Flowspace Company Blog

The holiday season is full of cheer, presents, and tasty food for consumers across the country.

However, for the retailers charged with keeping store shelves stocked with inventory, the holiday season is a frenzied scramble to forecast, service, and adapt.

How Do Retailers Prepare For The Holiday Season

If you’re a retailer looking to sail through the holiday season without any significant disruptions or hiccups, then you probably haven’t had the pleasure of working in the retail business during the holiday season.

The holiday season brings joy and happiness to most Americans, but it also delivers high consumer and market demands, unpredictable weather, rapidly changing buyer forecasts and unexpected delays in the supply chain.

As a retailer, the best way to ensure a smooth transition through the holidays is to prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

Extend Shipping Cut-Off Date

The two most important shopping weeks of the holiday season are the final week before Christmas (accounting for 12-14% of overall transaction), and the Cyber 5 stretch.

The Cyber 5 stretch refers to the five days between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday that are critical to driving sales over the holiday season.

Top retailers prepare for these hectic shopping periods by extending shipping cut-off dates for as long as possible.

Extending the shipping cut-off date enables a brand to increase its expected shipping allowance and capitalize on a larger section of final order volume.

It also decreases the time from when a shopper confirms their purchase online, and when the order is shipped.

Stress-Test Your Infrastructure

Purchase intent is high during the holiday season which makes it a great time to capitalize on consumer interest in your brand.

Most retailers experience strong sales performance during the holiday seasons which can put an overwhelming amount of stress on any system.

Before the holiday season, e-commerce retailers should stress test their systems and ensure they will have the ability to adapt to and overcome the excess stress exerted by the outsized demand.

Forecast From Last Year’s Data

Accurate forecasting during the holiday season is exceptionally important. It reveals consumer buying patterns and enables retailers to predict the sales and plan for a surge in consumer demand.

Retailers should utilize their sales data from previous holiday seasons to establish deals with vendors and place bulk orders at a discount.

Discounted bulk orders enable retailers to offer better holiday deals without taking a loss, and ensures enough inventory for the holidays.

Secure Transportation Ahead of Time

If you think finding transportation for your palletized inventory is difficult throughout the rest of the year, then you are in for a surprise when the holidays roll around.

Come October, truck markets dry up faster than mugs of eggnog at the family Christmas party.

Top retailers like Amazon, Walmart, Kroger, and Costco buy up all the available trucking capacity to ensure they will have the logistics infrastructure to deliver orders to their customers.

To avoid being left in the cold without the means to ship products to customers, retailers should reach out to their shipping providers before the holiday season to secure transportation.

Don’t forget to utilize shipping data collected from previous holiday seasons to forecast your logistics requirements accurately.

Develop Battle Plans

In the world of retail, things tend to go from bad to worse during the holidays. It is essential for retailers to develop battle plans and prepare for a worst-case scenario.

Weather Related Shipping Delays – It is not at all uncommon for the weather to delay the supply chain.

The winter regularly buries retailers, trucks, and fulfillment centers in feet of snow that shuts down operations and halts shipping of any kind.

Retailers should be prepared with alternate shipping, storage, and inventory options for when the weather invariably exerts itself on your holiday operations.

Let’s not forget that treacherous conditions may also prevent your team from making it work. Retailers should have a plan such a scenario as well.

Demand is Higher Than Forecasted – What is your team going to do if they run out of inventory? How do you plan on compensating customers who were oversold?

These questions and any related to out of stocks missed transfers, and broken vendor promises should be answered before the holidays.

Systems Crash – Does your team have the ability to receive, fill, and ship orders without an order fulfillment or transportation management system?

Retailers should prepare for a systems crash and train their employees in alternate methods of collecting, filling, and shipping customer orders.

In Summary

The holiday season can bring high sales, increased brand awareness, and define a company’s strategy for the on the coming year.

Therefore, it is essential that retailers do everything they can to prepare for the frenzy of the holidays and ensure that their infrastructure, their forecast and their team are ready for anything.

Flowspace can assist retailers with their holiday warehousing and fulfillment needs. Get a free quote today!

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The San Francisco Bay Area is the second largest port area in California, which puts it in league with some of the busiest ports in the world.

The Bay Area is centrally located on the west coast, conveniently nestled between Los Angeles in the South, and Seattle to the North.

Thus, the Bay Area serves as the logistics, warehousing, and supply chain hub of Northern California and the majority of the west coast of the United States.

What Are the Top Warehousing Locations in the San Francisco Bay Area

The Bay Area of Northern California is an ideal location to find cost-effective warehousing with features beneficial to e-commerce fulfillment, and an efficient supply chain.

What to Consider

Location & E-commerce – E-commerce is reshaping the way supply chains need to think in order to compete on the global scale.

Now, more than ever supply chains must consider the location of their warehousing as it pertains to transportation, warehousing, and fulfillment costs.

Distance from Port – An important aspect of any warehousing & fulfillment operations is the distance of the fulfillment center from the port where their freight is offloaded.

In general, the closer a fulfillment center is to a commercial port the lower its transportation cost.

However, warehousing in close proximity of a commercial port is generally more expensive than warehousing further away.

Due to its proximity to the Port of Oakland, the Bay Area is ideally located to serve as a supply chain hub for businesses with customers anywhere along the west coast.

Port of Oakland – According to the California Department of Transportation, the Port of Oakland is the fourth largest port in the nation, handles trade from Pacific Rim countries, and delivers 99% of ocean containers passing through Northern California to the rest of the nation.

Land, Labor, and Transportation- The Bay Area of Northern California is centrally located along the west coast. Interstates 80, 580, 280, 505, and a plethora of state freeways intersect in the Bay Area enabling easy transportation anywhere in the state of California and the Western United States.

Land and labor costs are generally more expensive the closer one gets to the Port of Oakland; however, cost-efficient commercial areas surround the entire Bay Area.

Warehousing Locations in the Bay Area of Northern California

San Francisco – The cost of warehousing space anywhere in San Francisco is bound to be more expensive due to its proximity to the Port of Oakland.

A 2010 Bizcost report found warehousing in San Francisco to be the most expensive in the country, with new construction costs as high as $24.4 million.

Businesses who choose San Francisco as their warehousing location are recommended to lease space rather than begin new construction.

San Jose – Located a mere 45 miles from the Port of Oakland, San Jose is a cost-effective alternative to warehousing space in expensive San Francisco.

East Bay – According to CBRE, the East Bay industrial market vacancy rate fell to 4.2 percent in the first quarter of 2015, averaging $6.72 per square foot of warehouse space and $8 per square foot of manufacturing space.

Oakland – Oakland is home to the Port of Oakland. Due to proximity to the port, transportation costs for warehouses in Oakland are often very low.

However, the cost of warehousing space per foot is on average more expensive than Bay Area cities further inland.

Stockton – Stockton California is home to one of the busiest intermodal rail hubs in the country as well as one of its largest inland ports.

Stockton is little more than an hours drive from the Port of Oakland and located with easy highway access to Northern, and Central California.

Other cities in the Bay Area that are conveniently located and offer a cost-efficient ratio of transportation and warehousing costs include:

• Richmond
• Hayward
• Alameda
• San Leandro
• Sacramento
• Modesto

The Bay Area of Northern California may not be the most cost-effective location to establish one’s warehousing and fulfillment operations.

However, some would argue that the Bay Area efficient and convenient transportation of goods anywhere along the west coast.

E-commerce is growing at the rate of consumer demand, and whether your product is on its way to Florida, or Chicago, there is a good chance it came through the Port of Oakland and the Bay Area of Northern California.

Finding warehousing locations in the Bay Area could be strenuous work. Flowspace is here to make warehousing and fulfillment easy. Get started today!

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The terms “warehouse” and “fulfillment center” are often used interchangeably. The buildings share similar functions, and physical differences between the two are slight.

However; a warehouse and a fulfillment center are not the same. The buildings differ drastically concerning utilization and the goals of their operations.

What is a Warehouse?

A warehouse is a large, spacious building where finished goods are stored until redistribution to the consignee. (retailers, wholesalers, distribution centers)

The shape, size, and function of a warehouse are, in part, determined by the type of inventory that it is meant to house. (retail product, CBG’s, etc.) In general, there are six different types of warehouses.

Private Warehouse- A warehouse, or network of warehouses owned by one organization and used in support of that organization’s supply chain.

Public Warehouse- Public warehouses are typically sub-leased to retailers in need of extra inventory space.

Automated Warehouse- An automated warehouse utilizes technology, robotics, and even some forms of AI (artificial intelligence) to automate their processes and minimize the number of employees required to conduct operations.

Climate-Controlled Warehouse- A climate-controlled warehouse is designed to house refrigerated, frozen and temperature sensitive inventory.

On-demand Warehouse- The function of an on-demand warehouse is to provide short-term storage, transportation, and service of inventory for retailers on a month-to-month basis.

Distribution Center- The terms “distribution center” and “fulfillment center” are interchangeable. A distribution/fulfillment center is a type of warehouse, but a warehouse is not a fulfillment center.

What is a Fulfillment Center?

A fulfillment center is similar to a warehouse, and often referred to as a distribution center (DC). Like a warehouse, a fulfillment center is a building in which retailers, and similar organizations, store their inventory until distribution to the customer.

Unlike a warehouse, however, a fulfillment center is typically operated by a third-party logistics provider (3PL) who provides inventory storage and host of other operational functions, including freight transportation, handling cross-docking and, most importantly order fulfillment.

What’s the Difference? Fulfillment Center vs. Warehouse

The most significant differences between a fulfillment center and a warehouse are the extent of the operations carried out within and the customers they are intended to serve.

Customers- Warehouse operations generally serve B2B customers.

Fulfillment centers, however, are designed to service direct-to-customer, and online orders, better known as e-commerce and B2C.

Operations- Inventory ships in and out of a warehouse on a shipping pallet. Thus the majority of the logistics operations that take place at warehouse concern a freight carrier, or even an intermodal provider.

Inbound inventory shipments arrive at fulfillment centers palletized, but they ship out as a parcel sized shipment.

E-commerce retailers manage to ship products to customers across the country, and the world because they utilize a network of fulfillment centers.

A fulfillment center is intended to store inventory for a minimal amount of time, fill e-commerce orders and ship orders directly to the customer.

Goals- The goal of a warehouse is to safely and efficiently store inventory for an extended amount of time, typically several months to a year.

A warehouse is generally limited to housing no more than a handful of different inventories, for an extended period.

The goal of a fulfillment center, on the other hand, is to fill and ship orders in the least amount of time possible.

Fulfillment centers are not designed to store inventory for more than a few months; they are very expedient and streamlined in their operations.

Thus, it is possible for a fulfillment center to manage the operations for countless e-commerce retailers.

Fulfillment centers and warehouses are very similar, and it’s easy to confuse the two. The best way to remember their differences is to consider geometry class.

Comparing a fulfillment center to a warehouse is like comparing squares and rectangles. All squares are rectangles, but all rectangles are not squares.

Every fulfillment center is a warehouse, but a warehouse is not a fulfillment center.

Flowspace has hundreds of warehouses around the country who can handle your inventory. Get started today!

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California’s economy is the 5th largest in the world. Nearly 40% of all imported freight into the United States funnels through California, and nearly half of that product is consumed in California.

These statistics are in part due to California’s large population, which qualifies it as the most populous state in the U.S. Such a large population is bound to consume a lot of resources.

However, many are surprised to discover that much of California’s economic activity takes places in the greater Los Angeles area.

What are the Top Warehousing Locations in the Los Angeles Area

The reason why Los Angeles is such a hot spot for commerce is the area’s proximity to the two busiest ports in the United States; The Port of Los Angeles and The Port of Long Beach.

The two ports combined funnel approximately 30% of all freight into the U.S, which is a statistic that is estimated to grow exponentially with the evolution of e-commerce.

In fact, according to the CBRE more the 1.2 million sq. ft. is needed to accommodate the rapidly growing warehousing needs of the e-commerce industry.

Before you flock to California in a 2018 rendition of the California gold rush there are several warehousing facets that first needs to be considered.

What to Consider

Port Proximity- The proximity of a warehouse to the Port of Los Angeles or the Port of Long Beach is critically important to determining the cost of land, labor, and transportation.

Land, Labor, & Transportation- Real-estate is always costlier near the water, and the same rule of thumb applies to warehousing in Los Angeles.

Warehousing space and labor are in short supply and high demand in the areas that are in close proximity to either port.

However, due to the proximity of warehouse spaces in the area surrounding the ports of LA and Long Beach, transportation and drayage costs are often significantly lower.

Inventory Turn Rate- In general, the quicker a warehouse turns its inventory the closer it should be in relation to a port. A quick inventory turn-around amounts to a constant flow of containers and trailers from the port.

Businesses can reduce the cost of transportation by locating their warehouses as close as they can to either the Port of Los Angeles or the Port of Long Beach.

Los Angeles

Los Angeles is home to the nation’s two busiest ports; the Port of LA and the Port of Long Beach. Because both ports reside entirely within the city of Los Angeles, a number of areas have developed into prime warehousing locations.

• Carson
• Rancho Dominguez
• San Pedro
• Santa Fe Springs
• South Gate
• Torrance

However; the two areas that are in closest proximity to either port is the South Bay area and Long Beach.

South Bay

South Bay encompasses the area immediately surrounding the Port of Los Angeles. Drayage and transportation costs are low; however, land and labor costs can be exuberant, if you can find them.

Long Beach

Long Beach is obviously the ideal location for warehouses with a steady supply of freight from the Port of Long Beach but, like the South Bay area, labor and vacant space is challenging to find.

Orange County

Orange County encompasses the region just south of Los Angeles and falls within 25-50-mile port proximity. Orange County is home to more than 300 million sq. ft. of warehousing space which is distributed between the towns of:

• Irvine
• Anaheim
• Buena Park
• Brea
• Foothill Ranch
• Fullerton

Inland Empire

The Inland Empire lays sixty miles east of Los Angeles and comprises the towns of:

• Chino
• Corona
• Fontana
• Mira Loma
• Ontario
• Rancho Cucamonga

Inland Empire offers much in terms of available warehousing space, modern warehouses, competitive real-estate costs and a low cost of living. Accordingly, drayage and transportation costs are approximately 30% higher than warehouses with closer port proximity.

E-commerce is growing at the rate of consumer demand, and whether your product is on its way to Maine, or Texas, there is a good chance it came through the Port of Los Angeles.

Those looking to capitalize on the growth of e-commerce should do so as close to the action as they can. For warehousing in 2018, the Los Angeles area is the place to be.

Flowspace has multiple warehouses in Los Angeles who can handle your inventory. Get started today!

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How To Choose The Right Third-Party Logistics Provider

There are a lot of third-party logistics providers out there offering a litany of different services. Those in the know will tell you that not all third-party logistics providers are created equal.

Choosing a third-party logistics provider (3PL) can be one of the best decisions a supply chain can make. Supply chains that utilize third-party logistics providers report increased efficiency, greater capacity, and a lower cost of doing business.

If you are looking to increase the scale of what your supply chain can achieve on a budget, then hiring a third-party logistics provider is how to do it. So how do you choose the right third-party logistics provider?

Consider Your Supply Chain

You wouldn’t buy a car without first considering what features you would like your new car to include. The same principle is applied to choosing the right third-party logistics provider for your supply chain.

Where is your supply chain struggling?

Why do you think a third-party logistics provider can help?

How do you want to interface with the 3PL?

How important is technology to your supply chain?

Answering these questions as specifically as possible will help you determine what services you would like your third-party logistics provider to provide, and therefore which 3PL is right for your supply chain.

Do Your Research

The importance of doing your research before contracting your supply chain to a third-party logistics provider cannot be overstated.

It is critically important that you thoroughly review each candidate, the services they offer, the rates they provide for those services, and how well those services are provided.

Don’t be afraid of asking each candidate the hard questions like;

• What happens when you can’t cover a load?
• Do you ever run out of capacity?
• Do you run out of space during the busier seasons?
• How long have you been in business?

If a 3PL candidate can’t, or refuses to answer any of these questions, then they may not be the best third-party logistics provider for your supply chain.

Determine Your Technology Requirements

Technology in the logistics sphere is always changing. Transportation management systems, inventory management software, artificial intelligence, freight market monitoring programs, and advanced load tracking systems are expensive, intricate, complicated and absolutely necessary to run a profitable supply chain.

The best third-party logistics providers will not only utilize advanced logistics technology they will also be compatible with the technology used by your supply chain.

The more compatible your systems, the easier it will be to operate as a seamless, efficient supply chain.

Consider Omnichannel Expertise

Different third-party logistics providers will specialize in different aspects of the supply chain. When choosing the best third-party logistics provider for your supply chain consider omnichannel experience thoroughly.

A third-party logistics provider that is versed in the various aspects of the supply chain and whom can operate seamlessly between them is going to be the better candidate.

Furthermore, it is important to consider your omnichannel expertise. How well does your supply chain function regarding warehousing, freight transportation, inventory control, etc.?

If you find that your supply chain lacks in any of these areas, then a third-party logistics provider may be able to lend their expertise and improve those areas.

Network Configuration and Scalability

Supply chains are not static. They are always changing with the market and growing as fast as consumers consume, which is why it is critical when choosing a third-party logistics provider, that you choose a candidate that can grow on the scale of your supply chain.

As supply chains grow in scale to meet consumer demand, they change to accommodate the new and ever-increasing demands of the consumer.

A third-party logistics provider that is too rigid in their configuration and ability to operate may not be able to provide you with the service your supply chain network needs when it inevitably changes.

Avoid Utilizing Too Many 3PL’s

Every 3PL provider is in competition with every other 3PL provider. Hiring too many to your supply chain can actually drive up your 3PL costs by removing valuable capacity from the market.

For example, if you consider that at any one time there are 1000 trucks in your area bidding on freight. Hiring four 3PL’s to secure transportation in that area does not increase the number of available trucks, it simply increases the amount demand for those trucks.

Simple supply and demand indicates that the price of those available trucks is going to go up.

Understanding what services and qualities that are shared by high-quality third-party logistics providers is only half of the selection process.

By far the most important aspect of choosing the right third-party logistics provider for your supply chain is understanding your logistics, knowing where your supply chain can improve, and setting tangible goals for your 3PL to achieve.

Flowspace inspects and approves each of our warehouses to ensure they meet security and quality standards. Our warehouses are staffed with workers who are available to receive your inventory, palletize your goods, and perform custom services like kitting or over labeling. We will always choose the right 3PL for you. Get started today!

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Every package larger than an envelope that has ever been shipped has included a bill of lading, however, if shipping freight isn’t a part of your daily life then you are perhaps unfamiliar with a bill of lading, what it does and why they are so important.

A bill of lading is a simple piece of paper, but it is a very important simple piece of paper that ensures every package you order arrives at your door.

What is a Bill of Lading?

A bill of lading (BOL) is a required shipping document that must be included in every shipment larger than a letter envelope.

The bill of lading acts as a shipment manifest as well as a receipt for delivered goods between the freight carrier, the shipper, and the consignee (person, address or business to which the freight is delivered.)

A bill of lading is also a legally binding contract that provides the freight carrier and the driver with all of the shipping and special freight details that ensure the freight is delivered to the right address, at the right time and includes all of the undamaged individual freight pieces.

Who is Responsible for the Bill of Lading?

The shipper is generally the party that is responsible for creating a bill of lading for each shipment that leaves their freight dock, in fact, ensuring that a bill of lading is created for every shipment is a critical job for all shipping operations.

Without a signed bill of lading, there is nothing to confirm the contents of the freight, how much of it there is and whether it arrived in whole.

Freight carriers will outright refuse to move any freight without the appropriate bill of lading because the bill of lading, besides acting as a receipt, also ensures the correct order of liability should anything happen to the freight during the shipping process.

Once the freight is loaded, and the BOL signed by the dock manager and driver, the freight is legally in the custody of the freight carrier until it has been offloaded and the BOL signed by the receiving dock manager.

What Does A Freight Bill of Lading Include?

A bill of lading is a useless piece of paper if it doesn’t include the specific information that ensures the shipments successful delivery, or at least which party is liable should anything other than a successful delivery occurs.

Shipper & Consignee Name & Address- It’s simple and obvious but also important.

Every BOL needs to include the name of the individual or business shipping the freight as well as the individual or business who is to receive it.

The ship-from and delivery addresses needed to be clearly labeled, correct and verified before signing the BOL and turning over liability of the freight to the driver.

Should an address be incorrect, it is the shipper who is liable for the missed delivery, not the carrier or the consignee.

Contacts & Contact Phone Numbers- A bill of lading should also include the shipping and delivery contacts as well as their phone numbers so the carrier can confirm addresses, call for directions, and make a shipping or delivery appointment.

The BOL should also include emergency, and after-hours contacts, so the carrier knows whom to contact should an issue arise.

Purchase/Reference Numbers- There are a lot of numbers and reference numbers involved in shipping anything.

The shipper will have their own referencing system for the freight they ship. In most cases so will the consignee. The carrier will also most likely issue their own BOL number for their reference, which means there are a lot of references, PO, and shipping numbers that need to be included in the BOL if it is to be shipped and received successfully.

When generating a BOL, it is always a good idea to include more information than you might need rather than omit important information. If there is a product or reference number, include it in the BOL.

Special Shipping & Handling Instructions– Unless the freight you are shipping is indestructible it probably includes special shipping and handling instructions.

All special instructions regarding freight handling, delivery, and scheduling should be included in the bill of lading.

Date Shipped- The bill of lading must also include the date the shipment left the freight dock. This is to ensure that the freight carrier heads directly to the consignee and takes only the required amount of time to deliver.

The majority of freight shipped over the road is refrigerated with a shelf life. The ship date on the BOL ensures that the consignee is aware of how long the freight was on the truck, and how much shelf life it still has.

Packaging Type- The bill of lading must also include the manner in which the freight is packaged.

This ensures proper handling during the shipping process and that the freight is not loaded in a manner that can damage its packaging or the packaging of other shipments.

Shipment Method/Mode- This is where you specify to all involved parties the method in which the freight is to be shipped, often referred to as the shipment mode. Shipment modes include:

• Air
• Less than Truckload (LTL)
• Full Truckload (FTL)
• Sea Freight
• Intermodal (Train)
• Standard Mail
• Expedited Delivery
• etc.

Department of Transportation Hazardous Material Designation– The bill of lading is also where the shipper is to designate whether the shipment includes hazardous material.

Authorizing Signatures– Arguably the most important aspect of the BOL is the authorizing signatures that transfer freight liability from the shipper to driver, then the driver to the consignee.

A BOL is not valid unless signed, verifying that the shipment is undamaged and in one piece when it is loaded on the truck, in transit, and at final delivery. Freight carriers will outright refuse to move any freight without the appropriate bill of lading.

E-commerce and online marketplaces have entirely upended the way people shop and receive the goods they purchase.

In terms of customer expectations, e-commerce creates significant challenges when compared to a brick and mortar retail location.

Prior to the days of e-commerce, a retail distribution network could get by on a relatively low number of distribution centers in regions where they expected to sell the most product.

However, e-commerce shipments are typically comprised of small quantity products that are shipped directly to the customer, wherever they may be.

According to Annual State of Logistics Report, compiled by the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals, of the $1.45 trillion spent on warehousing and shipping in the United States, $900 billion was spent on shipping and transportation costs.

The substantial cost in transportation comes from the increase of e-commerce shipments to customers who do not live nearby the warehouse that stores and distributes the product.

The obvious answer to this dilemma is to redistribute the product to a warehouse in close proximity to the customer, therefore reducing how far the shipment needs to travel to reach its final destination.

Need for On-Demand Warehousing

For many small to medium size businesses, restructuring an entire distribution network to service a small number of far-flung customers is rarely a feasible business strategy.

Warehouses and third party logistics providers typically lease out warehousing space by the square foot. Which is generally only profitable when leased in large sections over several years.

Businesses who utilize an e-commerce marketplace have little need for massive, sprawling warehouses to store and distribute gross amounts of inventory, let alone the need to lease one year after year.

This creates a gap between businesses who wish to distribute limited amounts of inventory and warehouses which have too much space to be filled by any one business.

On-Demand Warehousing & E-Commerce

On-demand warehousing is the innovative new warehousing and distribution model. It connects available warehouse space with businesses who only need a small amount of space, for a short amount of time.

It enables retailers to dynamically deploy different inventory volumes to different warehouses across the country in little to no time. It expands the retailer’s previous distribution network into a comprehensive and responsive supply chain that is ideally suited to the ever-changing e-commerce marketplace.

The Solution to E-Commerce Fluctuations

In this way, an e-commerce retailer can adjust their distribution network according to the variable demand conditions without having to lease more than the required amount of space.

By doing so, a business insures their revenue stream against variables other than a simple change in volume or demand, such as:

Regional Demand Fluctuations- The demand for a product in a certain region can swing drastically, especially for e-commerce products that are often subject to social media trends and buying patterns.

On-demand warehousing enables a business to quickly increase their warehousing and distribution capacity in regions expecting a drastic increase in demand, or the opposite should they be expecting a drastic drop in demand.

Price Fluctuation- The general cost of operation can cause fluctuation from month to month, and region to region. On-demand warehousing is uniquely suited to enable businesses to scale back inventory levels in accordance with the variable cost of doing business.

Inventory Supply Fluctuation- Suppliers can come and go causing inventory levels to fluctuate drastically.

On-demand warehousing enables businesses to easily scale back inventory levels with one supplier and switch to another without the exorbitant price of changing warehouses to accommodate variable inventory supply caused by flaky supplies.

On-Demand Warehousing Here To Stay

If the warehousing and distribution industry has learned anything over the last decade, it’s that they are going to have to be flexible to meet the needs of their customers.

On-demand warehousing fills a desperate need for e-commerce businesses, but more importantly, it enables businesses to readily respond to demand without exerting the extra cost, time and effort of securing a warehouse for their inventory that was never intended to suit their specific needs.

The need for on-demand warehousing will continue to grow exponentially as more businesses sell products online, and as the need for geographically dispersed products increases.

Flowspace has hundreds of warehouses around the country who can handle your inventory. Get started today!

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