The onset of the pandemic has brought a dynamic change to the global market, resulting in business relocation or expansion. Businesses are increasingly relocating for perpetual growth, decreased operational costs, or many other reasons.
Moving your office to a new location is an overwhelming task that requires months-long planning and budgeting. Whether choosing a different manufacturing location or planning on business expansion, moving to a new place and making it operational is more complex than it may sound.
Business owners and managers must consider various aspects affecting all stakeholders, including investors, customers, employees, and the supply chain. However, without careful planning, your business may face new challenges like productivity loss and decreased sales or profits. Whether it’s office relocation or business expansion, here are seven things to keep in mind when moving your office to a new location:
Plan Your IT Relocation
IT infrastructure has become a backbone for any business or organization. We perform most of our daily activities on computers within a local network. However, moving to a new location can disrupt our day-to-day tasks if not planned. Therefore, businesses keep IT relocation at the top of the moving checklist. IT experts must ensure that the network is set up well in time to ensure a smooth workflow and avoid delays. Businesses usually prefer outsourcing IT relocation services to make the moving process a lot easier.
Singapore’s economy is gaining pace; it’s increasingly becoming an epicenter of global business activity. For this reason, businesses are rapidly relocating to Singapore and getting access to international markets. To accommodate technological needs, businesses opt for the best IT relocation services Singapore offers. Many IT providers like Win-Pro Consultants partner with professional moving services to plan and relocate the entire IT departments, servers, data centers, workstations, and other IT equipment. They are responsible for setting up the necessary network infrastructure and keeping the servers running with minimum downtime and optimum network security.
Backup Your Data before Moving
Digital information is vital for any business, and keeping it secure before, during, and after the office move is important. Back up your files, database, and other important data frequently on a portable storage device or preferably on cloud storage. While you need to synchronize your data manually on portable devices every day, cloud storage can do it for you automatically. Not only does cloud storage uploads new files as they’re created, but it also updates the latest version of an old file if you have made any changes to it. IT engineers usually create new database backups daily with the date and time mentioned in the file name.
Book Your Date with Professional Movers Well in Time
A seamless office move is only possible when you carefully plan it, and hiring a moving service in advance is the first step towards a successful move plan. If you want to avoid any hassle on a moving day, make sure you have booked your moving dates well in time. Always hire a credible moving company with a team of professionals to do the job.
Choosing the Right Location
The new location for your office is the most important thing to consider. The right location can make or break the prospects of your business. While choosing a new location, you must consider lease rates, taxation systems, local regulations, utility expenditures, and labor costs. Choose a location that will benefit the business in the long run in terms of growth opportunities, resource availability, customer reach, operational costs, and supply chain agility. If your business directly deals with end-users or retailers, choose a location with some curb appeal to create a great first impression.
Inspect Your New Office Space
Inspecting your new space thoroughly before moving will help you figure out a better layout and analyze how to set up your new office. Remember that your new physical office should be able to meet the demands of the business, its clients, and its staff. Make sure the new location is easily accessible by public or private transportation.
Cost of Relocation
Estimating the cost of the relocation itself is a complex task. It doesn’t simply involve the cost of moving office equipment and making your new office operational. You need to consider many hidden overhead costs, including decreased employee productivity due to a change in location, new wage and salary system, change in utility expenses, etc. Ensure that the costs of the relocation do not outweigh the advantages. An in-depth analysis of the potential costs of relocation will help you evaluate whether or not a business relocation is a viable option.
Planning a Moving Budget
Making a moving budget will allow you to plan and budget for each stage of the office relocation. Preparing a comprehensive budget helps you allocate your expenses and cut additional costs. Make a complete list of tasks and estimate the cost of each activity related to office relocation separately. Also, aim to save overhead expenditures and determine how much you can purge before the move. The cost of an office move mainly depends on two variables – the total distance covered and the consignment size. A longer distance and more moving items mean a higher moving cost and, thus, a bigger budget.
Create a Moving Timeline
Office relocation is not as simple as moving a house. You need to have an exact timeline which starts from reserving dates with a professional moving company. The list of activities you created while planning the budget will help you create a timeline for each activity. Remember to include possible delays in preparation, transportation, delivery, and setup.
Plan Your Move
Office relocation requires time for extensive preparation, organization, and management. The entire move process depends on the size of your office. It is usually preferable to move things in phases for a large-scale move. Start by listing which activities are the most crucial to your business and sketch down which tasks must be completed before the moving day. Set up your utilities, internet and telephone connections, and IT infrastructure before you move other office equipment. Then, shift your office one department at a time, prioritizing core operations.
Communicate Your Move and New Address to Customers and Stakeholders
Before you move, start updating the paperwork with your new address. As soon as you have your new address, make new business cards, letterhead, envelopes, etc. Keep your clients updated, especially if they mail regularly.
Taking all of your stakeholders on board is crucial to the success of your business. Communicate your move in advance to all stakeholders, including your supply chain partners, direct customers, retailers, employees, and investors. Send emails, messages, and printed letters to your customers to inform them about the relocation and advertise your new address through newspapers, social media groups, updated business cards, and brochures.
Conclusion:
Relocating a business is a tedious and complex task. While you must create a comprehensive plan with extreme care and deliberate effort, you must also consider various factors like moving costs, the pros and cons of the new location, IT relocation, and address updates. Therefore, consider the above-mentioned factors before moving your office to a new location to make the process easier.
