From paperwork to data and stock, the business world is packed to the gills with items in need of an easy-to-reach home. Here are 9 storage options to consider for your business.
Paperwork
While the world is becoming increasingly digital, the paperwork required in business is far from redundant, and chances are your business has a lot of it lingering around. Providing suitable storage goes a long way to minimising mess and maintaining order. The traditional but still unbeatable methods are:
1. Filing cabinets
There’s a reason filing cabinets have stood the test of time. Whether they are lockable units to house client information or aesthetically pleasing filing drawers for your archived work, the filing cabinet lets you easily lay your hands on an item without lifting and shifting paperwork.
2. Shelving
Most businesses have manuals, reference books or even swathes of awards that need a good home, and you can’t beat shelving for packing and stacking items. Of course, just how much shelving and where it is located depends on your business.
3. Storage cabinets
Office stationery in need of a residence? Tax folders from 1992-2008 in need of a home? Secure storage cabinets offer more room than their filing cabinet counterparts, with a little more flexibility on the storage front.
Stock
Whether you have a shoe shop or a tyre warehouse, storing stock is a major component of effective business operation. This is the domain of professional storage providers like MACRACK who can assess your storage requirements and even provide warehouse design, but common options include:
4. Racking
From pallets to drive-in or even cantilever designs, racking is the go-to item for warehouses with large amounts of stock. Racking can be custom-built or purchased in bulk, but the best storage options for large warehouses are purpose-designed to suit your space and workflow.
5. Shelves
Industrial shelving is the must-have item for many a stockroom. They are heavy-duty, and shelves can be purpose-built or purchased to store bulk files, boxes, and stock items.
6. Stillages
Also known as steel tubs or pallet crates, stillages are essentially large cage-like boxes to store industrial goods in bulk. They’re a great spot for chemicals, carpet rolls, or small items stacked on top of each other.
Data
In today’s business world, data storage is a big issue and a big industry, but essentially comes down to three techniques:
7. Virtual
Whether you back up to the Cloud or an external server, virtual storage is a solid option to store your data off-site and out of harm’s way.
8. External devices
For smaller offices, the good old fashioned external device may still provide the best option for backing up vital data. You can backup to USB sticks, external hard drives or even CD Rom to give you a safely stored copy of your work.
9. Hard copy
There’s a lot to be said for keeping a hard copy of important documents. And what’s more, you can make good use of all those filing cabinets and shelving!
Regardless of how you store your physical items or data, it pays to remember storage is only as good as the organisation that goes on behind the scenes. So keep your items cleanly filed, clearly marked and systematically sorted.