouse. Those extra products will stay in a warehouse until the market reaches the necessary demand. A warehouse is a perfect place to keep those products safe and to keep them stored so that they do not expire or perish.
Having a warehouse is also great for storing products you’ve made in advance or anticipation of demand. Having a place to store these goods until the customers place their orders is always a good idea. This way you’ll know that your goods are safe from any sort of damage or theft.
2. Leverage seasonal growth
When you have a warehouse you have the ability to boost your operations during the heavy seasons. Having a warehouse gives you the opportunity to monitor your customer trends and stock up on goods that sell better and in that way take advantage of the market.
Usually, those heavy seasons happen during the holidays such as Christmas and Black Friday – the sales skyrocket during those times. If you get a warehouse now, you can get prepared for the upcoming holiday season.
3. Improved production
You can improve production with better storage management. Warehouse management systems can help you improve your shipping date and access to inventory. Once you can do these things you’ll be able to find problematic areas and find better solutions for them.
With management systems, you’ll be able to track both raw materials and finished products. Tracking systems can help you work with suppliers and vendors to identify and minimize defective raw materials. With something like this, you won’t have to waste time performing controls at your warehouse.
This system can also help you monitor expiration dates of materials, which can later be easily detected and removed before they expire.
4. Improved order processing
A warehouse management system is there to help you answer the burning questions your customers are guaranteed to ask about where their shipments are. You won’t have to worry about not knowing where the shipment is in the process.
With the system, you’ll be able to track packages and shipments and know more accurately when the arrival date. You won’t have to worry about fulfillment problems and your products will always be shipping ready.
Simply put, your company won’t have any problems with order processing.
5. A central storage location
There would be no more production gaps if you got a centralized location for your storage. Just imagine receiving, distributing, storing, and shipping products from one place – how much time and money could you save?
Finding one warehouse that offers the services of import/export by both sea and air, container cartage, reliable national warehousing, and national transport and distribution. Basically, one place where all your operations can take place. A location that makes sense for you and your business and where your suppliers can easily reach you.
6. Competitive advantage
Businesses that have a warehouse and a warehouse management system are more likely to offer their customers better services. Having that kind of competitive advantage is huge and it can put you in front of your competitors.
Imagine being able to offer your customers better shipping and delivery information. Having happy and satisfied customers can sometimes help you much more than you can imagine.
That’s precisely why you should get a warehouse, any chance you get to have an advantage over your competitors, take it no matter small the advantage may look.
7. Tracking employee metrics
What if you had a chance to see how well your employees perform? With the warehouse and its management system, you can track employee performance and use that information to reward those who are performing well and identify those who are falling behind.
You can get real data on your employee performance and not someone’s subjective opinion. This will also make your employees feel validated knowing that you rely on real data.
8. Improved purchasing decisions
Yet another thing that can be improved with a warehouse with an effective management system – purchasing decisions. How do you know exactly when you need to restock and purchase raw material?
The answer is easy – with accurate data given to you by the warehouse management system. You won’t have to worry about if the right time to restock is coming up or not. Order history can indicate what needs to be replenished and what not.
This way you won’t be purchasing excessive or inadequate amounts of materials. You can have your stock always in check and your purchasing decisions improved.
As you can see, having a warehouse can only benefit your business. You can choose the kind of warehouse you wish to have but when choosing make sure they are all safe and secured, accessible, and that they have a reliable warehouse management system.