5 Security Advantages of Business Storage

The advantages business storage could have for your company...

The cost of storing your business’ stock and equipment in the store or in the office is rapidly increasing. As demand for office and retail space increases across the UK, businesses are paying more and more in rent for less and less in floor space.

In London, huge demand for commercial property has given investors an estimated profit of 12% in 2014. The growing value of commercial property has been great for investors, but it’s made renting commercial space tough for many businesses.

In response to the growing cost of renting commercial office space, many businesses have started renting their own commercial storage units - often in less expensive locations outside major towns and cities - to store their inventory and equipment.

Business storage has several advantages. It’s easy to access by road, open 24 hours and far less expensive than renting a larger commercial space and storing products, documents and equipment on site.

There’s also a major benefit beyond cost: security. Beyond its cost, business storage offers security advantages – from on-site staff to 24/7 CCTV recording – that are off-limits for many smaller retail stores and offices.

Whether you own a retail business and need to keep your inventory secure or want a secure off-site location to store your business’s confidential documents, read on to discover the five biggest security advantages of business storage.

Your documents, equipment and other items are kept secure

Many retail businesses store their inventory on site in a space that’s easy for thieves to access. Many stores, particularly those in high-crime areas, lose as much revenue every year to burglars as they do to shoplifters.

For retailers, off-site business storage provides a secure, safe location to store your stock in that’s protected against burglars. Storage units are securely locked and only accessible to members of your business that have been given the unit’s key.

As well as being secured by lock and key, your commercial storage unit is protected by on-site staff. Most business storage centres are staffed seven days a week to give tenants the ultimate in peace of mind and security.

If crime poses a threat to your business, keeping your stock off-site in a commercial storage unit is a great form of protection. Not only is it inexpensive – it provides the security your business needs to operate without the threat of stock theft.

CCTV coverage provides a record of access to your storage unit

Business storage units aren’t just protected by lock and key – they’re also monitored by CCTV. This creates a visual record of everyone that’s accessed your unit that acts as a powerful deterrent against any attempts at unauthorised access.

An astoundingly high amount of theft is internal, often by disgruntled employees or temporary staff. According to the Centre for Retail Research, employee-related theft cost British businesses more than £1,681 million in 2012-2013 alone.

Unfortunately, monitoring every square inch of your retail store or storage room is often unfeasible for businesses. Off-site storage provides the security your business needs without the cost – both financial and in terms of time – of on-site security.

Minimise the cost of internal theft by keeping your business’s inventory, equipment and other values in a business storage unit that’s protected not just by lock and key, but by CCTV as well.

You can easily keep important documents out of the office

Does your business keep sensitive documents inside its office? Theft isn’t always of equipment or inventory – a large amount of commercial theft is of trade secrets and other inside information that’s of immense value to competitors and third parties.

If your business keeps sensitive documents and confidential communications in its office, there’s a real risk that they could be seen by people that they aren’t intended for and, in the event of a disagreement with an employee, mentioned to competitors.

From proprietary technology to accounting information, storing your sensitive and confidential documents in a business storage unit is an excellent way to ensure they aren’t read by people that shouldn’t have access to them.

Since you control access to your commercial storage unit, it’s also easy to give your key staff members and executives access to your documents without the worry of whether or not their copy of a memo or letter could be read by someone else.

You control exactly who can access your unit and its contents

When you rent a commercial storage unit, you’re given complete control over how it’s secured. You can secure it with a padlock that only you can unlock, or you could secure it using a padlock that several members of your business have keys for.

This flexibility makes business storage ideal for small businesses with more than one key staff member. From purchasing inventory to fulfilling orders, all members of your team can access your unit to ensure your business processes run smoothly.

storage unit tommorrow to get my ramps safe and under a lock and key. hopefully goes well then i start building my skatepark #childhooddream

— Dan Murphy (@DaanMurphy) November 11, 2011

Many small product-based businesses – from e-commerce companies to High Street retailers – have successfully worked off-site storage into their workflow by making it something that several of their members of staff can access.

From storing excess stock prior to the Christmas shopping season to keeping your most valuable equipment off site to protect against theft, being able to secure your own commercial storage units makes self-storage an ideal choice for retailers.

Your items are kept safe against the risk of fire or smoke damage

It’s not just theft that can causes losses for your business. Fire is a major safety issue for many businesses. As well as putting the safety of your team at risk, a fire can lead to your business potentially having to write off millions of dollars worth of stock.

An important part of security is smoke and fire detection, and business storage uses highly effective smoke and fire detection systems to ensure that your stock is secure and protected when it’s stored off site.

These systems are inspected frequently by independent, third-party professionals to ensure the optimum level of safety – not just against theft, but against fire damage – for commercial self storage tenants.

Could your business benefit from self storage?

Storing your business’ equipment, documents or excess stock in a storage unit can seem counter productive. After all, if you have space in your office or retail space, it makes sense to use it as efficiently as possible.

However, commercial storage has a huge range of benefits. From reducing costs to protecting your business against theft – both internal and external – a storage unit could be exactly what your business needs.

If you're interested in finding out more, email info@storefirst.com or call 01282 330 330.