Location carries a lot of weight when it comes to considering your warehousing and fulfillment center options. It’s all about finding a balance between having your distribution centers close enough to your customers and not too far apart that your inventory costs skyrocket. Whether you’re just starting to outsource your storage and shipping or looking to expand, it can be difficult to settle on a location that’s the ideal fit for your business.
With one-day and even same-day shipping alternatives creating enormous pressure to keep up with consumer demand, shippers may even need to consider a multi-warehouse fulfillment strategy that optimizes their delivery network. A solution like this will help you ship orders faster and cheaper. Here are some of the most influential factors you should research and analyze before landing on a specific location.
1. Accessibility
The first thing you’re going to want to do when thinking of new ideas for optimizing your distribution network is to make sure that your preferred carriers can sufficiently service the facility using your primary modes of transportation. You don’t want to be stuck with a warehouse located too far from LTL or parcel carriers’ terminals, so your pickup cut-off times are too early, for example.
2. Customer Base
It’s equally important to map out where your customers are exactly, so you can better understand how you can more quickly (and cost-efficiently) reach them. Lengthy transit-times will definitely end up costing you because even if you’re not working with Amazon, you’re working against it. To compete, speed has to be a priority, especially given the expectations of today’s consumers.
3. Suppliers
Your customers aren’t the only people you need to factor in for location. It would be best if you examined the proximity of a warehouse to your suppliers too. When your facilities are close to both ends of the supply chain, you can decrease your lead times, increase your responsiveness to changes or problems, and close crucial gaps in your transportation operation.
4. Local Laws and Regulations
Certain local laws and regulations could prevent an otherwise attractive area from being the perfect choice for you. For instance, many areas won’t allow the storage of some types of goods. Also, there could be specific tax incentives that would make one option more practical over another. So, save yourself the future hassle, and get your company up to speed on the legal aspects involved with a particular area.
One location that is well-positioned in relation to all of these factors is Cincinnati, Ohio. With its centralized location, proximity to a large majority of U.S. customers and suppliers, ideal market conditions, and growth opportunities, this city is ideal for servicing the entire U.S. population.
A lucrative area like Cincinnati will play a large part in determining how your products will flow and how successful your business will be down the line. Check out Keller Logistics’ Warehousing & Co-Packing page to learn more about how our facility locations are equipped to manage even the most complex storage and distribution requirements.
