Warehouse relocation is a huge change for business owners. The most important aspect of a warehouse or a factory relocation is the co-ordination between the factory workers which ensures a smooth and hassle-free task completion irrespective of the size and structure of the warehouse. If the pre-conceived plan is not followed, this may lead to a delay in the completion and hamper the warehouse productivity and in turn the overall business.
A lot many things need to be taken into consideration when you are looking to relocate your factory and hence, hiring experts to complete the job is usually a better and preferred option. One of the most important factors to consider during the hiring of warehouse or factory relocation services is time, to be precise, who will finish the job efficiently and in the least amount of time. This will mean that the process will be a smooth transition with minimal impact on the operations.
Three main components are critical for factory relocation such as:
- The planning
- The timing
- Communication
There are many reasons why you would choose to relocate such as:
- Your business is growing
- You are merging several warehouses into just one
- Relocating to a more central area
Key factors to think about:
Warehouse downtime
Warehouse or factory relocation means that your warehouse will be out of action for a certain amount of time. If you are pulling down the shelving etc. and re-installing it the process will be longer. The same is the case if you are trading in the old racking for newer ones, which again need to be installed. Time is money when talking business. You want to make sure you are choosing someone who can move your warehouse that will cause minimal disruption. So, again, hiring business relocation services is the best way forward, since they are experts in their job and know what problems to anticipate and how to combat them all the while finishing the job in the given time frame.
Here are some questions to ask regarding warehouse relocation:
- How much out of action time can you afford, or can you afford to “only partially supply orders”?
- Does the relocation need coordination over the weekend since working weekends are expensive?
- Can the company afford to happen during the business week or the selected time frame?
The inventory management
Your inventory is vital to your warehouse relocation. If you don’t make the plans for this correctly and think it through you could be adding a significant expense to the business which occurs through the loss of stock or damage. Before you move everything counts your stock not twice but three times. When the transport is over re-check the stock to find any discrepancies. You should always expect some stock might be missing or damaged during the move.
Design, location, and layout of the warehouse
The location that you choose for your warehouse needs to be significant. The key here is to reduce transportation expenses and make the demand response time faster.
The design and the layout of your warehouse will most likely be the following step.
When you at the planning stage you need to consider the following:
- Will there be enough exit and entry doors to avoid congestion?
- Are you going to have enough floor space?
- Think ahead: is it going to meet your future requirements?
- Have you thought about business expansion?
- Is there flexibility to allow for amendments?
Thinking about the costs involved:
All aspects involved in the warehouse or factory relocation need to be considered and even the minimal costs need to be considered so an established estimated budget can be formed. This will reduce the chances of the popping of surprising unaccounted costs which can send the entire budget into a frenzy.
When you make your budget think about the following:
- Travel
- Training
- Recruitment
- Staff relocation
- Downtime of billing and shipping
- Operating expenses
- A reduction in staff productivity
The communication channels
For a smooth transition of your relocation, it is important that there are communication channels between everyone and they are clearly set out. There will be three main levels of communication between the suppliers, customers, and management.
Management needs to have clear communication with the staff before, during, and after the relocation. If the employees lack any clarity around what is happening and what is required of them this can harm the move and the business.
The customers are the external stakeholders you want the most to communicate with both before and during the re-location. They need to be made aware of your plans to move and when that will be happening so they know about delays for deliveries and when the cut-off for the warehouse relocation will be. The notification to the suppliers that a change is going to occur is important. Clear communication on how they are going to handle the transferring of the goods throughout the move.
All these things need to be considered and hence, there is a lot involved but with careful planning and professional advice, it can be sorted out in no time.
