Last Updated on Mar 25, 2020 by James W
Running an engineering store is hard work. If yours is becoming out of control, it might be time to have a critical look at how yours operates.
Organise Things By Yourself
Storage spaces are usually vast and organised in very precise ways in the engineering sector. But they are essential, so it’s worth putting the effort in to get the right outcome. If things are organised sloppily and not as carefully as they could be, your whole business could be put at risk as a result. It has to run smoothly and be accessible when you’re looking for something in particular. But that’s easier said than done.
Your staff will play a big part in the day to day running of the store, so they should also be involved in the planning process. You will need to hire someone who will manage the floor of the store and take responsibility for the decisions that are made each day. You could hire them internally if you have someone with the required skills already in the business. But if you don’t, you will need to hire someone who has the skills and experience that will allow them to carry out the job competently.
Outsource the Responsibility
If all that seems like too much work for you to take on, you should think about outsourcing your store management to an external company. These companies tend to have years of experience and workers with the kind of knowledge that can only be gained through doing the job over and over. A lot of business owners are nervous about letting an external company look after such an important task. But the reality is these outsourced companies will probably do a better job than you can.
They will reassess and restructure the store so that it works as well as it should do. Cataloguing, sourcing and selecting will all be taken care of so that the store becomes as efficient as possible. You should make sure you do plenty of research into a company before you agree to sign a deal with them though. There are lots of options out there, so find the ones that’s right for your business. Go to iesa.co.uk/stores-management.html to find out what IESA offer to clients.
How Technology Can Help the Process
When your engineering store is huge and hard to find your way around, it’s important to use all the available technology to make it more navigable. Everything that’s in there should be barcoded and scanned into a computer system so that its location can be found when necessary.
You don’t want to store all that data on a physical server though. It’s much quicker and easier to access that data if it’s saved in a cloud-based storage system, so think about this carefully. The latest technology could make the hard work that little bit simpler.
You have a lot to consider when thinking about what to do with your engineering store. There are benefits of letting an outsourced company look after the process for you, but the same can be said for keeping it in-house.
