A Buyer’s Guide to Custom Storage Solutions

DECEMBER 16, 2023

Storage spaces are vital to running a business operation smoothly. Not only does the space house your goods, but it also allows for efficient inventory management. 

As the nature of businesses varies, so do their storage needs — and many organizations require a highly specialized and customized space to meet their requirements.

Custom warehouses — especially custom storage solutions built with shipping containers — are becoming increasingly popular solutions for the complex and extensive storage needs of growing businesses. With custom spaces built with shipping containers, you can tailor the floor plans and choose the walls, floor, roof and accessories, such as doors, windows, ceiling panels and the like to meet your needs. 

In short, modular construction with shipping containers allows businesses to easily adapt, convert, expand or relocate their storage as needed. Here’s a complete buyer’s guide to custom shipping container storage solutions. 

6 Benefits of Modular Storage with Shipping Containers

While shipping containers aren't the sole modular construction option, they offer distinct benefits that set them apart from others. Here are some of these advantages:

1. Versatile. You can store pretty much anything you need to keep in a shipping container. Intermodal containers are designed to transport goods at sea, so they’re up to most storage challenges.

2. Storage-ready. Shipping containers are commonly called storage containers. That’s because they’re made to store items. Unless you purchase a badly damaged container, you’re going to get a modular storage solution that’s ready right out of the box.

3. Stackable. One of the most common storage problems businesses face is finding space. If you’re looking for more storage space and worried that shipping containers would take up too much floor space, look up. You can stack shipping containers several layers high.

4. Rentable. Unlike a site-built storage warehouse, a shipping container can be moved, and you don’t have to buy it. Many companies offer shipping container rentals, providing the flexibility you need to accommodate dynamic storage needs.

5. Cost-effective. Among custom-built storage solutions, shipping containers have a unique cost advantage. Much of the building work is already done, which cuts down on the costs of building your shipping container-based storage solution compared to traditional construction.

6. Customizable. Although shipping containers begin as 20 or 40-foot rectangles with nothing inside them doesn’t mean they have to stay that way. In fact, they often don’t. You can customize your storage containers any way you like. Ideas include joining and stacking them, adding flooring, shelving, doors, ventilation or refrigeration.

Storage Solutions

Shipping containers make for great modular storage systems. That much is clear at this point. But how, exactly, should you use shipping containers to create modular storage solutions that really work for your needs? Below are some industry-specific ideas: 

Storing Tools with Shipping Containers

Whether you’re in construction or running a warehouse or distribution center, you probably have a lot of tools. These tools are expensive and incredibly important to your daily operations, so you need to keep them secure and out of the elements. 

For construction, in which you must often move tools from one job site to the next, shipping containers provide a simple, effective modular storage system that can travel with you via truck. If you’re in a less mobile industry that still makes use of tools, you can store your tools near where you use them most by strategically placing a storage container nearby. 

Food and Beverage Storage

Restaurants, grocery stores, food pantries plus food and beverage producers have to store their products somewhere, but it often can’t be just anywhere. You have to store edible products in dry, temperature-controlled environments. 
Shipping container storage solutions are perfect because they are water-tight and can be easily customized to add heating, cooling, refrigeration and more.

Retail Storage, Shipping Container Style

From sporting goods and auto shops to theaters and plant nurseries, storage is an important consideration. Products, parts, props, and plants that aren’t currently on display can find their temporary home in a safe and secure shipping container behind the business or, really, anywhere that makes sense to you.

Shipping Container Medical Storage

Hospitals, community medical clinics, dentists’ offices, and surgery centers do a fantastic service in communities worldwide. To deliver that healthcare service, they need equipment, tools, and supplies that are often expensive and sensitive to environmental exposure.

You probably see where we’re going with this. Why clutter up your dermatology clinic or max out your hospital’s indoor storage rooms with materials that could much more easily live in a nearby shipping container? 

Custom Office Storage Solutions

The world may be digital now, but offices still deal with a lot of paperwork. Hard copies of records, contracts, receipts, tax documents, and tons of other paper-based items need to live somewhere secure, and that doesn’t even cover the photocopiers, extra monitors, hand sanitizer and other products modern offices use.

Shipping containers lend themselves well to custom office storage solutions. Because you can add shelving, stack containers, and implement temperature control, you can create a shipping container storage solution that will perfectly meet the needs of your office.

Custom-Built Storage Solutions with Shipping Containers

For some storage needs, a couple of shipping containers will do the trick just fine. But for more complex modular storage solutions, you may need to go custom. Mobile Modular Portable Storage can create a custom shipping container storage solution that matches any need. Whether you need to stack shipping containers several stories high and connect them to one another or add flooring and climate control, we can handle the job quickly and efficiently.

7 Tips for Custom Storage Solutions with Storage Containers

If you’re interested in designing a custom modular storage solution, you will need to consider a few key factors as you move forward.
 
1. Wall Systems for Greater Flexibility

With a custom modular storage space, you can also choose your required wall system.
For this, it’s essential to consider the upfront costs and evaluate the long-term benefits. In simple terms, your wall system should provide structural integrity to your shipping container enclosure while also allowing future alterations.

Going with a modular wall system makes your building attractive, easy to wire and assemble, and convenient to relocate.

2. Check for Warranty

Regardless of how reliable your builder is and the durability of your material, it’s important to consider the warranty the manufacturer offers.

Before selecting a provider, check the types of warranties they offer. Check how long they cover your shipping container building and accessories.

Specifically, ask them whether they provide:

• Paint warranty
• Roof warranty
• Structural warranty

3. Look for Additional Costs

Some companies may charge you additional costs aside from building your custom-built storage solution, which can be an unnecessary strain on your finances. Before you sign the contract, it’s a good idea to comb through the services that the manufacturer includes without additional costs. Try to avoid paying extra for things like material transportation or the services of a project coordinator. 

Mobile Modular Portable Storage is one of the pioneers in modular manufacturing and offers comprehensive prefabricated solutions. With us, you don’t need to worry about structural integrity or the quality of your storage space.

Meeting consumer needs is our first priority, and to achieve this, we offer flexible financing options and a quality assurance system with no hidden fees. 

4. Plan Ahead

Think hard about how you intend to use your new modular storage space. What could make it easier to use on a daily basis? The planning phase is the best time to implement things like staircases, doors, windows, shelving, and heating and cooling systems.

5. Keep Storage Labels Visible

As you fill your new modular storage system with products, goods, or materials, make sure you do so in a way that keeps the labels on the items visible from the entryway of the container building. There’s nothing more frustrating than having to unload a beautiful custom-built storage solution to find a single item.

6. Light Items on Top, Heavy Items on the Bottom

Another loading tip to keep in mind is to put your heaviest items on the bottom. No matter how sturdy shipping container storage solutions can be — and they can be pretty sturdy when built right — they can’t prevent heavier items from crushing more delicate things that have been loaded incorrectly.

7. Customize your Modular Storage

If you’re thinking you can only buy a few shipping containers and make them work for your storage needs, you’re probably right. But will they work as well as you intended? Precisely the reason we encourage customers to customize their modular storage solutions. Yes, customization does raise the initial investment price, but the payoff is significant over the long term when you consider the increased efficiency.

Looking for Custom Storage Solutions? Try Shipping Containers with Mobile Modular Portable Storage

For top-tier custom storage solutions, trust Mobile Modular Portable Storage. Our team has consistently delivered high-quality shipping container storage solutions promptly. Contact Mobile Modular Portable Storage online or call us to embark on your custom storage journey