(Boost your Profit!): How to Liquidate Each Type of Warehouse Asset According to Trusted Warehouse Managers

As a warehouse staff or manager, you need to have a go-to checklist readily available in the event that another equipment liquidation has to take place. There are countless guides available online, but having a trusted method that is proven and tested per warehouse equipment will ensure that you will meet your liquidation goals without wasting time, effort and resources.

You might be asking yourself what experienced your warehouse counterparts have on their liquidation checklists. Read more to find out how experts deal with each warehouse component. If you want to save yourself from the hassle of doing all this on your own, our experienced liquidators are here to help.

Packing Equipment

Packing assets such as industrial scales, strapping and banding equipment, stretch wrap machines and packing tables are staples of most if not all warehouse facilities. You will not exert much effort finding for potential buyers, but getting the best value out of the equipment category is top priority.

These items are relatively lightweight compared to the rest of your warehouse assets which means selling them as a bundle is the way to go. Your priority is finding a market which is willing to buy an entire set of packing equipment because shipping these items piece-by-piece might result to unwanted overhead cost.

Lifting Equipment

This category includes your mobility workhorses (forklifts, pallet jacks, hand trucks, service carts, cranes, hoists, and monorails, dollies and castors). These most important thing when liquidating equipment in this category is to assess their condition carefully. Most of these machines move around a lot and do the heavy lifting making them subject to wear and tear. You should examine which of these assets are working without defects, working with defects, not working with repairable defects and lastly, not working with irreparable defects. Here’s what to do with each classification:

• Working without defects — Sell these with value based on their age and risk of eventual failure. Choose a suitable market which will get you the most profit with the least logistics overhead.
• Not working with irreparable defects — Let the disposal team handle these. Getting profit by selling these as scraps might also be a good idea. It’s still best to get some value out of these instead of simply dumping them.
• Working with defects and Not working with repairable defects — This is where you need to use some decision-making. You should weigh you option based on the severity of the defect(s), the repair cost and the profit you can get if each asset is restored. You can either skip repairs and sell these at a huge discount and let the buyers take care of the repairs or let your restoration team take care of them before selling.

It is important to be transparent and discuss the overall condition of these assets to you buyers before striking a deal because getting into a mess caused by improper setting of expectations during sales is not worth your time and resources.

Storage Equipment

This category includes assets which acts as the skeleton of your warehouse (bins and totes, shelves, racks, carousels). The key decision to make is whether to sell these assets as a whole unit or break them to their components before selling. To help you make this decision, you must first assess the condition of each equipment as a unit. If the unit is not 100% free from defective parts, it is better to disassemble it rather than selling it as a defective unit at a discounted price. If you decide to sell your storage assets as parts, make an effort to find buyers who will purchase them wholesale. You do not want to much overhead from shipping cost if you sell this item one piece at a time.

It is also important to consider that making careless assessment when selling storage equipment can lead to safety hazards. Make sure to document the condition and age of your asset and discuss it with your potential buyer. The last thing you want to happen is to be blamed from warehouse accidents resulting from undeclared defects found on the racks and carousels bought from you.

Conveyors

Conveyors are good investments for potential buyers because they help a warehouse trim down manpower by automating most processes such as sorting, dimensioning and weighing. This is where you can expect to get the most profit per equipment if you can find a suitable buyer. Find a market with the same automation needs as your warehouse because they will more likely need the functions that your used conveyor can offer.

Dock Equipment

This is the last category on this list because this might be the last equipment in your warehouse that you would have to liquidate. These assets will help you until the end of your liquidation journey, until they are the only ones left to sell. The biggest decision is whether there is really much benefit or profit from selling your dock equipment versus keeping them for future use.

Divide and Conquer!

Now that you know the pros and cons in liquidating each warehouse equipment category, you can now make an informed decision which ones to allot your time and resources and which ones require the most attention. If you’re new to the concept of liquidation and would like experts handle the job for you, Yankee Supply is here to help.

Originally published at https://www.yankeesupply.com on March 1, 2023.