Steel Warehouses: Trends and Innovations and a look at the future

With advancing communication technologies, people are getting more & more connected with the companies they are buying from. Now, businesses have the power to deliver personalised services to their customers. There has also been a rise in e-commerce over the last five or six years. All of these contribute to the requirement of storage facilities on a larger scale. This is where steel warehouses come into play. The global steel market will be around $1.01 trillion by 2025. Why? Simple, because metal buildings are sustainable, affordable, robust & long-lasting.

Let’s have a look at some of the trends that are driving forces behind the environ metal buildings.

Fast Delivery

We are witnessing a surge of e-commerce. Consumers have the privilege of ordering products & services at their fingertips. This has led to the demand for quick, affordable & reliable shipping. And that’s where businesses have to come up with faster and more flexible logistics that offer a solution – a metal warehousing solution.

Consumer behaviour is a driving factor behind this change. More & more people are becoming eco-conscious. So, companies have to keep up with it.

So, there is a flexibility of delivery options like same day delivery, weekend delivery, 1-hour rush delivery, etc. This guarantees that there won’t be any shortage of goods. A steel warehouse building helps in keeping up with the supply chain. How, let’s see.

Quick Setup

As soon as there is a need to establish a storage unit in a particular area, the company can quickly call for quotes from various steel manufacturers. They win the contract, do a site inspection, measure the area & finally, a brand new industrial steel warehouse is installed within a few weeks. This helps with faster movement in logistics.

Faster the setup, quicker the operational activities, and faster the revenue generation. That’s great from a profitable business point of view. This system allows companies to connect and integrate with a broader supply chain network.

Option of Clear Span

Additionally, businesses can choose a clear span, i.e., no interior support columns for extra square footage. This is not possible with any traditional storage units. Plus, an intermediate floor, viz. mezzanine, can also be included to increase the storage capacity of a steel warehouse building.

Advantage of Steel

An industrial steel warehouse can be both temporary and permanent, depending on the need. It can be pre-designed to make future expansion easier and more affordable. They are easier to expand. So, if a company grows, they do not have to abandon its old facility just because it does not fit the bill anymore.

The maintenance part, too, does not take away a lot from the profit of the companies. Not to mention, a target of achieving net zero is also becoming crucial. So, more & more commercial clients are shifting towards making their products & services eco-friendly. A steel can be recycled several times without compromising its strength.

Durable & eco friendly

Also, nature plays a part here as well. A steel warehouse building can withstand the strongest of nature’s forces, viz. seismic force, storms, heavy snowfall, etc. It is resilient to rain, snow, wind & whatever nature throws at it. This also makes insurance premiums low. Hence, it provides more advantages over any other traditional building.

Steel buildings are designed to be energy-efficient. So, it aids businesses in cutting costs on their electricity bills. When businesses have to spend less money on operational costs, they can deliver goods to customers at competitive prices.

Temperature regulation

A company can regulate the temperature inside its industrial warehouse building with insulators. For example, frozen food and packaged edible products must be stored below a certain temperature to remain fit for human consumption. Otherwise, they have to be discarded. This will lead to a lot of waste, i.e., loss of money.

Advancing technologies & automation

Being adaptable to change is the true nature of any business. A lot of things run on automation these days. Robotics have taken their respective places in storage units, warehouses, & development facilities. A steel warehouse building helps businesses to keep up with the trend. Advanced technology implies faster and more precise work done.

For example, in the past, product labels were manually attached, involving a great deal of human effort and resulting in higher costs for consumers. However, today, label application is automated, allowing machines to quickly add logos and labels to brand items at a speed unattainable by humans.

Design Trends

Business looks to create their own signature branding in the eye of their customers. A steel building offers customisation of external as well as internal look. The use of curves, modern art, and shapes are becoming common among commercial building. An exterior façade can be added to achieve the desired result.

Many uses of steel warehouse buildings:

• Storage
• Workshop
• Auto-repair shops
• Manufacturing facilities
• Commercial offices
• Recreational centres, etc.

In conclusion:

Companies use industrial steel warehouses for various purposes. In the future, steel structures will likely replace outdated and obsolete stick-built commercial buildings. Businesses are driven by demand to adjust and update their policies to meet future needs.

Numerous companies have also begun implementing this practice. Nowadays, extensive Steel is the material commonly used in the construction of warehouse facilities these days. In the near future, steel warehouse buildings are expected to become increasingly prevalent.

Advance your warehouse operations with IoSCM. Take a look at our range of professional qualifications or call 0800 1422 522 to find out more.