Optimising the storage in your warehouse is vital to running a smooth and efficient business. Having a lack of space for new stock can prevent your business from growing, and if your warehouse isn’t optimally laid out it can make workers less efficient and productive.
If you don’t have the resources to get extra space for storage, you need to be able to make the most of the space you’ve got, so try out a few space-saving tips to maximise the efficiency of your warehouse.
Manage Inventory
Your inventory is the main thing that takes up space in your warehouse, and rightly so – you likely wouldn’t have a business without things to sell. But if you’re managing your inventory poorly, then you could be using up valuable space on the wrong items.
If you have too many of the wrong products, including things that don’t sell very well, it could be taking up room that could be used for something better. Consider cutting your losses and getting rid of any products that have been on your shelves, unused, for too long – especially if it’s been a year or more.
You’ll be replacing that stock with something that will sell and you’ll eventually make a profit that will earn back the money you might’ve lost by getting rid of the old, unpopular product.
For products that people tend to buy less frequently, consider only ordering them on an as-needed basis instead of keeping them around all the time. Your clients may have to wait slightly longer for their product, but freeing up the space in your warehouse could bring you more benefits in the long run.
Redesign Warehouse Layout
If the layout of your warehouse wasn’t designed well, this can have an impact on the efficiency of your business. If warehouse workers can’t easily access the things they need in the most efficient way, you’ll have a less productive workforce.
You could also not be making the most of your available space, and re-designing the warehouse could free up a lot of room you didn’t know you had. It might be worth overhauling the design of your warehouse, which could require some temporary storage while you move things out of the warehouse for the redesign – but it will be worth it in the long run.
Measure exactly how much space you have, and use a floor plan to figure out the best way to fit everything you need into the warehouse so that it’s easily accessible and laid out in the most logical way.
Vertical Storage
If you have a limited amount of floor space, you can make the most of it by extending your storage upwards. Extending your shelves to reach higher up can dramatically increase the amount of storage space you have. You can have more shelves by narrowing the spaces in between them, as long as there’s still enough space for people to get between the shelves to access the items they need.
You storage can also reach higher levels by installing mezzanines – these can effectively give you a second floor in some areas of the warehouse. If there are areas where you can’t have shelves because something else is taking up the floor space, you could install a mezzanine to give you access to the space above this area.
You can then use the mezzanine for more storage, or as an area for other activities that need to be done in the warehouse such as packing, without taking up too much valuable floor space.
Mobile Shelving
Narrowing the space between shelves can increase the capacity of storage in your warehouse, but you can take this even further by installing mobile shelving. These shelves can give you double the storage space of most regular shelves. The shelves are fitted to floor tracks, allowing them to move.
All of the shelves can be compacted together into a smaller area, without needing any gaps between the shelves, as you just need to move the shelves to open the specific one you want. After the item you need has been retrieved, the shelves can be moved back together to save space.
Making the most of the space in your warehouse can mean that you can carry more of the products that sell well, helping you to improve your profits and grow your business.
For more information on how to improve your logistics, get in touch today by calling 0113 277 5518 or contact us online.
