Warehouse moves are a necessary fact of the life cycle for any logistics business, but they can bring with them more challenges than you might expect.

A lot of these challenges, however, can at least be mitigated in part by some careful planning, as well as an understanding of what issues you could potentially be facing along the way. Review this warehouse move checklist to discover what you should focus on prior, during, and after your move to ensure the most seamless transition possible.

Warehouse Moving To-Do List

Inform all needed personnel or vendors

A warehouse move can affect a lot more than just the management and floor staff. Whatever role your team serves in your warehouse, make sure to frequently and clearly communicate the details behind the move as early as you can. This can apply to offsite vendors, too - product suppliers, logistics providers, and even partner agencies such as marketing firms will all need to know the specifics behind your new location in order to ensure uninterrupted service for both you and your customers.

Identify needed staff

Similarly, a lot of team members will find themselves serving extra roles during the transition. Take time to review your current staff to see who can help with the more difficult or involved aspects of the move (loading trucks, disassembling your shelving, etc) and make sure they know what their additional responsibilities will be through the process.

Remove dead inventory

Moving inventory between warehouse locations can be one of the most expensive and time-consuming tasks during a move. You can lessen this burden by seeing what stock can be closed out, returned to the vendor, or otherwise eliminated prior to moving. Check your warehouse shelving and pallet racks for any safety stock, long-unsold goods, or items that have been on clearance for a long time to determine the items that don’t have to go with you during the move.

Compare floor plans

One of the biggest difficulties in moving a warehouse is the difference in floor plan between your current facility and your new one. This can have a huge impact on where things like shelves, receiving areas, and modular offices are placed in your new warehouse, which can affect how your team picks items and processes shipments. If there’s going to be major layout changes, or changes in the way your team is able to store items, make sure this is all properly documented and conveyed to your staff so the changes have a minimal impact on productivity when you’re all set up in the new warehouse.

If you need more information on how we can help outfit or inspect your new warehouse, contact Shelving Inc today.