5 Tips For Choosing The Right Service Warehouse In Atlanta

It’s a great problem to have: you’re running a growing business in Atlanta with a growing number of satisfied customers, but you’ve reached the limit with your own logistics solutions. What happens if you can’t ship enough product, or can’t ship it quickly enough? Atlanta has a number of service warehouses available, but which one will best serve the needs of your business? Here are 5 tips to help you choose the right service warehouse in Atlanta to meet the needs of your growing company.

1. Find Out How Long They’ve Been In Business

Simply put, the longer a logistics company has been in business in the area, the more dependable that company is likely to be. Startup companies can do a fine job with the basics and may have the best of intentions, but they are often on a long learning curve, and there are some challenges with warehousing and transportation that can only be learned over time. If a service warehouse has been in Atlanta for decades, however, it’s more likely that company has a grasp on the peculiarities of local shipping, warehousing, drayage and so on, and less likely that you’re going to run into snags along the way.

2. Do They Have The Services Your Need?

Another factor to consider with a service warehouse is what types of services you need, and whether that company can meet those needs. If all you need is a place to store excess inventory, it might not matter so much which company you choose. On the other hand, you might need additional services like inventory management, order fulfillment, transportation and so on. If your service warehouse only covers some of these needs, you may need to contract with several companies to coordinate these efforts, and that’s a chain that can quickly break down. It’s in your best interests to choose a company that provides all the services you need in-house.

3. Do They Have Experience With Your Industry?

Let’s state the obvious: a food service business is going to have a much different set of logistical needs than an auto parts company. A company that supplies computer hardware will store and ship its inventory differently than a lumber company, and so on. A service warehouse that employs a more cookie-cutter approach to logistics is more likely to drop the ball when it comes to your particular needs. Make sure the company you choose has specific experience with your industry and your type of product, so you can rest easy knowing they have things well in hand.

4. What About Customer Service?

No matter how simple your logistical workflow or how reliable the company is, inevitably things go wrong once in awhile, often from circumstances beyond anyone’s control. How a company responds to such challenges can make all the difference for your business. Take a look at the company’s history, their chain of command, and the experiences of other customers to see how the company responds to problems. Do they have good customer service? Are they quick to correct issues? Do they treat each of their clients as individuals, and respond to them in kind?

5. Keeping Up With The Times

As with any industry, constant changes in technology have a profound effect on how the logistics industry does business. Any company that doesn’t stay on top of these changes will quickly fall behind. A company that uses dated methods of inventory management, for example, won’t be able to compete with companies that use real-time technologies like barcode scanning or RFID tagging. When researching your service warehouse, make sure that company is making the most of the latest advances so you can satisfy your customers’ needs in a timely manner. As one of the top service warehouses in Atlanta for more than 80 years, Bonded Service provides a full array of logistical services to many different types of industries, and we continue to implement the latest technologies to make sure our customers continue to receive the best service possible. To learn more about how we can serve the logistical needs of your business, contact us today.