Mobile Warehousing & Storage: The Warehouse Manager’s Secret Weapon – Milestone

Low-cost, well-maintained trailers can readily supply needed warehouse flex space to meet the rising demands in the evolving supply chain.

The supply chain as we know it is undergoing massive and constant change. This change can cause uncertainty, but it also creates an opportunity for new ideas and unlikely partnerships to solve challenges we collectively face within the industry.

One of the biggest challenges facing supply chain managers is the ability to effectively use warehouse space. E-commerce delivery expectations, warehouse availability/locale and preparation for supply chain disruptions make effectively managing warehouse space efficiency an arduous task.

Over the past several years, the Amazon-effect of B2C commerce and now B2B commerce is putting tremendous pressure on reducing delivery latency. Two-day delivery is now same-day delivery, and the pressure to reduce that timeframe continues. The consumer demand for rapid delivery requires retailers and distributors to change the way they think about logistics real estate. To meet the expected delivery timeframes, a more dispersed inventory, including a wider selection of products and availability, is required. This means warehouse space across a wider geographical network is a requirement to fulfillment success.


Warehouse space constraints have become a hurdle for the supply chain and management of goods and inventory in relation to delivery demands. Selecting the right property in the right location can be critical to an operation. Investments, whether through capital expenditure or term lease commitments, are a costly endeavor when the landscape is changing so rapidly. To complicate matters, warehousing is moving from low-cost outlying areas closer to the end-user to reduce delivery costs and timing for the last-mile. The lack of space can significantly impact a retailer’s supply chain performance and overall viability.

In addition to managing warehouse space cost effectively, a supply chain manager needs to prepare for seasonal flex of inventory, weather disruptions, pricing volatility and the growing reverse logistics of inventory. Managing these risks within the supply chain environment considering warehouse space is constrained is a near impossible task. Having a contingency plan for potential disruptions ensures the right goods are delivered at the right place at the right time.

Low-cost, well-maintained trailers can readily supply needed warehouse flex space to meet the rising demands in the evolving supply chain. They can serve as temporary storage, assisting in staging inventory from warehouse space to more densely populated urban areas. It’s a warehouse on wheels allowing flexibility to meet changing demands in the supply chain. To improve warehouse utilization and efficiency, dry van trailers can be a cost-effective solution, allowing manufacturers, retailers and distributors to rapidly (in 24 to 48 hours) flex up their warehouse space on a month-to-month basis and at costs savings of 50% over traditional warehouse space. Options to securely store trailers off-site provides another option to stage and control overstock goods or packaging materials.

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