One of the questions we’re often asked by our customers is what’s the best and most efficient way to organise a stockroom?

If only there was a simple answer to that.

Sadly we can’t give an easy or comprehensive answer to that question, as any storage solution is wholly dependent on the nature of the business and the how the stockroom is utilised and accessed.

However, although there isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution to the tricky issue of stockroom storage, the one piece of advice that Monarch Shelving always gives its customers is, before you order new shelving or additional racking components, take a close look at your stockroom and decide if everything that you currently store in there is necessary and current. Once you’ve given your stockroom a bit of a spring clean you may well find that you won’t need to order as much shelving as you originally envisaged, or you may decide that the stockroom would benefit from a different type of storage solution altogether to make it more accessible and better organised.

The problem with many stockrooms is that they can quickly degenerate into a bit of a mess, and become more of a general storeroom rather than a stockroom.

There’s an understandable tendency to leave old stock and packaging lying around in these rooms, and ultimately this impacts on the accessibility, the efficiency, and occasionally the safety of the stores area. The easiest way to address this issue is to have a clear out and decide what needs to stay and what is well past its sell-by date.

We find that it’s often better to clear a room completely, then only put back the stuff that is essential. You can also organise and rationalise the way you store and access stock when you approach the issue in this way. Yes it will take a bit of time, but it will definitely be worth it in the long run.

So here are some tips we’d like to share with you about better stockroom storage:

• Start by removing everything from the stockroom, and discard anything that isn’t current. It will be easier in the long run if you can group similar products together as you go along.

• Once the room is cleared of stock and clutter, assess your existing shelving, racking and storage boxes and decide if anything new is required, or if the shelving and racking could be more efficiently organised.

• You might as well give the room a thorough cleaning whilst it’s empty.

• Group together similar smaller items and store these in clearly-labelled boxes or containers. This will make it easier to find them later.

• Create specific storage areas for each group of products, and make sure that you keep related products within easy reach of each other.

• Keep the most popular products closer to hand, and make sure you can access them easily: items that are required less frequently can be stored in the stockroom’s less-accessible areas.

• Make sure you set aside a designated area for temporary storage for any incoming stock.

• Make an inventory sheet so that all employees can easily and quickly locate items.