7 Tips for Successfully Moving A Warehouse

It can be a chaotic and inconvenient process to move your warehouse to a new location. Between balancing deliveries that still need to happen, handling changes in staff and job responsibilities, and simply making sure everything arrives to the warehouse without a hitch, there's a lot to juggle. We want to minimize the complexity for you and your team. Below you'll find 7 top tips that make moving a warehouse as easy as possible.

1. Evaluate the effectiveness of your facility

When you're moving to a new location, you have the opportunity to overhaul your current warehouse's layout. If there are any kinks in the supply chain, this is your chance to straighten them out. Look at your company's workflow and ask your team if it's as efficient as possible; keep an open mind to new ideas and suggestions. Would re-configuring certain departments increase productivity? Is there a different way to set up storage racks in order to better utilize their capacity? Could moving specific departments to different locations on the floor reduce travel time? Imagine the most optimized version of your warehouse and get to work creating that layout for your new space.

2. Organize your current inventory

Before the big move is the best time to sort through and take stock of what inventory you have on hand. Organize the things that you're going to move and get rid of any inventory that is aged, unusable, or no longer a product you distribute. You only have so much manpower, and you don't want to haul things around that no longer serve your company.

3. Minimize issues with shipment & delivery

The last thing you want is to be mid move and realize a top client is scheduled for a delivery. Moving can be a confusing time, so it's crucial to speak with the shipping managers beforehand and coordinate a plan for how deliveries will take place during your warehouse move. Make sure that the shipments that need to go out are kept in a clearly marked area to minimize the risk of them accidentally being packed and taken to the new warehouse.

4. Make a personnel plan

During a warehouse move, people in the company will need to take on different roles and responsibilities. You may need to bring on some temporary staff to help get everything settled in or hire more full time employees to accommodate for the bigger space. Determine exactly how operations are going to run the smoothest during the transition and make accommodations accordingly.

5. Communicate with employees

Once you've figured out how you're going to divide up work and responsibilities during the move, communicate it to your employees. It's important that you communicate expectations and requirements to your employees beforehand in order to ensure every part of your supply chain will be well manned and taken care of during the move.

6. Remember the little changes

Remember to change your address for things like returns and incoming orders; put in a request for forwarding mail, and transfer services like electricity and internet to your new warehouse. These little things can easily fall through the cracks but cause major slowdowns if not properly addressed.

7. Ensure your permits are up to par

Not having the correct paperwork can cause your warehouse move to stall in its tracks. It's crucial you have the correct building, fire, occupancy, etc. permits ready before moving warehouses. Check with your local municipalities to ensure you have the correct paperwork and requirements in place. This is especially important if you're moving states, cities, or counties as codes can vary greatly place to place.

How Chipman Relocation & Logistics Can Help

Whether you're looking to move from city to city or state to state, Chipman offers a unique and personalized moving service. Our expert staff of relocators, movers, and drivers will handle all your packing, moving, deconstruction, and reconstruction from start to finish. To find out more about what all we can do to help for your next move, explore our services below!