It is a great feeling when you think your business is ready to expand and really start leaving its mark on your business sector. However, in order for it to work and work well, there are some areas that you may have to look closely at before you jump straight into the deep end.

Storage

Regardless of whether you are running your business from home or from a business site, you will have to think about the increased storage that you will need in order to house your extra products.

This may not be as easy as you think, especially if you have to buy in components in order to make the products that you sell. This will mean that you will require even more space due to storing the single components before they are made into your products.

You will also have to look into some good quality warehouse software so that you can keep tabs on stock levels and rotation rates, as well as the whereabouts and how the items are being stored.

Shipping

When it comes to shipping out your finished products, you will have to look into pallet shipping as this could very well work out the cheapest option, especially if you are looking at shipping large amounts to keep your business buoyant.

Of course, when you are looking at shipping, you may find that it works out far better to use the services of a reputable business that offers a broker-like service rather than actually having your own fleet of vans and trucks. A broker-like service will be able to collect quotes for your business’s shipping requirements and refer you to them. This is helpful as it will take the leg work out of getting your items shipped for you.

Workforce

You will also have to realize the extra stress and manhours that it will add to your current workforce and, therefore, be aware that you may have to hire extra hands or move people around in your business to be able to cope with the additional workload within your warehouse area.

You will also probably have to supply extra machinery and equipment to help your warehouse staff complete their new job roles with maximum efficiencies, such as pallet trucks, forklifts, and maybe even some AGV’s or AMR’s if your budget can stretch that far. As well as be prepared to offer full and comprehensive training so that safety is seen as paramount to your expanding business and workforce.

Final thoughts

So, the areas that you will seriously have to think about when increasing your sales are likely to be within your warehouse facility. The amount of additional work that it will bring in for your already existing crew, how you can assist them in being efficient and yet still working safely, as well as in how you will be able to store your additional products.

You will also have to look closely at your shipping options, where you will probably find that it is far cheaper to hire the services of a shipping broker than to actually have your own business vehicle fleet driving around the country delivering your goods to their destinations.