How Warehouses Support Short-Term Inventory Overflow

In the e-commerce industry, the unfortunate reality is that business tends to ebb and flow as peak sales seasons come and go. These fluctuations can significantly impact your business if you are ill-equipped to deal with them. When demand for your products fluctuates throughout the year, it is common to end up with too much inventory. We call this Short-Term Overflow.

In fact, inventory overflow can be triggered by a variety of scenarios. It could be an over-shipment of certain items, Inaccurate inventory data. Inflated buyer return rates. Or, items selling slower than forecasted, thus making it rather hard to avoid.

In addition, challenges like trade conflicts or worldwide pandemics like COVID-19, can disrupt supply chains. These unforeseen challenges make it difficult to predict inventory levels.

Some businesses even strategically overstock certain goods to try and stay on top of these shifting demands. By overstocking some products, especially top sellers during busy seasons, they can ensure they never run out when sales peak. Sales are not interrupted and customer satisfaction is kept intact.

How to Utilize Warehouses to Handle Issues of Inventory Overflow

When your business has a short-term inventory overflow, it is essential to have somewhere to store. Therefore, warehouse utilization is essential in such circumstances.

When your primary storage is packed, it negatively affects the flow of products entering and exiting the facility. Having access to additional warehouse space temporarily can alleviate such problems and allow you to properly handle short-term inventory overflow.

If you do not currently utilize a warehouse, expanding your operation to include one will significantly open up space.  

However, if you’re already using a warehouse, but inventory overflow and slow-moving SKUs are resulting in crowded aisles and disorganized spaces, it becomes increasingly difficult to manage day-to-day operations. Additionally, organizing your fast-selling products will become challenging.

A solution that is growing in popularity globally among industry-leading businesses is short-term additional warehousing. This makes it possible to utilize available space at an offsite warehouse to store slow-moving SKUs and inventory overflow. This frees up space for your top-selling products at the primary distribution centre.

The Benefits of Using Short-Term Overflow Warehousing

Aside from the fact that using short-term overflow warehousing will give you more space, there are other ways your business can benefit.

On-demand overflow warehousing will provide your company with much more flexibility. This solution allows for temporary usage of additional warehousing storage rather than permanently committing to using such space. 

Once your short-term overflow inventory items are back in demand, you are done with this additional storage space.

Overflow warehousing also allows you to store additional stock and ramp up inventory levels before peak seasons. This will safeguard your business against future surging tariffs, restrictions, lockdowns, or delays. Thus, you can avoid dealing with product shortages, the consequent loss of business, and customer dissatisfaction.

Planning for short-term overflow warehousing now will prevent your business from rushing to find additional storage space at the last minute.

Building a warehouse or expanding an existing facility to accommodate your inventory overflow are not logical solutions either.  Both of these options would also require a considerable investment of time and money.

Finally, short-term overflow warehousing will give you the time and space to reorganize how you conduct your day-to-day operations.  

Benefits, Summary

When you do not have to worry about lack of space, you can dedicate more time and energy to optimizing the current layout. You can also, implement an effective inventory tracking system, and refine your storage and retrieval process. All of these will contribute to smoother operations during and following your overflow period.

How Wills Transfer Limited Can Help You Manage Short-Term Inventory Overflow

If you anticipate inventory overflow issues, seek the services of a reliable third-party that offers warehousing and distribution in Ontario. In that case, Wills Transfer Limited has exactly what you need.

We can provide you with access to all the additional warehousing space you require at an affordable and competitive rate, no matter how much overflow inventory you need to manage. Our warehouses have extensive bulk/rack storage available for your business to use. This space can accommodate inventory items of all different types and sizes.

We also offer a large variety of other third-party services that your business can leverage to further enhance the efficiency of your operations, such as order fulfillment, pick and pack services, kitting, asset tagging, container de-stuffing, and more.

We have the knowledge, experience, and dedicated staff to perform these processes. Our high caliber services will ultimately lead to the success of your business. 

​​For more information about our warehousing and distribution centres or to learn more about the finer details of the various third-party services we have to offer, call Wills Transfer Limited at 613-704-7549 or contact us here.