One of the most commonly asked questions by so many business owners up and down the United Kingdom is that of whether it makes more sense to set up a warehouse for the business or to outsource warehousing and distribution to a third-party service provider.

In truth, the answer comes largely down to the size and type of business in question, not to mention its primary purpose and objectives. Nevertheless, there are certainly quite a few advantages that come with outsourcing warehousing duties to external service providers – especially for smaller and newer businesses.

Here’s a quick rundown of just a few examples:

1 – Scalability

First of all, it is almost inevitable that as a newly established business joining the market, the needs of the business will change quite quickly and dramatically. It may be necessary to scale things back a little or there’s the very real possibility of rapid expansion. In both such instances, it pays to work with third party service providers who are able to offer enormous flexibility and scalability. By contrast, to actually invest in a self-managed warehouse for the business limits flexibility severely.

2 – Expertise

One of the biggest benefits of outsourcing these kinds of responsibilities to the professionals is the way in which you immediately benefit from their experience and expertise in this specific area. To establish and manage your own warehouse is to also face the challenge of putting together the best possible team to take care of key operations. Which can be a challenging and expensive venture to say the least – especially when considering the fact that some of the most capable warehousing professionals in the country are ready and waiting to step in and help out.

3 – High-End Warehousing Solutions

It is also safe to say that when a new business startup is considering investing in its own site, it probably doesn’t have a great deal of available capital with which to do so. This in turn means that it may be necessary to cut corners and compromise with something of a second-rate facility with a less than ideal warehouse management system. By contrast, those who outsource to third party service providers benefit from the elite warehouse management systems and facilities operated by the service provider.

4 – Cost Effectiveness

In terms of cost effectiveness, it can be exponentially more affordable for the small business to invest in third party warehousing services than to establish its own warehouse. The fact that it is not necessary to come up with a large initial investment/deposit on the place can be enormously helpful for smaller businesses.

5 – Security

Last but not least, many of the very best warehousing service providers on the market today also guarantee the kind of 24-hour security the likes of which would be impossible or at least extremely expensive to replicate by way of a self-managed warehouse. And of course, the fact that the products the business relies upon are stored at a remote facility means that insurance premiums for the business premises can also be brought down considerably.