Experiencing significant grown in your company is a fantastic feeling, but running out of storage space for your inventory can be disastrous. Before you invest in a massive new warehouse or analyze your inventory to see what you can cut back on, read on to find out how the installation of a steel mezzanine can double your available floor space. The opportunities for maximizing your warehouse layout and design by adding a steel mezzanine has to potential to help your company exponentially with future goals.
As a business that carries inventory, you know that storing the optimum amount of goods can be a struggle. There is a storage option that can increase your storage dramatically and may even increase your profits. Find out how a steel mezzanine just may put an end to your inventory nightmares.
The International Building code allows you to have more than one steel mezzanine in your warehouse. As long as the installation doesn’t take up more than 33% of your warehouse space, you can add as many as you need. If your warehouse is 50,000 square feet and you add the maximum of 33% more space available, you just increased your storage by 16,500 square feet. That’s an unbelievable amount of space you’ve just added! That’s 16,500 square feet of potential profit without having to buy or lease another space.
Faster fulfillment
The most obvious way to utilize a steel mezzanine is to house inventory. Housing inventory of any kind requires you to be meticulous about the organization. The simple fact is that if you can’t find it, you can’t sell it. Not being able to see valuable inventory means that you’re losing money. When your warehouse becomes crowded, your productivity decreases, and there’s no denying that product overcrowding hurts your bottom line. Not only is having a steel mezzanine a fast and straightforward process but it enables you to have the warehouse organization your company needs.
No downtime
Price wise, adding this extra overhead space can be much more economical than moving to a larger area. Moving can be very costly when you consider having to virtually shut down your business while inventory is transported to a new location. Downtime costs your business money – on top of the expense of moving your entire product line. There’s no reason to change locations when you can increase your current location size to better suit your needs with minimal disruption to your business.
Since you can add a steel mezzanine directly over your current floorspace, the only items that may need to be relocated during installation are the items the steel mezzanine would be housing. Since the bulk of the steel mezzanine assembly takes place off-site, this makes installing the structure a very efficient process for both parties. A fast and efficient installation means that your company can continue to operate as usual while this new storage space is constructed.
And if your business’ goals change or evolve in the future, your steel mezzanine can be moved, reconfigured, or removed completely at any time.
Product protection
The possibilities for reworking your warehouse layout and design utilizing a new steel mezzanine are practically endless.
One option warehouse owners choose is to allocate the steel mezzanine for a specific type of product or category of items. This new area would be a great place to store things that are fragile since they are now out of the path of heavy traffic.
Once those items are in a steel mezzanine, the newly freed up floor space can now house for more significant things that require more space. Larger equipment that increases your manufacturing or fulfillment process would have a new home in your larger warehouse.
Or, you could make space for larger, higher dollar sales items, opening up an avenue for higher volume sales.
Bigger foot print, smaller price
If you have multiple business locations or aspire to expand, having dedicated storage space for additional locations’ inventory is a unique benefit. Many business owners dedicate storage space from the steel mezzanine to housing products for other locations. This means no more hunting through your entire inventory to find the items you need to open your next location. All your goods for that location can be housed in their area and organized to fit the alternative store’s unique layout. You can build up your inventory and fixtures slowly over time without losing money in an additional lease until you’re ready to make the move.
This allows you to hold off on leasing new space until the very last minute. When it comes time to move those items, the process has now become hassle-free, saving your time and increasing productivity for that crew.
Simple, Hassle-Free Overflow Solutions
A steel mezzanine option becomes even more cost effective if you’re considering building a new structure to house your overflow of good. The price of a steel mezzanine is undoubtedly less than the permits, materials, and labor involved in entirely new construction. Making such a substantial investment isn’t necessary when installing this storage option is more practical and cost-efficient.
Oversee Production From a Mezzanine Office
The freedom to have multiple overhead storage areas offers more than specialized storage; it can also mean a new office space. Many business owners enjoy the benefit of a dedicated steel mezzanine office space right in their warehouse.
No more wasting time commuting from the office to the warehouse to handle paperwork. You can have a truly dedicated space for all those administrative tasks to be managed.
Your new dedicated office space means that staff can be available to respond faster to any warehouse issues and the needs of the customer. Everything your company needs to increase the speed and accuracy of its logistics can be only a few steps away. Customers and vendors are sure to appreciate your ability to provide excellent on-site customer service. Better customer service is a great way to secure your place above your competitors and drive repeat business.
Impressive Customer Service
The option to have an overhead office space becomes almost vital when dealing with investors or potential clients. Gone are the days of taking investors back to the office to discuss the next big deal. With office space in your new steel mezzanine, you can educate your investors on a tour of your impeccably organized warehouse and head straight upstairs to close the deal. Since the new office is in your warehouse, they can see your company’s daily operations first hand while you discuss terms.
The walls of the steel mezzanine can be designed into an office space you’ll be proud to show off. Why take your investors to a dull boardroom when you can impress them with an office space reminiscent of a stylish New York City penthouse office? Let the large windows with a broad panoramic view of your warehouse remind them of the excellent opportunity they’ll have by doing business with your company.
Safety first
Depending on how your steel mezzanine is laid out, your investors could additionally be impressed by your attention to employee safety. Beyond being a great storage space and office option, it can play a huge role in the reduction of workplace accidents. A significant benefit to the steel mezzanine is their ability to create a safer flow of traffic through the creation of overhead walkways.
Warehouses are a continuous flow of people and machinery. While forklifts are moving large items through the warehouse and employees are rushing around fulfilling orders, accidents can happen very quickly. The addition of a steel mezzanine walkway can significantly reduce the amount of foot traffic on the floor.
Overhead walkways allow the employees to navigate the warehouse free from the path of the machinery below. Instead of struggling to hear the machinery over the noise in the rest of the warehouse and dodge them, they can use the walkways. The ability to have an unobstructed path to items can cut down the time it takes to bring things to their next station.
To further ensure the safety of employees, OSHA and the IBC require that a dual-gate system be installed to prevent pelleted items and employees from falling from the off the platform. Every precaution has been taken in the design and construction of these structures to provide the highest level of safety without interfering with their user-friendly attributes.
Create space. Maximize efficiency. Increase profitability. Find out how with Specialized Storage.
The implementation of a steel mezzanine structure is an invaluable asset to any company looking to take their company to a new level – literally. These structures can help with every facet of your company from creating a truly optimized storage space to allowing your employees ease of movement. Given all the benefits that incorporating a steel mezzanine or two into your warehouse offers; not having one could be costing your company more than you think.
Whether you’re already buried in inventory overflow or just looking to the future, this versatile storage solution is unquestionably something to consider adding to your next meeting’s agenda.
Create space. Maximize efficiency. Increase profitability. Find out how with Specialized Storage.