Business Self Storage.
|
There are many reasons
businesses may need to use outside storage. Often, space
may not be available in the office or the real estate
may be so expensive that it is not cost effective to use
some of the space for storage. You will pay the same per
square foot for storage space in an office building as
you will for the office. Less expensive public storage
is ideal for these businesses. If you are fortunate
enough to work in a rapidly growing company, your
business may need more storage space and self storage is
an excellent, secure and cost effective option. Almost
any type of company can benefit and take advantage of
outside storage from law offices to medical practices.
Outside storage offers both a cost effective and
convenient solution for storing such items as
Files
Office furniture
Any type of excess stock
Marketing presentations
Miscellaneous office equipment
Computers
Electronic equipment
Musical instruments
Pianos
If you are looking at storing items from the workplace,
always check to find out if the company has a record
storage retention policy or if there is any governing
regulatory requirement on the length of time you need to
keep these records. The records may be obsolete or out
of date and you may be able to shred them and throw them
out.
When looking in to storage for your business you will
need to check out if you can go and collect any items
from storage you may want at any time and if you have to
give any notice to do this. This may be especially
important to businesses where important business records
are being stored.
You will need to decide if you wish to take out any
supplemental insurance above the $0.30 per pound minimum
that all warehouse operators are required to provide at
no additional cost. Your company’s insurance policy may
cover goods in storage so be sure to look in to this
first.
Security is probably going to be of the first questions
you will ask the warehouse operator about and if it is
not it should be. You will want to understand the
security arrangements at the warehouse so be sure and
ask some key questions including:
Is there 24 hour security coverage?
Are there any CCTV’s?
Has the building got fire alarms?
Has the building got burglar alarms?
You may also want to ask if access cards or keys will be
provided to you and if so who else will have them?
Environment is the next topic you should bring up if the
warehouse operator does not. Do your items require any
special climate conditions such as temperature and/
humidity control. If you are planning on storing paper
files these will need to be stored in an environment
with humidity controls. High humidity is the single
biggest cause of damage to paper products. You will pay
extra for climate controlled storage but it is
definitely worth it as your goods will remain in the
same conditions as when they went in to storage.
Many warehouse operators that do most of their business
with large companies offer some extra options for
convenience. These may include packing and loading up of
your goods and bringing them to the storage unit and
loading the items directly in to your storage unit.
These options will come at a cost but this may be well
worth it. Do you really want your highly paid workers
doing work that can be completed for a much cheaper cost
by the warehouse employees?
If your company or a sister company is using outside
storage, ask the company if they offer any bulk discount
or indeed your company may have a contract with the
storage company for discounted competitive rates.
|
|
