Many businesses shy away from storing a large number of products – a sizeable inventory – as a way to cut costs. With the help of technology and good inventory management, it is indeed possible to limit the costs of storing inventory by keeping it at minimum. As the market becomes more competitive, however, having sufficient inventory for dealing with spikes in demand and sudden sales is a valuable competitive advantage worth pursuing.
To be able to store larger inventory, you need to invest in a good warehouse with a proper inventory management system. Most of the time, your best bet is a customized storage system designed for your specific needs and requirements from the ground up. This type of customized storage system brings 4 major benefits you don’t want to miss.
Boost in Space Efficiency
At the top of that list of benefits, there is the fact that a customized storage system can be tailored specifically for your warehouse. The best names in pallet racking systems like GlobalIndustrial are more than capable of taking a limited space and creating a racking system that expands that space several times. You will end up with a warehouse capable of storing more inventory than you think.
A good and tailored storage system boosts the value of your space. Whatever limited space you have for storing inventory is maximized, giving you not only the ability to store more, but also the ability to keep everything organized. That brings us to the next benefits, which is….
Meticulous Storage Management
Better inventory management is another major advantage to be gained from the use of a customized storage system. When you only have one type of product to store, storage management may not be a big issue to tackle. You can implement FIFO (First In, First Out) to keep the inventory fresh and to organize your entire storage accordingly.
Add several items to the catalogue, however, and a good storage management system becomes an essential part of your inventory management process. That’s where a customized storage system comes in handy.
You can start by separating items into groups and assigning sections of the warehouse for each group. You can then assign racks and even levels for a truly meticulous storage management. The next task is labelling everything. You can place labels on pallets as well as the racks. Once the system is set up, the rest is easy from there.
Easy Access to Inventory
Efficient use of space, good storage system design, and better storage management all lead to another big benefit you will get from using customized storage system. A good pallet racking system is designed specifically for your warehouse, with factors like the machineries you use and the products you store taken into account. At the end of the customization process, you will have a warehouse with maximum accessibility.
Now that you have added a meticulous inventory management system into the mix, accessing the inventory and getting the products that need to be shipped become incredibly easy. Workers can identify products to handle based on the labelling system. Retrieving the correct inventory is a matter of finding the right section and racks.
The amount of time saved with the help of better accessibility will take your business further forward, far ahead of the competition. Instead of asking customers to wait for 2 to 3 days before items are shipped, the improved warehouse and its inventory team can offer same-day shipping. With the market being as competitive as today, this is an advantage that will separate you from the rest.
Better Warehouse Safety
Last but certainly not least, a customized storage system also promotes better warehouse safety. High quality racks and suitable pallets are used to make sure all products remain protected as they are being stored in the warehouse. By minimizing risks faced by the stored products, you are saving a lot of money in damaged goods, returns, and other similar issues.
At the same time, the customized storage system also protects the workers. Risks of accidents can be kept at minimum as long as the right standards are met. Racks are spaced evenly, sufficient rooms are given to allow workers to work comfortably, and levels are designed to make retrieval as easy as possible. Paired with the use of pallets, the customized storage system turns the warehouse into a safe working environment.
The biggest benefit of them all, however, is customizability. A customized storage system, as the name suggests, is designed to be very flexible. You can be very specific with your requirements and still have a suitable storage system created only for your business.
Every part of the solution can be tweaked and fine-tuned to perfection. The result is a storage system that benefits your business, not one that forces you to operate inefficiently. This is the biggest competitive advantage you will gain by switching to a customized storage system.
