Warehousing is a critical link in every company’s supply chain. Whether you’re catering to the domestic market or international clients, you need a warehouse where you know your cargo can be stored safely and accessed when required. So, how do you select the perfect warehouse? Here’s a quick checklist.
- Location
- Accessibility
- Capabilities & Experience
- Value Added Services
- Warehousing and Distribution
- Handling Personnel
- Inventory Control
1. Location Location is the first box your warehouse must tick irrespective of whether you are a regional retailer or an international conglomerate. Your warehouse should ideally be close to the majority of your customers. This lets you meet your customer’s expectations in terms of delivery timelines. When comparing warehouse options, it’s a good idea to calculate the average last-mile transportation costs to your most common delivery destinations. It would be ideal for dealing with a single point of contact, so warehousing companies that offer storage facilities in more than one location get added points.
2. Accessibility It would be a pity to see your order deliveries being delayed simply because the road to the warehouse was blocked. You need to ensure that your warehouse is easy to access and meets the prerequisites of moving your goods. If you need to move your goods by containers and the road leading up to the warehouse is narrow, you’ll face a lot of trouble getting your goods in and out of the warehouse. Similarly, your warehouse needs to be accessible from a port if your goods are regularly imported and exported.
3.Capabilities and Experience If you deal with specialized products, you need to bear in mind the capabilities and experience of the warehouse. Can they handle the kind of products you deal with? Do they have space for it? If your cargo needs to be stored in a temperature-sensitive zone, will they be able to provide it? More importantly, it would be best if you worked with a warehousing service provider who has worked with cargo similar to yours. Don’t just find out the age of the warehouse. Also, check on its ability to keep up with technological advancements.
| Value Added Service | Warehousing and Distribution |
| Cargo sorting | Consolidation centers |
| Scanning | Deconsolidation centers |
| Labelling | Cross dock and Delayed cross dock |
| Re-packaging | DC Bypass |
| Reporting | Trans load |
| Return solutions | |
| Goods disposal | |
4. Handling Personnel If the service provider doesn’t have enough people on the ground, you may face issues with storing and shipping your cargo. You need to work with a company that has a good warehouse size to employee ratio to ensure that the movement of your goods isn’t delayed by an inadequacy of manpower. The nature of their employers is as important. The person responsible for your account should be a solution finder and not put their hands up at the first hurdle. They should be reliable, have good communication skills and relevant experience. If your cargo is delicate, you should ensure that the company has the tools and technology required to lift it and people skilled in using the machines.
5. Inventory Control A warehouse will stock not just your cargo but cargo from several other clients as well. Thus, they need to have a very efficient inventory management and control system. Without this, cargo will be scattered and hard to find. This can cause delays in shipping and affect your profit margins. They should know when cargo enters and exits the warehouse, where it is stocked, the people responsible for it, etc. While you can ask the service providers to explain their inventory system, know that you cannot control it. Partner with BAFCO for your Warehousing Needs One reason BAFCO is recognized as the best logistics company in Saudi Arabia is its excellent warehousing services. The warehouses in Jeddah and Dammam have extensive capabilities, are well guarded, and have all the equipment needed to handle containers of all sizes. The warehouses are designed with racking for storage and are automated for higher efficiency. In terms of connectivity, they are accessible from the highways and have ramp loading facilities. The warehouses are well ventilated, comply with all health and safety norms. Whether it’s just warehousing or warehousing, transportation, and shipping, we can handle it. So, are you ready to get started?