When launching a logistics company, the location of your warehouse is intrinsically linked to overall success. As well as the location, you need to decide whether to lease or buy a warehouse. Further, if you are looking to grow, you need to ensure that your location has the availability to do so. You will save a lot of time if you only have to run through these considerations once. Throughout this article, we will outline key considerations to make when buying a warehouse.
Workforce Availability
You will need a team to fulfill your work and having a qualified workforce will make your life easier. When you’re looking for a new warehouse, you will need to consider the demographic you’re moving into. For example, you won’t find success if you pick a warehouse in Silicon Valley because the demographic belongs to tech-savvy programmers. When you are hiring, you need to look out for areas with a large proportion of logistic businesses. You need to get a fine balance between availability and trade in the area. If you move into a business where demand for workers is high, you will find yourself competing against high salaries.
Rent Costs
The cost will be a critical factor in deciding where to buy a warehouse. After all, if you don’t have the available funds, you may be forced out of your desired location. In the US, warehouse rental costs are divided up per square foot (SF). The highest average prices at the moment are in San Francisco, CA, with $16.50 per SF. On the other end of the spectrum, Memphis, TN, comes in at only $2.56 per SF. Although the rental rates may be lower in some cities, you need to ensure you check state tax rates. You don’t want to be stung by hidden costs because you didn’t do your homework.
Insurance
Whether you rent or buy, you are putting valuable assets in the warehouse and you need insurance to protect them. Having insurance for your commercial property means that you are covered for unforeseen repairs, loss of income, damage, and operation expenses. Typically, you are looking at $17 to a month for the insurance. This may seem like a worthless investment in months where nothing happens, but as soon as it does, you will wish you had it.
Nearby Transportation Hubs
When choosing a location for your new warehouse, you need to make sure it’s close to transportation hubs. To do this, analyze your most significant point for receiving goods and align your site with this. For example, if your cargo typically arrives by air, you should position yourself closer to an airport. The closer you are to your nearest source of export, the higher demands you can come with and the easier it will be to manage drayage.
Traffic and Access
The main objective of logistics is being able to move cargo from A to B. If you don’t have the industry in the area, then your business will fail. You need to analyze all aspects of the local area including peak traffic times, average speed limits, typical traffic volume, road conditions, highway connectivity, and accessibility to highways. If these factors aren’t perfected in the area, you will end up paying more than you need to in fuel consumption.
Environmental Factors
As well as being close to significant export locations, you need to find a warehouse near to other suppliers. You will need to research the large local suppliers and take into account any supply chain partners.
As well as suppliers, you need to assess the environmental factors of the nearby areas. Is the area prone to natural disasters? Will you benefit from intense sunshine? Or are you in the middle of a flood zone? If you find any of these risks at your proposed site, you need to ensure that the building adheres to certain building requirements.
Starting up a logistics business takes a lot of time and patience. You need to decide what the most important location factors are and tick them off. There will always be criteria that you have to let slide. Make sure that you carry out your homework and consider all aspects of the location.
