Getting a good warehouse in Singapore is crucial when your business starts to grow. The recent pandemic has increased this need following the lockdown and a boom ine-commerce businesses.
Warehousing companies in Singapore do not onlyprovide your business with storage space; they play a more vital role in streamlining your operations and enabling you to improve your service quality.
Any warehouse in Singapore will provide you with storage space for your goods, but to find one that helps you grow your business, you will need to consider certain factors.
Warehousing companies in Singapore usually mask these factors when you are considering them, but with the cheat sheet in this blog, you will easily identify them and be able to choose a warehouse that will actually serve its purpose.
1. Location:
It is no secret that a bad location is a deal breaker while choosing a warehouse. But how do you decide if the location is good enough for you?
A factor that will help you determine the suitability of the location is how well-connected it is. An ideal location will not only be close to the ports and other terminals, but it will also have developed roads and highways around it. Such a location will help you with convenient shipping.
If you handlethe logistics of your business yourself or provide the self-pickup option toyour customers, another factor to consider would be the distance of the warehouse from your office as well as the central city. If the distance is large, you will be spending a lot on traveling, and customers will be less willing to buy from you.
2. Temperature-Control Mechanism:
It is a factor that remains hidden until companies bear losses with the wastage of their products, so you need to be mindful of this while choosing a warehouse in Singapore.
Many goods are sensitive to temperature and humidity, and a temperature change can ruin them. Most vulnerable items include furniture, metal, and art.
Despite Singapore having a warm and humid temperature, many warehousing companies in Singapore do not have a temperature-control mechanism in their facilities. You need to avoid them, especially if your goods fall in the categories mentioned above.
If your goods are even slightly sensitive, always go for a warehouse that keeps the temperature regulated.
3. Height:
You will hear warehousing companies in Singapore bragging about their space, but the factor they will often mask is the ceiling height. Ceiling height is important because itdefines the accommodation capacity of Singapore.
You especially need to be mindful of it if you deal in industrial-grade equipment and machinery because these items require more height than available in typical warehouses in Singapore.
4. Bay Size:
Like height, bay size can also be a hidden problem, especially with large machinery. If your warehouse has enough height to store your goods but does not have enough bay size to pass them through, it is not the right size for you.
Additionally, bay size will affect the storage possibility, but it will also define the storage convenience as a tight bay size will not slow down the transportation process.
Your business needs efficiency, and a warehouse that slows you down is no good.
5. Flexibility:
Every businessperson is aware of the fluctuations in business. Fluctuations can simply not be controlled, and the best approach is to adapt to them.
If you choose a warehouse that is strict on space and time, it will hinder your operations when your business fluctuates.
Ideally, you need a warehouse that can adapt to your needs and provide you with more space on demand if the supply increases or slashes some off when your business is going through a rough phase.
Having a reliable warehouse will give you confidence and let you focus on handling the fluctuations rather than worrying about your goods.
6. Management:
Besides the technical factors, a critical point would be to evaluate the management of the warehouse. You are not only storing your goods somewhere, but you are also trusting people to take care of them.
While you visit a warehouse, pay attention to how active its management is and how sincere they are with their jobs. Some things require special care, such as proper ventilation, light regulation, and security because of their value and delicacy.
If the management is not good, you should not choose that warehouse. A good parameter that will help you decide is how smooth their process is and how they facilitate while discussing the shifting process.
Some warehousing companies in Singapore also have dedicated property managers and technicians to ensure safety and handle hazards, so this can be another indicator that you are choosing the right warehouse in Singapore.
7. Custom Solutions:
With the rapidly changing business environment, one can not predict how their needs would change. Choosing a warehouse can consume time and effort, and you do not want to do it over and over again.
While choosing a warehouse, take your time and choose a warehouse that can provide custom solutions depending on your varying needs. It will help ensure you can keep up with the changing trends, and your warehouse will not pull you down in the future.
8. Future-Proof:
Talking of changing business dynamics and the future, let's not forget to ensure that your warehouse is future-proof.
Being future-proof means your warehouse is active in the business, has a keen eye on changing trends, and tends to adapt to change quickly. It will ensure your warehouse will always have up-to-date facilities, and you will be enjoying the latest technologies throughout your contract.
If your warehouse does not update its facilities with time, you will be left behind in the competition because your operations will not be smooth in the future.