Organizing Business Inventory in Storage

Anyone dealing with storing company goods knows that how you do it can have real consequences on the business. When there’s a poor system in place to organize your stored business assets, getting them back can be a pain. While many businesses struggle to even find good enough storage in Florida, organizing business inventory in storage is just as important as having said space in the first place.

We at Cross Country Moving Group FL know how much of a pain it can be to keep business assets organized while locked away. That’s why we’re going to share some handy tips that you can implement straight away. So read on if you’re having trouble keeping up with company inventory.

Pack your business inventory well

Before we even get to talk about organizing business inventory in storage, you need to tackle the packing part. Seeing that you’re dealing with important business assets, you don’t want to do this halfheartedly. As such, make sure that you carefully pack everything that’s going into storage.

For one, you shouldn’t stinge on quality packing supplies. For example, if you intend to store a lot of things, you’ll need strong boxes that can hold the weight of their contents, as well as that of other boxes sitting on top of them. They need to be sturdy, so get new ones (also consider plastic ones, they’re much tougher).

Secondly, a bit of organizing will go a long way for you. You can pile in miscellaneous items (pens, staplers, etc.) in smaller bins or more fragile boxes with a splash of randomness. However, that won’t work for everything you’re packing. Try to keep your packing system organized. In other words, put together things that go with one another in a logical way (kitchen things, for example, could a useful category).

Organizing Business Inventory in Storage: A set of office supplies — Jumbling all of these items into a box isn’t the end of the world

Put more in-demand business inventory in front

In case you need to access some of these stored assets, it can prove difficult if you’ve just haphazardly tossed them into storage. Seasoned commercial movers in Florida and storage providers always advise that you avoid situations where you make retrieving an item hard. That’s why you need to take demand into account.

In other words, you need to place the things you’re more likely to take out early in front of the ones that you won’t be using for a while. It’s simple logic, really: there’s no need for you to go rummaging through your storage space for an hour to pick up something you could have neatly placed right at the door.

Labels are king for storing business assets

Depending on the scope of your storage needs, you will have to put away a massive amount of things. In fact, there may be so many things that it’s difficult to remember what they are as you’re packing them, let alone after a good amount of time locked up in a storage compartment. Imagine, for instance, and having to remember by heart after moving to Florida everything that remained in that storage unit.

But if you label every box, you can avoid any danger of misremembering where things are. That said, labeling also has its fair share of recommended practices. If you’re organizing business inventory in storage, then make sure to apply some of the following tips.

have a color system in place – for instance, green is for computer assets;
as an alternative, use a number system – write a number on a box and correlate it to a number on a spreadsheet describing its contents;
make the markings large and clear – use white-on-black, contrasting colors and make the letters/numbers big so you can read them easily;
label boxes sideways – you’ll likely stack boxes on one another, so writing on the sides is much easier to see without moving anything

A box with a "FRAGILE" label on its side — Writing in large, plain lettering on the side of a box is the best idea for storage

With the right labeling, managing your storage space is much more effective. You’ll know exactly where everything is, and you won’t have to disturb all of your other items while looking for what you need.

Keep a record of your business inventory in storage

Much in line with the last point, you need to keep track of what you’ve stored. This, of course, can be a challenge, especially if you’ve put away a ton of inventory. While labeling makes it easier for retrieval, it doesn’t help you know if something’s stored when you’re not there. Rather you need to get to the space itself to see whether it’s there or not.

Luckily, keeping tabs on your business inventory has never been easier. You can simply create a spreadsheet and refer to it whenever you have any qualms. Include as much information as you can so that you reduce the odds of having to visit the storage unit. This means the date of storage, the quantity of any items, the condition it was in, and more.

Of course, you will be gradually taking things out and putting new ones in. Therefore, make updating this list quick and easy. That way, once you change something in the inventory, you can swiftly note the change. A good spreadsheet can save you so much time in that sense.

A data spreadsheet on a laptop — Spreadsheets are an awfully convenient solution for storage management

Organizing business inventory in storage: wrapup

Given the amount of inventory you’re dealing with, keeping business storage tidy can be a challenge. Furthermore, it’s a challenge that can end up costing you a lot if done sloppily. So it’s definitely in your best interest to organize these spaces in a way that saves you time and money.

The above tips for organizing business inventory in storage are, luckily, pretty easy to implement. With a few simple adjustments, you can make this otherwise delicate process a much easier one. As long as you’ve got the right storage space, this advice will help your business store its assets without trouble.