5 Secrets for New Businesses to Maximize Warehouse Space

When you’re starting a new business, you want to get the maximum benefit out of all your business assets. With a warehouse space, it’s particularly important that it be organized as efficiently as possible. Below are five ways that you can make best use of your existing warehouse space.

Organized by Type

One essential point when organizing a warehouse is to carefully review everything you currently have stored in your warehouse (or will have stored) and then to ensure that you have organized (or reorganized) all of these items based on their type and how they are used. This will make it much easier for them to be located and accessed.

Create a Usable Layout

Another important way to maximize your warehouse space is to lay it out in a way that is logical and allows your employees to easily access items they need to get to. If you have to move pallets out of the way every time you need to access a specific item, you are wasting time an expending unnecessary energy. Make sure that you have adjusted your inventory racks and shelving units so that items can easily be removed and replaced.

Remove What’s Not Needed

Regardless of whether you use public warehousing or contract warehousing from Commonwealth Inc., your warehouse should not be a catchall, but should instead be dedicated entirely to your inventory. So don’t store things in your warehouse that shouldn’t be stored there. You might also want to set up annex warehouse spaces. These are usable locations in other areas of your business that you might use for temporary storage when you have overflow.

Take Advantage of Software

Warehouse management software can help you when you’re laying out the interior of your warehouse. Often, it can point out areas of opportunity where you can get more use out of the space you have. This kind of inventory management system will not only help you organize your layout spatially, it can also help you determine which items need to be most accessible (the ones you use or sell most often) and which items can be further at the back (those you will need less often).

Choose a System and Stick with It

Having a consistent inventory system in your warehouse is vital to its efficient operation. Many warehouses use either a FIFO (first in first out) or LIFO (last in first out) approach to organizing the items they store. Which you should choose will depend on whether you have rapid turnover or not. By strictly maintaining the functions of your warehouse, you are maximizing your space, shipping times, and overall profit margin. Don’t let this critical element go to waste!