With just under twenty thousand warehouses in the United States, distribution centers are crucial to ensuring your products make their way to customers.
Choosing a warehouse isn’t as easy as selecting the first one that appears on your internet search. There are many factors to take into consideration to ensure you make the best business decision.
When choosing the best warehouse for your needs, knowing what to look for can help make this task less stressful. Keep reading for the most crucial elements that will influence your choice.
Location Matters
When choosing a distribution center, location is one of the most crucial factors. You’ll need to think about where the majority of your customer base is and the proximity to major transportation hubs. If your shipping industry centers around air transportation, prioritize choosing a warehouse near an airport.
Similarly, you’ll need to research the weather in the area. If the location is prone to extreme weather, this can cause damage and delays to your production and building.
Ease of Accessibility
Next, you’ll need to factor in how easy it is to reach your inventory storage site. This includes the highways in the area. If they are frequently congested due to traffic, this can lead to massive delays.
Similarly, you’ll want to ensure the area is well paved, easy to navigate, and safety of the roads. If you ignore these factors, it can impact your relationship with suppliers and customers.
Price and Additional Expenses
Once you’ve narrowed down the ideal location, you’ll want to look into how much the land costs. If you’re planning on building a warehouse, don’t forget to take the costs of materials and construction into account.
If purchasing an existing location, you’ll want to factor in any remodeling, additions, or updates you need to complete. You may also want to consider how much it will cost to implement warehouse management systems in various locations.
Workforce Availability
Finally, you’ll want to research the labor supply in the area you plan on setting up your commercial warehouse. If the area has low rates of unemployment or exceptionally skilled workers, you’ll need to offer a competitive salary to entice workers.
However, if the area has high bouts of unemployment, salaries will fall comparatively. No matter the availability, you’ll need to ensure you can cover the cost of living to ensure your employees are happy within your company.
The Best Warehouse Can Make or Break Your Business
Looking into the types of warehouses to determine what the best choice is for your business is crucial to selecting the smartest option. Touring, researching, and narrowing your criteria are crucial to making your search as simple as possible.
Though you may know how to pick the best warehouse thanks to this guide, your journey to expanding your business doesn’t stop here. Check out the rest of our website for more crucial industry insight.