There are a number of reasons to invest in an off-site storage program for your company. When organized well and managed efficiently, off-site storage makes it easy to save money, reusing what you already have as opposed to investing in new furniture and equipment.
A good storage program also allows your facilities management team to avoid the long lead times associated with ordering new furniture. Finally, reusing your existing assets is the more sustainable option, and may even help your company achieve some of its environmental stewardship goals.
Keep in mind, however, that not all off-site storage programs are created equal. To get the most out of your program, it’s important to implement a few best practices.
5 Best Practices for Your Off-Site Storage Programs
1) First and foremost, focus on the accuracy of your inventory information.
Inventory accuracy is foundational for any well-run storage program. It helps you make the best use of the products you have in storage and avoid redundant purchases of things you already own. Additionally, inventory accuracy provides data regarding how long products have been in storage, and how frequently they are used. This can make it easier to make truly informed decisions about what to store and what to purge.
2) Make sure your inventory information is available online.
It’s also important to make storage information accessible across your organization. Provide an online database that includes timely and accurate inventory descriptions. Make it possible for people in your organization to reserve products in advance, avoiding any confusion or delays caused by overlapping requests. Including digital images is also helpful, as it ensures that people are getting the things they really want, saving you any wasted or redundant trips to the storage facility.
3) Ensure regular cycle counts from your storage vendor.
The best practice is to have your storage vendor conduct a cycle count once or twice per year. The benefit of this is that it validates the accuracy of your inventory. It also provides confirmation of the quantity of stored assets you have. And it increases confidence in your storage program, across the organization.
4) Develop an inbound receiving policy.
The advantages of an inbound receiving policy are that it allows you to avoid receiving and storing unauthorized assets into storage. Instead, you can store only those items that you intend to reuse. As such, you can minimize storage creep and ballooning costs. Seek your storage vendor’s assistance in developing plans for recycling, reusing, or disposing of the items you decide not to accept into storage.
5) Work with your storage provider to develop relevant and usable reports.
The best reports will allow you to monitor your storage usage, identify trends in storage usage, spot opportunities to save money, and set target quantities for those items your organization uses most frequently. Min/Max reports help make decisions on liquidation or ordering new items before it is too late.
Get Storage Solutions from Corovan
At Corovan, we boast decades of experience helping enterprise-level companies make sound, strategic decisions about relocation, storage, and proper facilities use. We’d love to tell you more about establishing a viable and efficient off-site storage program. Reach out to the team at Corovan whenever you’re ready to chat.