No matter how serious you are about managing your warehouse, there’s always the risk of “sticker shock” when the time comes to revamp your warehouse layout or purchase new installations and equipment. No matter what sort of renovations you’re doing, the costs can slowly start to creep up on you, and it might have the effect of scaring you away from getting these renovations completed.
But...is the work still worth it? The question of effort vs. investment is always there, and it’s an important one to consider. If you’re trying to justify the cost of a planned warehouse improvement, here’s a few things to consider before backing out of the whole plan:
Will the renovation improve productivity? A common goal with a lot of renovations is to improve employee productivity and get more work done. Will purchasing more forklifts let your employees get more done in the long run? Can you install more industrial storage such as gravity flow racks or pallet storage to help your workers move inventory more effectively? Will re-organizing the warehouse floor help product and works travel more quickly? It’s important to think of most warehouse renovations as an investment - if the benefits will prove more profitable than the cost, it might be a good sign to go forward.
Can you increase inventory storage? Inventory capacity is an ideal way to measure potential revenue and profits - after all, the more items your warehouse can store, the higher your potential for sales can be. If part of your renovations include wire shelving or rivet shelving to increase storage capacity, do some cost analysis to determine how many new items you’ll be able to store and how this can affect your profit and revenue outlook.
Will it reduce the need for further renovations down the line? As we mentioned earlier, a lot of these methods need to be considered long-term investments, and a good way to know if your renovations are worth pursuing is if it will remove the need for other renovations and installations later. If you can spend a lot of money upfront right now to bring in new storage and equipment and improve the operations of your warehouse for at least the next 5-10 years, then the investment may be worth it just to prevent needing to spend money for more short-term renovations and changes over the next few years. Larger renovations right up front can be more productive and helpful in the long term, and may even save you money overall.