How to Choose the Perfect Warehouse Location

Moving warehouse location can be a stressful time, much like moving house, but there are a number of factors to consider when relocating your premises. From making sure your supply chain remains unhindered to checking if the surrounding land is safe to navigate, here’s how to choose the perfect warehouse location, regardless of the industry you’re working in.

Consider your customer base

Something you will need to consider when it comes to relocating your warehouse is your customers. If you have a loyal customer base in one part of the country and want to move to the other side of the country, then you may have to build that loyalty back up again in a new area. You’ll also be leaving your happy customers behind, perhaps causing them to choose to purchase their goods from another company. It cannot be expected for your customers to follow you on your new venture, so bear this in mind when considering a new location for your warehouse premises.

Think about your supplier network

For the same reason that you need to think about the customers you have in the area, you will also need to think about your supplier network. Who supplies you with the goods you sell? Do they have distribution centres around the country or just in that one area? Those are questions you will need to ask yourself before moving your warehouse, especially if you’re looking at going further afield.

Make sure there’s capacity to expand your premises, if needed

Whether you’ve just started your business or are a seasoned entrepreneur, it’s important to make sure that your new location has scope to expand if you decide to. Even if you don’t choose to enlarge your premises by way of adding extensions, for example, you’ll still have enough outdoor land to play with. This provides you with the opportunity to perhaps erect outside areas, like awnings, where you’ll be able to store things, although you should make sure that they’re secure so as to prevent theft.

Even if you didn’t want to store some of your assets outdoors, you could always have a sheltered area where your employees could sit together and socialise on their breaks, thus boosting worker morale in the process. A larger piece of land opens up no end of opportunities for warehouse owners, whether you want to add to the footprint or not.

Understand the environmental conditions & any restrictions that might be in place

Where this might be more relevant overseas, in places like America, it will be relevant if you’re looking at moving from the south of England to the North of Scotland, where the weather will be colder. You may experience more instances of snow and ice in comparison to being based in London, which will be slightly warmer than Scotland overall. It’s something to consider when choosing a new location for your warehouse because you might find that new challenges present themselves, such as transporting large loads in the snow.

It could also hinder the types of machinery you use. You may end up having to opt for the more powerful diesel forklift as opposed to the more eco-friendly electric forklift. You should also check with the Local Authority of your new location to make sure that there aren’t restrictions in place for businesses of your nature. For example, diesel forklifts might be frowned upon or maybe the local farmer is worried about the impact your activity is going to have on their animals. It’s all something to think about when looking for a brand new warehouse location.

The facility needs to be easily accessible for all

Whether it’s yourself, your employees, your site visitors or your suppliers, your warehouse needs to be easily accessible for whoever comes to your site. In turn, this will also make it easier for people to leave your site – perfect if you’re distributing goods. It will also need to be able to accommodate large vehicles, such as HGVs and commercial vans.

Make sure that the land can withstand the weight of such vehicles (check it’s not been built on marshland or a boggy area, for example). Make it as easy as possible for people to also find your site, choosing a central location, if possible, to ensure it can be easily located on sat navs, for instance.

Your premises needs to offer optimum space to accommodate equipment & machinery

We’ve already touched on this slightly, but not only does your premises need to accommodate HGVs and other heavy vehicles, it needs to also withstand the comings and goings of general machinery that needs to be used in and around a warehouse. For example, a diesel forklift can be used outdoors, so make sure that your new site is suitable for diesel forklifts to navigate across.

The terrain needs to be as level as possible, but the good thing about a diesel forklift is that it can be used on uneven, rough or loose terrain, making it an incredibly versatile piece of warehouse equipment, especially for outdoor operations. Electric forklifts, on the other hand, can be used outdoors and inside, but they’re mostly used for indoor operations.

However, seeing as they can be used outside, when needed, you need to make sure that the ground is safe for an electric forklift, and its operator, to navigate across, likewise for an LPG forklift. If the area around your warehouse is grassy or boggy, then it won’t be suitable for the aforementioned fuel types, only their diesel counterparts. Do your research about the capabilities for certain pieces of machinery in order to ensure they can be used safely on the surrounding terrain.

Multy Lift are pleased to offer a wide range of both brand new material handling equipment and used warehouse machinery, from forklifts and reach trucks to order pickers and pallet trucks, you’ll always be able to count on our specialist team to provide you with your every warehouse need. We’re also able to supply industrial cleaning equipment and cleaning chemicals as well as warehouse racking and mezzanine floor construction. For more information about our products and services, or to simply ask for some expert advice, get in touch with us today – with over three decades of material handling experience behind us, you can always rely on us to help.