While out for a walk, you pass by an office. It’s a small one and it looks like a shipping container. Wait. Is it a shipping container? For more businesses, the answer to that is “Yes.”
There are a number of businesses that can benefit from using a shipping container as an office. They can range from retail shops to construction companies to artists’ studios. Much like tiny homes, they can serve a lot of purpose in their relatively small space. Another field that could benefit from this is e-commerce.
Organizing Is Really Easy
In some office environments, splitting up the main business and a warehouse can be very annoying. You have to keep track of where things are and it may even require driving back and forth between the two. That costs both time and money. That won’t be a problem if you use a shipping container as a base.
Organizing things became even more simple. You can use the container by splitting it up. Half of it could be for you to have your items that you are shipping stored and ready for you to send out and the other half of it could be your office.
Want to check on the status of things? Just walk from one side of the container to the other. You will get an instant update rather than how it was before.
Another tool that you can use here that you might not be able to do with another workspace is labels. That way, you will be able to immediately see what the items are and get them ready to be sent out or even merely handed to customers.
Storage Space Is Right There
There are a lot of ways to set up a shipping container to hold whatever wares that they sell so that they will be ready to ship out when receiving an order. These containers will be nearby. You could go to this page to find out about new and used shipping containers.
Tracking inventory can be tough if you have to shuttle back and forth to a warehouse. Instead, you can walk over and do a visual inspection yourself right there in the shipping container.
You Can Customize The Container
If you want to take the container to a place like a pop-up shop, you can set it up so that you can easily run in and get what you need. That is much more effective than using a tent.
You can put shelves on the container walls or even put display cases there as well. Overall, you will get a much more attractive presentation than you would if you used another method.
Also, you save time afterwards. There is no need to dismantle any tents or other things. Instead, you just close the shipping container doors and move it to the next location. That will keep you from paying added labor expenses.
You Can Expand Your Business With Them
Shipping containers are an excellent thing for start-ups or law offices. They can be set up to be used as:
- A Place For Customer Outreach – You can set up a shipping container near your other business. That way, you can make things accessible for your customers and help facilitate your sales in a better way.
- A Permanent or Temporary Office – Why have to concern yourself with finding an office to lease? The shipping container is a much more cost-effective way of setting up space for you to work, whether on a permanent or temporary basis.
- A Place To Improve Your Business Flow – There are shipping container services that offer to move your employees to and from your workspace. That will save time for you and be less of a concern for the people that are working for you. While discussing the customization of shipping containers for e-commerce workspaces, it’s also worth considering the efficiency of managing shipments, where a reliable board for loads can streamline the process of finding and organizing transport solutions.
- A Source of Mobility – Are you constantly on the move, going to conventions, trade shows, concerts, festivals, or marketplaces? You can move the container near these places so that you can be ready to start selling. This way, you can decide where you want to be to get people coming to you.
Of course, like everything else in life, there are pluses and minuses when it comes to using shipping containers. Here are some of the negatives that you need to weigh when you are deciding whether or not to go this route.
- Possibly Not As Eco-Friendly As You Think: When using a shipping container, you would be better off getting a new one. If you use a refurbished one, then you will have to make sure that it is structurally sound before using it or having work done on it. They may be corroded from spending time near the ocean.
- They May Have Been Unsafe Before – Make sure that the shipping container that you are getting did not have harmful chemicals in it or other things that are unsafe for people.
- You May Have To Deal With Permits and Codes – There is no escaping bureaucracy. You may have to pay certain fees to ensure that you can use your shipping container as you envisioned. Just be aware that this may be a sticking point.
As time goes on, this may become an even more enticing option for these types of businesses. They have a lot of benefits and the upkeep is fairly simple.