Regardless of the business you’re running, having an efficient storage system in place is crucial for the success of your venture. That’s particularly important, as looking into a larger premise for your business can cost you more. That’s another reason to find the right storage solutions for your business.
To help you optimize your business storage, we’ve come up with some ideas to better manage your business space, plus some storage tips for business below:
1. Declutter your business premises
Start by decluttering your business space, whether it’s an office or a brick-and-mortar business such as a restaurant or boutique. Why? Removing items that you don’t need, can help you better use your storage space on the premises. Besides, it can be a great way to get the entire company involved. This way, every employee can remove something they don’t use. You can schedule an annual decluttering event to make better use of your space.
2. Install wall-high shelves
You can optimize space for your business by utilizing the entirety of a wall. You could go for standard shelving systems, but you’ll discover they don’t make the most of the wall space. Instead, opt for tall shelves or pallet racking – if you have a high volume of merchandise – which can help you use the floor-to-ceiling space in the most efficient way. Also, consider pegboards and overhead organizers.
3. Opt for adjustable shelves
If you work with a lot of physical merchandise, your inventory is very likely to fluctuate based on seasonality, demand, and more. Having a system of adjustable shelves in place can provide the flexibility you need to accommodate your varying storage needs so that your business space can see the best possible use regardless of the merchandise you’re storing.
4. Make use of a mezzanine floor
If your business space comes with high ceiling space, make sure to also use mezzanine floors to boost your storage space, thanks to the vertical space at hand. You can use it for bulk storage or as a space to create a shelving system. This is a great way to optimize your business storage within the premises of your business as you’re capitalizing on vertical space that typically remains unused. If your business setup doesn’t come with a mezzanine floor, you can always install one, space permitting.
5. Go for the classic filing cabinets
Filing cabinets can be a great storage solution, especially when your business requires a lot of hard copies. As usual, paperwork tends to pile up in an office on every surface. Putting together a filing system using your filing cabinets can help reduce the clutter and can help you easily find the documents you need in the future.
6. Get the right containers for your merchandise
If you’re running a business selling or handling physical goods, chances are you could use an efficient storage system. This can come in handy for unpacked items – to keep track of them, you can optimize the storage process by using the right-sized containers for your merchandise. If need be, use containers of various sizes to match the size of the items stored. This will help increase storage capacity in the end.
7. Digitize records if possible
If your business model allows you to stick to digital documents only, it would be a good idea to convert paper records to digital ones. It helps you to keep the contents of your hard copies without the inconvenience of physically storing and organizing them. Digitally storing them makes it much easier to find them, too. Additionally, this would obviously cut down on your paper usage, which is good for the environment.
8. Use self storage for excess items
While making the best of your storage space on your premises can certainly help you better manage your business-related items, in some cases, you still need more room to keep everything. This is where turning to self-storage can help. It is a relatively inexpensive service that comes with much lower costs than renting extra commercial space. Consider what kind of amenities you need – such as climate control – and unit size that’s best suited for your needs. Find a self-storage facility close to your business and that also offers the amenities you need. Rates vary based on location, amenities, and more. However, nationally, a standard non-climate-controlled 10’x10’ unit rents for $127/month.
9. Organize and label everything
Keeping an organization system in place is key to keeping tabs on your merchandise, records, and more so you can have an efficient workflow. This means you can divide your storage areas, boxes, shelves, and more into categories so you can find them easier. Moreover, labeling can also help in the same way, cutting down on the time it takes to find items, it can reduce work-related mistakes resulting from misplacement, and it can help you carry out a more successful business in the end.
10. Go for an efficient layout of the storage areas
This is an idea that can help you better make use of the space you can work with. You can organize inventory by type, dedicate more space to in-demand goods, and place them close to the processing area. This way, you can find the items you need much quicker and avoid losing inventory.
11. Turn to an inventory management system
Besides keeping tabs on your goods by physically organizing them efficiently, you can take your storage optimization strategy to the next level by implementing an inventory management system. They can keep track of your inventory and can provide inventory data. Many of these systems can work with barcode scanning or a cloud-based inventory management system, which can cut down on manual errors and help streamline the order and delivery processes.
