Commercial storage solutions can be an important part of running a business. For businesses that have limited space and don’t want to pay for more office space, external storage can be a more affordable alternative. There are a range of storage options available for small businesses and larger companies alike.
Whether you’re looking for an affordable option, a climate-regulated space, or a storage space that you can access at any time at your convenience, there is an option for you.
Keep reading to learn more about why you need to invest in commercial storage, how to determine your storage priorities, and which storage solution is best for you.
What is a Commercial Storage Solution?
Commercial storage is storage space external to your business’ headquarters or office space where items can be stored. Businesses often use storage space to hold items that are important, but don’t need to be used daily.
For example, if businesses keep important paper documents, they could be stored in a secure commercial storage space. Extra inventory or supplies that businesses use can also be kept in a commercial storage space.
Why Do I Need Commercial Storage?
Commercial storage is important for a variety of businesses. Storage can be appealing to small businesses or other companies with limited storage space in their main building. Having external storage space, like warehouse storage, can be helpful because it helps save space at your business’ offices or company headquarters. Commercial storage can also be a good option for businesses that manage high amounts of inventory or handle their own shipping and distribution.
Depending on your business’ industry and location, office space can get expensive. Commercial storage offers a space to keep business items safe without the high costs of purchasing more office space. Choosing to use commercial storage space, rather than paying for more office space can save your business a lot of money both up front and over time.
Consider Your Storage Priorities
It’s important to understand your options when it comes to storage space. One of the first steps in choosing a commercial storage solution is to determine which qualities in a storage space are most important to your business. Here are some of the main characteristics that differ between storage spaces.
Amount of Space
Storage is all about the physical space and how you use it. If you’re going to invest in storage space, you should make sure that the space you want to rent will have an appropriate amount of flooring (and height!) to accommodate the items you want to store there.
Convenient To You
Depending on how often you need to access the items in your storage space, convenience may be more important to some businesses than others. Are you storing something away to be checked on once a year? Or will you need to pop by a few times a week?
You should consider your storage space’s convenience to you based on location and hours of operation. It’s always best for your storage space to be closer to you, so that you can access it if needed. You never want to have to drive hours away from your business to access your items in storage. However, if you don’t plan on needing to access your items in storage often, you may be okay with a storage space that is a little farther from you, if it has unique benefits that align with your main priorities.
It’s also important to consider the hours that your storage space will be in operation. Are you able to directly access your space if you need something at odd hours? Again, if you don’t think you’ll need to access your space often, this may become less important. However, your choice in a storage solution should be accessible to you when you need it.
How Long Do You Need the Storage?
Before deciding on a storage solution, you should make sure that your items will be able to stay there for however long you need the space. For example, at OnDemand we offer long-term storage for your items. You should make sure that your storage solution will be a reliable space for the foreseeable future.
Climate-Controlled
For some items and industries, the temperature of your storage space is more important than others. Are you storing metal machine parts or sensitive film prints? If climate is important for the items you plan to store, you should make sure that your storage space is climate-controlled.
Pharmaceutical items, highly valuable or fragile items, and electronics may all need specific temperature, moisture or even lighting conditions. You know your inventory best, so don’t be shy about asking for the environmental specifics before committing to a storage space.
Price
Of course, price is always a factor. Depending on how limited your budget for storage space is, you may need to adhere to price constraints. In this case, you’ll need to perform a delicate balancing act between your budget and your other priorities.
On the other hand, if price is not the most important factor for your business, you may be willing to pay more for storage spaces that offer the height of convenience.
Secure and Accessible
Your storage space should be located in an area that is safe and secure, but still accessible to you. If you’re storing expensive or valuable items, the security of your storage space may be more important to your business.
Options for Commercial Storage Solutions
There are a variety of commercial storage solutions available for businesses, which differ in their characteristics. Once you’ve decided on the features in a storage space that are most important to your company, it’s time to choose which storage solution best aligns with your needs. There are three main storage solutions: on-site storage, self-service warehouse storage, and full-service warehouse storage.
On-Site Commercial Storage Solutions
On-site storage is container storage that can be stored right outside your business. This type of storage is arguably the most accessible. Since it’s right on your business’ property, its location is convenient and you can access your items at any time. This is also usually a more affordable storage option.
This option is ideal for businesses that just need a little more space than their main building can provide. Items that need to be accessed regularly but don’t really need to be kept in a business’ office space or headquarters can be stored in on-site storage.
However, on-site storage does require having excess property space and is not climate-controlled. If you have items that need to be stored at a certain temperature, on-site storage is probably not the best fit for your business. This type of storage is also not as secure as full-service warehouse storage, so if you plan on storing expensive items, you may want to consider other options.
Self-Service Warehouse Storage
Self-service warehouse storage means that you are responsible for moving your items and managing your items in storage. This is an affordable, accessible storage solution that allows you to have more hands-on involvement in your storage. In this case, you can control how your items are moved and organized and can retrieve items as you need them.
On the other hand, self-storage warehouse storage is also not climate-controlled. This option is not quite as secure as full-service warehouse storage since storage owners can regularly access the space, so you should avoid storing any expensive items in this kind of storage. It’s also crucial that you have the people to help move your items to storage, since this will be your business’ responsibility in self-service storage.
Full-Service Warehouse Storage
Full-service storage is the most comprehensive storage solution. These storage spaces are climate-controlled and the most secure. Warehouse staff will organize your items and deliver them to you as you need them and is often times as affordable as self storage, without any of the work.
That being said, if easy and direct access to your storage space is important to you, then this won’t be the choice for your business. With full-service storage, you won’t be able to directly access your storage space or items. You must have warehouse employees deliver your items to you. Thus, there may be barriers with this option if you need to access your space often or at odd hours. This storage option is also more expensive than alternatives like self-service storage.
Choosing the Right Storage Solution
There is no one “right answer” to the storage space question. The most important things to keep in mind when deciding on a storage space for your business are your priorities. The best storage option is going to be different for each business.
Before choosing a storage space, remember which features are crucial for your business. You should choose the storage option that best matches up with your priorities, to ensure your business has the ideal storage solution for you.
We Have the Storage Solutions for You
Investing in storage space is a great way to save space and money. Whether you need accessible storage right at your business site, or if you need self-service or full-service warehouse storage, we have the storage solution for you at OnDemand. Check out commercial storage opportunities near you!
Learn more about the commercial storage solutions that we offer and contact us today for a custom quote!
