Moving is tough, and there’s never a good time for it. No matter when you decide to move, it will be a bit inconvenient—more so if you’re moving a commercial facility. 

Because uprooting an entire facility and moving it to a new location is likely to result in chaos and significant downtime. Moreover, the move can be infinitely stressful for the person in charge since there’s so much room for things to go wrong. Additionally, there’s the pressure to settle things in a set time frame to get back on track with the business’s daily operations. 

But while relocating a commercial space will be challenging, it can be managed with proper planning and perhaps with help from reliable commercial moving services.

Here are all the ways you should be managing a relocation project. 

1. Start Planning as Early as Possible 

You should start the planning process the moment you find out that you’re going to relocate. Making decisions ahead of time will save you from last-minute chaos and hiccups. From sorting and storage to deciding what needs to be discarded and who will manage what task—everything needs to be planned to the T. 

Also, make sure to decide on a commercial moving service early on to make relevant bookings and check what they’re offering to do for you. Since some full-service moving companies can help sort and discard things too. 

1. Set A Budget and Stick to It 

Since this is a commercial move, it’s going to be an added expense for the business. While the relocation itself may bring in profits—the moving process will cost the company a bit initially. 

Set a budget for the additional materials that you’ll need for packing the equipment and supplies, for the downtime, and also the amount you’ll be paying to the California moving company you’re hiring. 

1. Take Your Time to Examine the New Location 

Once you’ve decided on a new location, you may need to visit it several times to assess the relocation aspects carefully. Get a good idea of the physical layout of the space and the capacity and map out the furniture, equipment, and workstations accordingly. 

Visiting the location will help you figure out what items you may need to discard or whether you have the capacity for any new furniture. 

1. Create A Moving Timeline 

Moving the facility will be a major transition, and depending on the size of the business—it may take more than a few days. But you can’t really work blindly. During the planning process, you need to estimate how much time the relocation might take and the goals for each day of the relocation. 

You should also share this timeline with the business office movers you’re hiring; they might be able to move things along a lot quicker than your estimates. The timeline will also allow you to assess the total downtime you’ll have to deal with. 

1. Keep the Budget and Timeline Slightly Flexible 

While commercial moves require precision to stay on track, it’s important to leave space for any discrepancies. Uprooting and moving entire facilities involve multiple factors, many of which are variable and out of your control. 

For instance, if you don’t use a reliable technology mover, equipment may get damaged, which would be an added expense. Moreover, the moving company may be working on a slightly different schedule than you. Therefore, it’s a good idea to keep a little extra budget and time as a backup.  

1. Delegate Tasks and Communicate Well 

One very important thing to do when relocating a large commercial facility is to have a task force team. This team should be divided into smaller subunits with their own individual tasks and goals for the move. 

This delegation of tasks would lift some pressure off your shoulders and streamline the relocation further. Just make sure to keep the team in the loop at all times. 

Pro Tip: Create a temporary communication channel for the move. For instance, a WhatsApp group! 

1. Make Sure to Take Care of Essential Fixtures and Utilities in The New Space  

There are many things you’re going to need to take care of when relocating to a new space. Here’s a small checklist to help you out: 

• Change of addresses: Make sure you have the new address on your website, social media, and other places where potential clients may come across your business. 
• Make sure all utilities are transferred or are in order ahead of time, including electricity, internet, water supply, etc. 
• Make sure you have essential fixtures like sockets where you need them (mapping out the space will help).
• Install storage shelves and cupboards before the equipment and other supplies arrive in the new space. 

1. Take Time to Sort and Label 

Commercial spaces typically have a lot of different essentials that are used by various people working in the facility. But most of the time, these things belong to the business and not the people using them, so it can be hard to ensure that they’re responsibly taken care of. 

Make sure your team takes the time to sort, organize and label things so that you don’t lose track of anything. Some professional IT equipment moving companies may actually do this for you.  

1. Start with The Non-Essentials 

When relocating a commercial facility, it’s always a good idea to move out the non-essentials first, like extra supplies and some furniture. This helps to reduce the downtime since the employees can continue working for that duration. 

Alternatively, you can also try and plan a staggered move. This would essentially require you to maintain the old and new facility together for a short time to reduce the impact of relocation on the workflow. 

1. Hire Valley Relocation and Storage Services 

You may be able to move houses on your own, but if you think you can manage a commercial facility relocation all by yourself, you’re wildly mistaken. 

Industrial equipment relocation or even IT data relocation is no joke. It required serious planning and expertise. 

So, if you’re looking for relocation services in San Jose or surrounding areas, get in touch with the experts at Valley Relocation. They offer moving and storage services all over San Francisco and are highly professional. 

Get in touch with them to learn more about their commercial moving services. 

About the Author 

The author is a commercial relocation expert that helps Valley Relocation’s clients plan excellent relocation strategies for their businesses. In their spare time, they enjoy writing helpful articles for the company’s official blog.