How Do You Determine How Much Warehouse Space You Need?

You may be thinking of moving your business into a new warehouse space or distribution center. It could be possible that your old or current space has become too small or no longer meets your needs. How do you determine how much warehouse space you need for your growing business?

Think of Your Sales Growth

One thing you need to consider when moving to a new warehouse and determining what size you need is to think of your sales growth. Have you added new products in the past year and plan to add more in the coming months?

You need to think about how your business will change over the course of months and years and if you will expand your products or are you planning to streamline? You need to consider the fact that your business may grow faster in the next few years than the previous ones. In this case, it is possible that you will need more space to operate.

Your Inventory Turnover

While your business may be growing and you are adding new products all the time to your inventory, you also have to think how quickly will your inventory turn over? Do you offer products that sell fast and you must re-stock the products on a regular basis or will some items sit for longer than others?

This should all be taken into consideration when deciding how large of a warehouse space you need for storage. You don't want stock that will sit for months taking up space for your fast-moving items, and therefore you have no space left for newer products.

The Size of the Building

When you think of the size of a building, you most likely will only think of floor space. However, you need to think of the overall size of the building and if it will fit all your needs. This could include office space, building ceiling height, and if your stacks will fit properly or if the ceiling is too low? Do you have more or less dock space here than at your current building, and do you need more or can you do with less? These are all very important aspects of a warehouse that you need to think of before picking your storage space.

Can You Expand the Space?

It's possible that your business will grow to the point that you will have to expand your warehouse space in time. When you pick a new warehouse, is it possible to expand that space by building onto the existing building? Are there other ways to expand the space by eliminating areas that you don't need in favor of the storage space? Is there enough space surrounding the building to expand outward should you need to?

Contact a company like SJM Logistics for more information and assistance.