When you’re running a retail business, you need to keep a continual pulse on your overhead, as well as any opportunities to generate more revenue. That’s particularly true on Oʻahu, where freight costs can add up quickly and commercial rent is pricey. (Especially in Honolulu!)
As you look for ways to reduce your expenses and boost your sales, consider outsourcing your warehousing and storage.
At first glance, outsourcing these functions may seem like an added expense. However, this logistics strategy can offer Oʻahu retail operations four distinct benefits.
Advantage #1: Maximize Your Retail Floor Space
As a retail operator on Oʻahu, you’re paying for every single square foot of your store—including any areas that you use to house backstock. And every square foot you devote to storage is a square foot you’re not using to display items for sale.
Outsourcing to a local Oʻahu warehousing and storage provider gives you the opportunity to optimize your footprint. After all, if you’re able to store the majority of your backstock offsite, you could potentially reclaim some of that storage area as display space. (Depending, of course, on the configuration of your store.)
This reclaimed square footage could make room for a new retail display, giving you the opportunity to offer your customers a wider variety of items. Or, perhaps you could use that additional square footage to reorganize your store, creating a more pleasing customer shopping experience that entices customers to stay longer. (And spend more!)
However you decide to use it, freed-up floor space can help boost your revenue—a distinct advantage to outsourcing your warehousing and/or storage.
Advantage #2: Greater Flexibility for Growing Businesses
Outsourcing your warehousing and storage can also offer you a more flexible solution if you’re outgrowing your current space on Oʻahu.
Maybe you’re looking at moving to a larger location so you can:
- Have more room to display a wider variety of items.
- Create an airier, less cluttered shopping experience.
- Accommodate more customers so they have more room to browse (and buy).
Whatever your reasons for considering a larger location, it probably involves committing to a new lease. It would also involve the additional cost of moving your operation, whether your hire help or task your team for assistance.
Here’s an alternative to consider: If you moved your backstock off-site, you might be able to do a quick renovation/reorganization of your current location and find the extra floor space you need.
If this is the route you decide to go, look for two things:
Flexible Terms
Ask any Oʻahu warehousing and storage providers you’re considering whether they’re willing to offer flexible terms. If you can secure a deal that’s less restrictive than a long-term commercial lease on a new location, you’ll simply have more options.
Seasonal Support
During the busy shopping seasons—back to school and the holidays, for example—you might want to keep extra stock around to ensure your shelves stay full. Ask any potential Oʻahu warehousing partners whether they’d be willing to work with you to arrange for additional storage space during your busy seasons.
Ultimately, outsourcing your warehousing and storage can offer you a more on-demand, more flexible method for keeping your overhead low, in contrast to moving to a larger location. Rather than taking on a more expensive long-term lease, you’ll position yourself to pay just for the space you need, when you need it.
Advantage #3: You Can Access Additional Services You Might Need Without Investing in New Equipment
If you’re shipping floor-loaded containers to Honolulu, you might not have the equipment you need to palletize and shrink-wrap these goods for delivery to your retail outlets. Palletizing means easier transit, delivery, and storage, with a lower risk of damage. (Not to mention that it’s also the way many retail outlets prefer to receive inventory!)
As you’re looking for a warehousing and storage partner, ask if they can palletize and shrink-wrap goods for you. This means a one-stop solution for receiving, sorting, segregating, palletizing, and storing your retail goods. It also means that you don’t need to invest in a stretch wrap machine or equipment.
Additionally, consider asking if this same provider can handle distribution, delivering these sorted and segregated goods exactly where they need to go.
That’s a true one-stop solution. No need for you to buy a pallet jack or a fork lift to double-stack these pallets in your own storage areas. The right provider can handle it all for you.
Advantage #4: Faster Restocks, Especially During Peak Shopping Times
Finally, outsourcing your warehousing and storage can offer you the ability to store more items on Oʻahu to prepare for busy retail seasons.
By having access to extra, on-demand storage space, you’ll be able to:
- Order extra inventory, knowing you’ve got plenty of room to store it.
- Beat the shipping rush. Order ahead, avoid potential delays, and enjoy the confidence that you’ll be ready to go when your customers descend on your store for back to school and/or holiday shopping.
- Take advantage of the most economical Hawaiʻi freight option available—ocean freight.
When you need to restock, you’ll simply be calling for an on-island delivery from the local warehouse to your store. No need to frantically arrange for air freight or an expedited ocean freight shipment to get items to Oʻahu.
Instead, you can rest easy, knowing you’re ready for the rush with plenty of inventory in a safe, secure Oʻahu warehouse.
Outsourcing Your Warehousing Offers You Options
To sum it up, establishing a partnership with an Oʻahu warehousing provider gives you flexibility, both to make the most of the space you already have and to leverage more space as you need it. In one sense, outsourcing this logistics function is an expense, but it’s also one that opens the door to greater revenue, making it an expense worth considering.
Looking for a Warehousing Partner on Oʻahu?
Our Honolulu team would love to help you lean into these four advantages with our secure, cost-effective Oʻahu logistics and freight solutions.
We offer a full suite of warehousing, storage, distribution, and delivery services from our Honolulu locations, including:
- Flexible short-term, seasonal, and long-term warehousing and storage
- Inventory control and management
- Unpacking of products, including damage assessment and repair
- Product sorting, segregating, and wrapping for distribution
- Honolulu Harbor pick-ups and drop offs
- Oʻahu deliveries and pick-ups
Plus, in concert with our sister company, Approved Freight Forwarders, we also offer complete freight solutions to move your goods from anywhere in the world to Oʻahu.
Discover how our Oʻahu warehousing, storage, and distribution services can give your retail business an edge. Reach out to our team today for a quote.
