Warehousing is a crucial link in your supply chain network – in both global and domestic markets. Choosing the right Ohio warehouse for your operational needs can make a sizable difference in your firm’s ability to be efficient, effective, and profitable.

With Ohio warehouse space and labor at a premium, outsourcing often makes sense – especially if you can find a place that also provides services like packaging, repackaging, kitting, labeling, and distribution. Bonus if it’s near an airport.

When warehousing is done correctly, it provides numerous benefits beyond basic storage. Some of those include:

• Facilitates increased turnover.
• Improves production.
• Decreases shrinkage.
• Maximizes customer satisfaction with fewer products damaged in transit.
• Optimizes safety for workers and your goods.

Still, there is no denying warehousing costs have risen markedly in recent years. That’s thanks in large part to soaring e-commerce demand, which has expanded nearly 30 percent in the last three years. Even despite some predicted slowdowns on the horizon, the pandemic revealed that consumer consumption can be fairly resilient to economic cycles. Warehousing rent has climbed 3 percent a quarter nationally since 2020, reaching nearly $9.56/square foot earlier this year, according to The New York Times. (In some markets, it’s more than $15/square foot.)

If you’re looking for an Ohio warehouse that delivers great value for the cost, here are some priorities you’ll want to bear in mind to ensure you find the right fit.

• Location and accessibility to major linkages. Identify what mode – or modes – of transport is best-suited for your company’s operations. The warehouse that’s right for you will have easy access to that transport mode. For example, if air transport is one of the most efficient means of getting your goods from Point A to Point B, you will ideally find an Ohio warehouse that is within 20 miles or less of a major airport. (On Time Delivery & Warehouse, for instance, is just 4 miles from Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.) You also want to identify where your customers are primarily located. Warehousing that is close to your customer base can give you the advantage of more timely, cost-effective deliveries. Finally, an accessible warehouse that offers easy highway connectivity and few traffic backups so that trucks don’t waste time idling and goods get where they need to go as efficiently as possible.
• Diversity of capabilities. An Ohio warehouse with a broad range of capabilities is going to offer a better deal than those that offer storage and nothing else. If you can get integrated solutions for things like logistics planning, kitting, packaging and repackaging, labeling and sorting, CFS Freight, and distribution, it helps your firm come out ahead. Asset-based warehouse solutions – those that invest not only in the facility but in a transportation fleet and skilled workers – can offer a higher level of warehousing service.
• Experience. With new warehouses in Northeast Ohio cropping up daily, it’s a good idea to consider the experience of the provider. Newer facilities may offer some advantages, but take a look also at the operational dates. Supply chain logistics has always been a dynamic, evolving industry. Warehouse providers that have been around a while have the advantage of invaluable insights that have allowed them to stand the test of time.
• Material handling capacities. The warehouse you choose needs to have the availability of staging capacities and handling equipment that matches your demands. What kind of docks are you going to need? Will you need a facility with cross-docking capabilities? CFS? Last-mile delivery services? All this will help you determine which of your warehousing options will best suit your needs.
• Technology. Advancing technology has fundamentally altered the way warehouses operate – from electronic data exchanges to pick-by-vision systems to real-time product tracking. Keeping customers happy means providing them not only with faster results, but transparency through the process. Technology has been vital to that. Make sure the warehousing company you choose has the systems in place that will allow you to best serve your client base.
• Minimized risks. Handling, storing, and shipping products is not without risk. You want a warehousing management team that is fully aware of those risks, takes them seriously, values their team members’ safety, has appropriate safety measures in place, and invests in adequate insurance in case something does go wrong.
• Taxes and rates. Of course, cost needs to be considered. Compare each facility’s rental rate per-square-foot against the value they’re providing. Depending on your operation type, there may also be certain state or regional tax implications or incentives to weigh.

At On Time Delivery & Warehouse, we recognize that warehousing is an integral part of your operations – and we take our role in that seriously. Our goal is to help our clients maximize efficiency, excel, and ensure their own customers are fully satisfied with services that deliver their goods intact, on time, every time.

For information on Northeast Ohio Warehousing, Inventory Management, and Trucking Services in Cleveland, Contact On Time Delivery & Warehouse by calling (440) 826-4630 or send us an email.

Additional Resources:

Industrial Facilities Near Airports Command Rent Premiums, Oct. 5, 2022, CBRE

More Blog Entries:

6 Supply Chain Insights From Northeast Ohio Third-Party Logistics Warehouse Pros, Aug. 28, 2022, Cleveland, Ohio Warehousing Blog