Warehouse & Storage Facility Loans: Working Capital for Warehouses & Self-Storage Companies

Warehouses and storages are used by manufacturers, wholesalers, importers, exporters, and transport businesses. They function by allowing transport optimization along the supply chain, and they enable companies to work with an optimal inventory known as an economic order quality (EOQ). The order quality that minimizes the total holding and ordering costs—it is also known as one of the oldest production scheduling models. Warehouses and storages also have multiple functions and shipping systems that permit versatile services for most companies. Thus with every current industry, significant advances are rapidly taking place as well as changes that are not to be ignored.

Quick-jump to the following sections:

• Storage Facility Bank Loans
• Storage Facility Line of Credit
• SBA Storage Facility Loans
• Unsecured Storage Facility Financing
• Alternative Storage Facility Loans
• Storage Facility Asset Based Financing
• Storage Facility Cash Advance

Automation has been a part of many industries and well-established distribution centers around the world, although for most it has limitations. Specifically, workflow automation managed by increasingly advanced warehouse management systems. One advancement that has already taken place and that is gaining more traction warehouse robotics in the supply chain. In particular, robotics concerning operations which bring goods to the picker that require a considerable amount of specialized racking and conveyance equipment have been the leading development. Also, some highlights in the industry include the climbing robots in France. A French company has developed a warehouse robot that can climb warehouse racks and pick form any level. It can also transition to surface transportation and carry orders to human workers. Even more impressive, the robotics automation is capable of selecting 400 orders in an hour. Moreover, the worlds largest retailer, Alibaba, has embraced this trend in their warehouses reduces their human workforce by 70% further displaying the benefits of warehouse and supply companies that may want to adopt robotics in this fashion.

Other changes happening are the blurring lines between logistics and technology services. Such technological providers; 3PLs and 4PLs (third and fourth party logistics) continue to leverage IT platforms as major service-selling points. 3PL targets particular functions within supply management as in warehousing, transportation, or raw material provision. As for 4PL, it serves as an integrator that assembles the resources, capabilities, and technology of its organization and other organizations to design, build, and run comprehensive supply chain solutions. To further explain the blurring line—to some extent—it is similar to the phenomenon in the consumer markets where how it can sometimes be hard to know if you are dealing with a business entity or a software platform. In response, this blending has made it more common for companies that need short-term warehouse space the ability to connect with other businesses to use their floor or spare rack space with digital programs like FLEXE.

Next, we have the appeal of supply chain social responsibility; meaning, sustainability and carbon footprint reduction by implementing supply chain transparency. It is well known as corporate social responsibility or CSR, that aims at ensuring it is heavily complying with the spirit of the law, ethical standards, and national or international norms. Thus, warehouse and supply chain organizations have welcomed the CSR, and it continues to gain momentum. Some major companies participating include Wal-Mart; they launched Project Gigaton, a greenhouse gas reduction program involving suppliers. Alternatively, Dell, with their effort to achieve global supply chain responsibility with their initiative called 2020 Legacy of Good. And, Pepsico with their ramped up sustainability initiative in the supply chain, including water and carbon reduction.

Finally, the increased investment in material handling systems has motivated companies to hold off on replacing their old material handling equipment; all that from system design to vendor selection to implementation. The system design will include increased flexibility, agility, and modularity with there continuing to be a more substantial number of smaller orders placed with vendors. As for vendors, customers are basing less and less attention on the brand of the equipment and more focus on the quality, reliability and reporting capability of the control system. Since the most material handling equipment is now a commodity, purchases of material handling systems are more about controls than about the hardware itself. Additionally, companies purchases have changed as fewer systems will be brought from material handling equipment vendors themselves. Instead, buyers are turning to independent material handling integrators that can select the finest brand of materials for each application as opposed to the equipment firm’s own “house brand.” Then we have the implementation where companies will add capacity in the form of equipment when it is needed. Hence, warehouses will no longer take five years to start their requirements only to realize that they once again need higher capacity.

So with all the changes and advancements within the warehouse and storage industry, companies should continue to scrutinize and optimize their functions. Stay focused on a strategy to cut unnecessary cost, while still planning for recovery to continue developing with the changing times.