Temporary Warehouse Space – On or Off Site?
The need to hire temporary warehouse space can happen very quickly for many businesses; new contracts, new product ranges, organic growth or seasonal growth can all put existing storage space under strain. And, more importantly, not being able to provide that space in the required time frame could mean these growth opportunities slip away.
Historically, businesses have considered leasing off-site commercial premises as a first option, but now there is the option of having a temporary warehouse installed on your own site – providing the space just as quickly but having the additional advantage of keeping everything under one roof. So how do these two approaches to overflow warehousing compare and which would be more suitable for your business and situation?
8 reasons to keep overflow temporary warehouse space on-site
Availability – finding a suitable commercial property in the right location can be a time-consuming process. It needs to be a short and easy journey from the main site, offer the right storage requirements, contract terms including maintenance and security and also preferably close to key transport links. And, every other business in the area will have the same wish list!
If you decided to hire temporary warehouse space on-site, the only searching you’ll do is a Google Search looking for the right provider. Temporary warehouses are often a standard off-the-shelf product so the response can be amazingly quick – a matter of a few weeks from enquiry to installation.
Planning – as it’s likely to take some time to find a suitable commercial property to hire you ideally need to plan ahead, but this isn’t always possible when unforeseen additional space requirements land on your desk.
Temporary warehouse projects can be managed with very little planning. You just need the on-site space. This point is highlighted when temporary warehouses are used in the event of fire damage and interim storage is urgently needed.
Flexible – if you hire temporary warehouse space off-site you might be restricted in how much you can customise the workspace. Thing to consider: can you expand the leased space if your business grows? Are maintenance and repairs attended to as you need? Are there barriers to running an environmentally sustainable operation from the leased premises?
Keeping the additional warehousing on your own site means you can do what you want – especially if you buy the temporary warehouse building instead of hiring.
Traceability – managing two or more warehousing sites means more resources will be needed to ensure efficient stock control. Keeping everything under one roof eliminates the third party and geographical challenges of controlling stock at a different location, ensuring tighter stock control with less resource. Product availability and customer lead-times should all benefit from this, nurturing customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Cost – costs associated with hiring off-site would need to be considered such as additional fuel plus possible extra security, maintenance, equipment and staffing expenses. All of this, including the time associated costs, would be avoided if you could keep overflow warehousing on your own site.
Safe – managing your stock at third-party premises means you adhere to their safety and security processes, which might not always meet your expectations.
Keeping everything on your own site means it’s your security process, your gates, your locks and nothing is shared or compromised; you are in control.
Investment – leasing off-site temporary warehousing could end up being more expense in the long run and is creating no investment for the future.
If you hire temporary warehouse space on-site you have the option of buying the building at any time which creates a re-sellable asset for the company.
Future proof – relocation hopefully means you are moving to larger premises that can accommodate all your warehouse and storage requirements on-site. If not, you’re back to square one, queuing up with everyone else for the best strategically placed local warehousing units.
A temporary warehouse however can move with you in the event of relocation. Or, if no longer needed be dismantled and returned to the supplier.
Our configurator tool allows you to design your structure to suit your needs. Design your ideal structure and see how it will look in less than 3 minutes! Receive an estimate and copy of your configuration.
Although we have focused on the advantages of hiring on-site as opposed to off-site, there is no question that a choice of overflow warehousing options is an advantage that should help businesses maximise growth potential and operate at optimum productivity and capacity.
Temporary warehouses are engineered with an aluminium industrial frame creating a very fast installation process that usually requires no ground preparation. Sizes range from 5m to 30m wide and up to 7m eave height. Warehouses can be standard or bespoke design and linked together to create larger areas. They can also be linked to existing facilities to ensure integration with handling and storage operations. Buildings can be specified to meet the required Building Codes for structural safety in all global regions and therefore can be used short term on a hire contract or purchased outright and used as an alternative to a permanent solution.
