A look at when and how using self-storage can benefit businesses.
Most businesses require some form of storage, whether for inventory, excess office furniture and equipment, office supplies, archived paper documents or something else entirely.
Especially given high rental costs for business premises, it makes sense to optimise office space – and one way to do this is to “outsource” storage.
The many uses of self-storage
Here are just a few of the ways that using self-storage can help businesses.
Storage of inventory and raw materials
Every retailer needs space to store inventory, and every manufacturer needs somewhere to keep raw materials.
An advantage of self-storage units is that unlike typical warehouse space, you can rent them for short periods – there’s no need to sign a long lease. This makes them a good option for businesses that carry varying amounts of stock or materials throughout the year.
Self-storage units come in a very wide range of sizes – depending on your location, right up to mini-warehouse size.
Also, they’ve available near almost all major urban centres and cities in the country, making it easy for e-commerce and other businesses to keep stock near their customer bases.
Storage of spare office furniture, equipment and supplies
Almost all businesses need room for storing office supplies, from stationery to toner cartridges for photocopiers.
Many businesses also end up with spare office furniture and equipment, including desks, cubicle dividers and the full range of computer parts and peripherals – computer monitors, keyboards, cabling, external hard drives, printers and more.
For example, spares may accumulate due to employee turnover (also sometimes called “office churn”) or new purchases. Often it makes sense to keep these items in case of future expansion, or as a backup for if something in the office breaks.
An advantage of self-storage is that you can access the items you’ve stored whenever you choose, and take just specific items you need out of storage.
Off-site storage for archived documents
Even in the days of cloud storage, it’s quite likely that you’ll have to keep physical copies of certain documents, such as tax returns and financial reports. These documents often end up occupying precious space.
Self-storage is a convenient solution. It also provides enhanced protection for documents and, by decluttering business premises, reduces the risk posed by fire in the workplace.
Business storage with XtraSpace
Benefits of XtraSpace self-storage for business purposes include:
- coordination and logistics – as well as offering storage space, all XtraSpace branches have onsite courier services and many branches offer Flexi Offices (affordable office space with flexible lease terms); so you can handle office work, storage and distribution from a single site.
- flexibility –you can reassess your storage requirements at any time and rent more or less space accordingly
- price – with a range of unit sizes available, you pay only for the space you need
- access control – self-storage facilities feature round-the-clock security, and customers keep their own keys to their units.
Contact us for more information or to discuss your business storage needs, or browse to find a branch near you.