Business plan: a warehouse for storing tires from a car. How to make money on seasonal storage of tires. Overview of business ideas The influence of various factors on the safety of tires
Car owners in large cities are faced with the problem of storing seasonal tires. Few have a rented garage, not to mention their own real estate of this type, and you don’t want to litter the balcony at all, because these are quite voluminous products, which also require certain storage conditions. Many aspiring entrepreneurs, realizing this problem, start their own seasonal tire storage business.
In this article, we will discuss a step-by-step algorithm for opening your warehouse, and also draw conclusions whether it is profitable to do this or not.
Business features
If you start from scratch without a space, then such a business may show low profitability or even go into the red, because it takes time to develop a customer base, and you need to pay rent monthly, the cost of which in large cities is very high.
If you are the owner of a room where you can make a warehouse, then the business idea of \u200b\u200bstoring tires may suit you, you will only need to additionally equip it and provide conditions for normal storage of rubber.
And the third option, the most profitable and effective, is an additional service for tire fitting. You already have an established customer base, and by posting an ad, you will quickly collect a full warehouse of wheels with tires for storage.
It is worth starting such a business in cities with a population of 200 thousand people or more. Since in the regions, the level of salaries simply will not allow residents of small towns to pay for tire storage services, and many of them have their own garages or basements where they store all these products.
What space is suitable for a warehouse?
Garages, basement outbuildings, metal containers, which are usually installed on the territory of paid parking lots where it is guarded, and hangar-type premises can serve as storage facilities.
The location of the premises does not play a big role, but a warehouse located near your place of residence or in the case of tire fitting work will be a plus, so that it is convenient for you to take the wheels for storage and not drive through the whole city to show the storage conditions for a potential client.
Equipment
It is believed that one set of tires (4 wheels) occupy an area in the warehouse, about 1 sq.m. Thus, in a room of 50 sq.m. you can safely lay out about 40 sets of rubber, but usually they build multi-level racks, three or even 4 sections in height, depending on the height of the ceilings in the building. And the useful working area is increased by at least three times, which will allow your business to store 120 sets of rubber on the same area.
Shelving is the main piece of equipment you will need. They are made from wood or metal. In fact, in cases of using wooden bars that you can ask friends for or dismantle old designs of furniture and other used products, you can spend a minimum budget and make beautiful shelving. To give the appearance of the racks, they are painted in one color. Metal structures are more durable and reliable, but the price of buying metal and welding work will be rather big. If you work on the basis of tire fitting, you can also spend money on metal racks, they will pay off with interest.
The second point that must be observed is the storage conditions of rubber. Usually this is an indoor air temperature of 15 - 20 degrees, and a humidity of about 50%. To ensure these indicators in winter, it will be necessary to install a heating system to maintain the temperature, as well as a ventilation system to control the level of humidity in the room.
Security and security systems must be on top. Tires with rims are expensive goods, and by taking them into storage, you take responsibility for not being stolen. A good metal door, the price of which starts from $300 and up. An alarm system with motion sensors, video surveillance, and the subsequent connection of the warehouse for service to security companies will help to avoid unpleasant situations with the loss of client property, and this is a very important point.
A fire protection system with smoke detectors is exactly what a warehouse should have. Rubber burns well and you need to provide maximum fire protection.
Tire storage care
In addition to the microclimate in the room, it is important to properly care for the rubber during the entire period they are in your warehouse.
There are several basic rules.
- Without installed discs, tires are stored on racks in a vertical position next to each other.
- If the disks are mounted, then storage is carried out in a horizontal position, laying the rubber in a stack on top of each other.
- Tires must be free of dirt and dry.
- The air pressure in the tires is halved.
- Once a month, the wheels with disks are shifted, and free-standing products on the racks are scrolled so that they do not stand in one position for 3-4 months and receive deformation from the walls of the rack. In addition, in this way you will dry them in case of condensation.
Among other things, the room should also be clean, for this it is enough to whitewash the walls and, if possible, lay tiles or linoleum on the floor in order to make it easier to clean.
Where to look for clients?
The next step to starting a tire storage business is to study and implement channels to attract target customers. There are several main approaches here.
- Advertising on online bulletin boards, with a detailed description of the service and prices, and be sure to indicate the address of the warehouse.
- Own website and contextual advertising.
- Posting ads in the residential area in which you plan to work.
- Advertising with paint and stencil on asphalt.
When the first customers go, word of mouth will begin to work.
If you plan to open a warehouse for seasonal tires on the basis of a tire fitting or car service, then it will be enough to make a sign on the facade of the building, and customers themselves will recognize and order the service. This is another plus to work in this format.
Registration of activities
In order to work officially, it is important to complete all documents and obtain permits.
- open IP.
- specify OKVED for activity. For Russia, this is code 63.12. For Ukraine - code 52.10.
- get a work permit from firefighters and SES.
- staff if necessary.
- If the premises are not yours, then sign a lease for the premises.
Since the cost of wheels or tires is high, you need to study the issue of insuring things and the warehouse as a whole from fire and other factors that may cause losses to your business. To do this, you can contact a lawyer who, among other things, will help you draw up a standard contract signed by you and the client.
How much can you earn from tire storage?
Prices for this service will vary depending on the region where you plan to work. On average, storing a set of tires (4 wheels) for the whole winter will cost the client $15 - $25. Or you can offer a monthly maintenance rate of about $5.5 - $7 a set of tires. Based on the number of customers and the saved rubber, you can calculate the approximate profit for the season and month separately.
Conclusions. Tire storage as a business is only profitable in combination with a car service or tire fitting, as it will allow them to earn money on an already compiled base of target customers. We do not recommend considering this activity as the main business.
Many businessmen know firsthand that today it is possible to establish a profitable business with symbolic investments. Today we will consider the features of the implementation of one of these projects. It involves seasonal storage of tires. The idea will be on forces and beginners.
A few words about the legalization of this type of business:
- If it serves as an additional source of funds, then it will be possible to bypass such a moment as registration.
- If the plan is to open a car service, service station, tire fitting point, on the basis of which car owners will be able to deposit tires, then registration will be required. Available OPF: IP, LLC.
- There is something to think about: the target audience has great confidence in registered entrepreneurs. Therefore, if you have the opportunity to register, do not miss it.
room
The base for a seasonal tire warehouse can be a garage, however, its area will not be enough with the expansion of the client base. In this case, the solution would be to rent a warehouse. An alternative is to purchase several garages located in one place. Such a management decision will become appropriate, with a 100% guarantor of a large demand for the service. You can go the other way - contact the owners of service stations to talk about the possibility of renting unused premises. There is a high probability of a positive answer, since, considered by us, will attract potential customers of service station owners and vice versa.
Place
You can open a point in part of the settlement. The main thing is that the room allows you to maintain optimal microclimate parameters.
room
The object will have to be equipped with special 2-3-storey racks for tires. A good solution would be to allocate a separate cell to each regular client. Before renting a space, it is important to make sure that the roof does not leak. At the slightest leak, it should be excluded. As for the floor, the best option would be a wooden floor. Alternative - poured on the basis of sawdust.
No security whatsoever
This issue should be considered in a separate paragraph. In order to minimize encroachment on the tires of your customers, the facility must be equipped with reliable doors. Don't be stingy, buy set an alarm. One of the advantages of implementing the idea on the basis of a garage, which is located in a garage cooperative, is the initial presence of security.
Note to the reader: the network of tire hypermarkets "Koleso" offers alloy wheels REPLICA (Replica) www.koleso-russia.ru/catalog/wheels/replica/ - this is the choice for those who want the wheel to be ideal for their car. All wheels (manufactured in China, Taiwan and Italy) are made for specific car brands, taking into account their technical characteristics and design.
Tire theft can result in lawsuits, you will have to pay damages, pay for the lawsuit. All this once again confirms the usefulness of the security system. Another argument in favor of signaling is that stolen tires will cause an irretrievable loss of actual customers and a lack of trust from potential customers. Experienced businessmen recommend to insure accepted tires.
Additional services
Having opened a warehouse for tires, you can think about providing tire fitting services. The set of services can also be supplemented:
- washing wheels;
— blackening rubber;
- pumping up the wheels;
- repair of tires, tubes ...
Financial side of the project
The cost of the main service will depend only on your decision. Additional services are another matter - you need to focus on the pricing policy of competitors, but not to the detriment of your own. In any case, it is necessary to strive for the optimal cost / cost / income ratio. The main thing is that it is attractive to the target audience and to you.
Tip: when determining the cost of a service, consider the radius, quantity, and shelf life.
For a set of tires, one square will be sufficient. The area of a standard garage is 36 squares. At least 5 squares should be left for the passage. It will be useful to have a reserve area - 1 square. The remaining square meters will be enough to accommodate 29 sets. An error is not ruled out, so we will reduce the number of sets to 28 pcs.
For a month, completely “clogged”, the garage will bring about 11.2 thousand rubles. In the presence of a two-, 3-tier rack, the income will be 2 and 3 times more, respectively.
Customer acquisition
In small undertakings of this format, the first clients are represented by relatives and acquaintances. If they are satisfied, then information about your service will quickly spread throughout the village. Word of mouth will work. True, it will work in any case, even with the first customers who were dissatisfied.
It's important to know that a consistent, solid customer base eliminates the need for ongoing advertising fees. After the start, if the initiative is not registered, you should not resort to the media. Why once again attract the attention of "tax officials". You can limit yourself to simple business cards, ads. If your "brainchild" is registered, it will be justified through local print media, TV channels, radio stations. Don't neglect:
- internet,
- social networks,
- thematic forums,
- leaflets,
- brochures,
- advertising on a car or in public transport.
If you have a good friend who owns a service station, a tire fitting point, then most likely he will not refuse to help you in terms of disseminating information about your services.
Conclusion
As you can see, the idea deserves attention. To put it into practice requires funds, a minimum of time. At the same time, there is no need for expensive, bulky units, any specific knowledge and skills. All you need to store tires is a garage and a responsible approach to business.
Good luck in your endeavors!
An article about how you can and how not to store car tires, depending on various factors and conditions. At the end of the article - a video about 3 basic rules for storing tires.
Unfortunately, many motorists do not pay much attention to this issue. But the wrong choice of tire storage method can lead to a deterioration in their properties and technical parameters. This is especially true of winter tires, because in winter the safety of all road users depends on their quality properties.
General storage requirements
- Each wheel must be marked. indicating the installation location on the vehicle. If necessary, you can mark the outer and inner sides of the tire.
- Check pressure before storage(if the tire will be stored installed on the rim) with a pressure gauge, if necessary, bring its indicator to the values recommended by the manufacturer.
- Wash the wheel thoroughly after removal., inspect the entire tread surface. Remove stones and other foreign objects from the tread, make sure there are no cracks.
Storage with or without disks
Many car owners are faced with the question - is it correct to store rubber on disks or is their removal a prerequisite? It can be stated unequivocally that both methods are acceptable, but there are a large number of nuances for each and them.
On disks
If this type of storage has been chosen, then the necessary requirements should be followed to prevent deformation and deterioration of the properties of the rubber. Under no circumstances should tires be mounted vertically on rims. If space permits, you need to lay a wooden pallet on the floor, on which to store the wheels horizontally. It is allowed to stack them on top of each other.
Some motorists hang the wheels from the ceiling. This type of storage is acceptable, especially when space is limited in the garage.
Without discs
With the storage method without disks, all the rules are opposite to those described above. Horizontal storage, stacking of tires and hanging is prohibited.
Installation is allowed only in a vertical position, and every three to four weeks the rubber must be rotated. A good solution would be to assemble a special rack that will be attached to the wall.
Ignoring these rules can lead to severe deformation of the tires and the subsequent impossibility of balancing at the tire fitting, that is, complete damage.
Storage at home
How not to store
- On the balcony, if it is not glazed. This type of tire storage is equivalent to street storage. Aggressive exposure to cold, wind, sun and moisture can cause permanent damage in three months.
- In the common apartment vestibule, on the landing and other places of mass passage of residents of the house. In addition to the inconvenience that the wheels will create, fire safety requirements are also violated, since in the event of an emergency, the evacuation of people will be difficult.
- Next to hot batteries, under flowing pipes, in cold unheated rooms. Such storage conditions will affect the quality of the rubber surface, which will subsequently lose its performance properties.
- On floors with sharp edges or uneven surfaces. This will cause deformation and damage to the tire, which will lead to the impossibility of its further use.
How can you store
- Glazed heated balcony apartments or houses.
- Dry storage room. This is a clean and dry place without temperature differences, exposure to sunlight. As a rule, pantries are dark, which is one of the positive factors for rubber storage. It is only necessary to make sure that moist air and steam from the kitchen or bathroom do not get into the pantry. It is also not allowed to store various chemicals nearby.
- Heated garage. Chemicals should not be stored near the tires, and sparks and open flames should not fall on the rubber itself during the work. However, if the garage is metal, then it is undesirable to store winter tires in it in the summer, because in this case the effect of temperature difference is great - during the day it is very hot in the garage, and at night the temperature inside drops. Such vibrations will lead to cracking of the rubber.
- dry cellar, if the temperature in it is more or less constant, and the humidity is within the normal range.
The influence of various factors on the safety of tires
When storing rubber at home, there are many factors that can affect its further condition.
- Room temperature. A feature of modern high-quality rubber is the strict observance of the temperature regime. Negative values are not recommended, but above +25 degrees is not allowed. For this reason, an unheated garage is not suitable, as is storage near radiators, heat guns and other heat sources.
- Sun rays. Their impact leads to drying and cracking of rubber. Cracks during visual inspection may not be detected, however, if the wheel falls into a pit during movement, then the likelihood that it will burst increases several times.
- Humidity. Tires with or without rims may only be stored in a dry place. It is not recommended to pack them in plastic bags, which create ideal conditions for moisture condensation. If tires are stored together with disks, then the latter begin to rust. Special non-woven bags are commercially available for storing wheels, and a separate bag is needed for each wheel.
- Chemical substances, of which there are a large number in any garage, have a destructive effect on tires. These substances are various oils, gasoline, acids.
- Deformation. Long-term storage in one position causes deformation of the rubber. It is recommended to turn it over from time to time.
- Storage periods. Depending on the composition of the rubber, the shelf life of a tire may vary, but usually it does not exceed six years. After this period, the use of the tire becomes unsafe.
In fact, it is for our country that the problem of storing a set of summer tires in winter, and winter tires in summer, is one of the most pressing due to the specifics of the climate. Without two sets of tires, year-round operation of the car is impossible, and this means that the car owner has to constantly keep four tires somewhere. Well, if there is a place in the garage or in the country. In any case, twice a year there are ordeals of removing dusty tires from dark corners, transporting them to a tire shop and back. In general, no one thinks about how random storage conditions affect the performance of rubber: not “bald” - and okay. In solving all these problems for the car owner lies a fairly large resource for attracting and retaining customers.
We live in an age of global outsourcing. No one has time to independently deal with everyday problems of medium complexity. Even if a person knows how to change the locks in the doors, gaskets in the taps and sockets in the walls, he prefers to call the craftsmen who specialize in this. This fully applies to the car service - few dig on their own at their leisure in their car, even if they understand something about it. Everything is done by experts. And only carrying and storing tires remains the lot of each individual car owner, as in the days of developed socialism. Meanwhile, the psychology of people has changed a long time ago, and the demand for the service, in fact, has already matured. As soon as the car owner tries to use it once, he is unlikely to want to return to independent fuss with tires. In the same way, few people wash their car on their own for a long time - it is much easier and more convenient to pay money for washing.
Let's say the client is really mature. But is the money that he is willing to pay for the fact that his winter or summer tires just lie somewhere for half a year so important for a car service? And how significant will the costs of providing such a service be for the car service itself (after all, in fact, we are talking about organizing an additional warehouse)? Despite the fact that free space is one of the most expensive resources after time. It is convenient for a car owner to shift this burden onto someone, but is it profitable for a car service to take it upon itself? This is a complex issue. However, by and large, the market has already predetermined the answer to it. The development of the situation is pushing the main players - official dealers - to new ways of attracting and retaining customers, especially in the situation of a sharply aggravated struggle with independent services. The economic situation does not make it possible to make money on sales alone, and dealers began to actively develop not only post-warranty service, but also additional services. And tire fitting in Russia is one of the most attractive types of car maintenance. Not every (fortunately) car will get to the "tinsmith's day". But no one will escape the "day of the tire fitter" (unless, of course, he wants to get to the "tinsmith" already guaranteed). In an effort to attract customers of tire networks and individual independent workshops, dealers are increasingly beginning to introduce and offer seasonal storage services to customers.
Everyone knows how interconnected tire sales and their actual seasonal replacement are in the tire fitting business. We sell to install and we install to sell. So, these are only two pillars of this business. The third is storage. It is he who ensures high customer loyalty. A person, as a rule, mounts tires where he buys. Once. Where he keeps them, he is constantly serviced. And in the end buys new tires.
Attracting and retaining customers is not the only reason why authorized dealers are developing seasonal storage programs. The fact is that the presence of such a service is directly required from them by partner companies if the dealer participates in the leasing program. The presence of a “tire hotel” at the dealer, where tires of the lessee’s cars will wait out the “out of season” tires, is in some cases one of the obligatory conditions of the lessor. And having created a "tire hotel" for leasing, it will be developed for all customers.
Thus, the question arises: how to properly organize seasonal storage? Due to the shortage and high cost of free space, especially in large cities, the organization of the system first of all requires a competent organization of space. The more tires placed per unit area, the lower the cost of storage. The second problem is logistics and accounting. The more tires you take into storage, the higher the return on investment, but you should not get confused in a large number of storage units, especially during the season of “shoe change”. The problem of order processing speed is also connected with the same season: if the client waits too long, the value of the service in his eyes will noticeably decrease. Fast processing of orders is connected with another human resource: how many people should a tire hotel serve in order for it to successfully cope with its tasks? Finally, the issue of product safety: how to ensure it with a large number of different tires? Here it is necessary to take into account the aspect that if a damaged tire is installed on a car, an accident may occur, for which the “tire hotel” will also have to be responsible.
Having decided to create a warehouse for seasonal storage of tires, all these issues must be taken into account.
Storage by Science
When organizing the storage of tires, it must be borne in mind that they should be stored following certain rules - under adverse conditions and with improper handling, the tires lose their physical properties, as a result, their service life is reduced and they may become unusable. Many people forget or don't know about it. By the way, providing customers with detailed information about the rules for storing tires and the reasons why they must be observed greatly contributes to the appeal of car owners to the seasonal storage service.
The correct storage conditions for tires are described in ISO 2230. To store tires and inner tubes, it is necessary to equip a room - it is unacceptable to keep them outdoors, including under a protective canopy. Such a room should be cool, dry and dark, it should be equipped with good ventilation, and there should be no drafts - direct air flow is excluded. The properties of rubber can change and affect the performance of tires if they are stored at temperatures above 25°C or below 0°C. The optimum temperature is around 15°C. If this requires heating, remove the product from heat sources; in addition, the tires must be protected from direct sunlight or intense artificial light, especially with a high ultraviolet component. Extremely harmful to tires ozone, which has a strong destructive effect. Therefore, there should not be any sources of it in the room, such as fluorescent or mercury lamps. It is also necessary to exclude high voltage electrical equipment, electric motors or any other electrical equipment that can create a spark or leakage of electricity.
High humidity also has a negative effect on tires. The appearance of condensate on them, not to mention the ingress of any precipitation, should be excluded. In addition, tires must be protected from all solvents, oils and greases, including even short-term contact. Tires should be stored freely, without any external loads acting on them.
Proper storage of tires is not such a primitive task as it is commonly thought. It is worth starting its solution with studying the market of warehouse technologies. As a rule, two main methods of tire storage are used in Russia: in bulk and on various racks. Probably, it is not worth explaining that the first is the least convenient and safe, and there is no need to talk about the rational use of space. "Heaping" tires taller than human height, even very carefully, one on top of the other, will not work, therefore, the efficiency of using the premises will be minimal. Nevertheless, this is one of the most common methods in our country, which is practiced even by well-known bus networks. In fairness, the “bulk” also has a positive side: in this case, no additional investments, except for the cost of the place under the roof itself, are required. Thus, at the time of organizing a business, you can invest significantly less money. However, if you do not buy anything at all, you can save even more.
Another widely practiced and well known method is rack storage. You can weld a two- or three-tier shelving from a metal corner yourself, as roadside tire sellers often do. You can buy ready-made racks of a wide variety of designs and quality - there are a lot of offers on the market, any metal products factory or a company that manufactures metal furniture has several types of such products in its assortment. You can order racks for your specific needs, taking into account the premises. It is more convenient to work with such racks, it is possible to use the existing space more rationally. However, one should not expect high efficiency: with a huge choice of manufacturers, almost none of them makes specialized tire racks.
Economical and logistical
Meanwhile, technological progress does not stand still in the organization of tire storage. Relatively recently, a new development of the German company Scholz Regalsysteme appeared on the Russian market, which specializes in technologies for the automotive business and has been researching the issue of the most efficient tire storage for several years. The result of the research was a specialized YeSiReB tire storage system, which, due to the maximum display per unit volume, allows you to store more tires in a smaller area.
YeSiReB is based on the classification of tires by standard sizes developed by Scholz specialists using the most compact display field. YeSiReB makes it possible to maximize the use of all three space parameters: the length, width and height of the room with minimization of working aisles. Unlike methods with a mezzanine level device, the new system does not require flights of stairs, an elevator zone and auxiliary passages due to the construction of the warehouse with easily assembled cells with low metal consumption to a height of up to 6 meters. As a result, the efficiency of using the premises grows up to 50% - the savings are very tangible, and in terms of renting the premises - permanent. An important advantage of the cells is also the ability to easily and quickly disassemble them and transport them to a new location.
But YeSiReB is not just racks, albeit modern ones, of high quality and with well-thought-out ergonomics. The system allows solving not only the problem of economical placement and proper storage of tires, but also such a complex and urgent issue as the logistics of the received property. This is especially important in the case of seasonal storage of customer tires, when it is necessary not only to know exactly where the goods of a certain name are located, but to find a very specific tire belonging to a specific owner. And there are hundreds, if not thousands, of such tires. YeSiReB offers a turnkey warehouse technology that also looks convenient and attractive to end customers. Each set of tires has its own cell, a special sticker with its data is attached to the tire, and the owner receives a control card that can be pasted inside the car until the next “change of shoes”. The owner of YeSiReB receives a product for managing tire storage, which includes a classifier, marking, reporting forms and an address storage system.
Since one of the features of the system is the use of the upper part of the volume of the warehouse, Scholz Regalsysteme offers a specialized electric order picker for work at height. In fact, this is a small autonomous electric car with a cradle and a cargo platform on a retractable lifting boom. The order picker is characterized by compactness and mobility, it does not require special management skills and has several degrees of security. In addition to the order picker, Scholz Regalsysteme has created a whole range of specialized tools designed for quick and easy acceptance, storage and issuance of tyres. All these technologies have even allowed the company to get into the Guinness Book of Records for high-speed storage of tires. The entry in the Book reads literally the following: “Only the YeSiReB system made it possible to load 128 wheels of dimensions 225/45/17 in a record short time - 8.59 minutes on an area of 1 x 2.16 m with a rack height of 5.24 m.” It is worth adding that the record load was carried out by only two workers. This is another advantage of the system: two employees are enough to manage the maintenance of a warehouse of almost any size, with one person working in the receiving and the other in loading and unloading tires. Given that the computerized system allows you to plan in advance the reception of customers, you can manage the queues. It is clear that in the season of mass "change shoes" this is one of the decisive competitive advantages: having seen the line, a potential client can go in search of another company, "where there are fewer people." Using the YeSiReB system will allow you to constantly collect these "surplus customers" that other companies did not have time to serve.
However, no matter how attractive the use of modern high-tech warehouse systems, any businessman is concerned about the issue of price. The cost of the YeSiReB kit starts from 1500 euros. According to calculations, the payback of the system in the capital can come within three months with a 100% warehouse load, in the regions - within six months. At the same time, it is obvious that, one way or another, it is possible to store tires without using any technology at all and without investing any money. You can calculate such one-time savings in one moment; it is, of course, more difficult to calculate losses from losses of time and lost profits from customers who have gone to competitors. In addition, another aspect must be taken into account. Seasonal tire storage is a fairly new service in our country. The middle class is not yet accustomed to paying for this, and when offering storage to customers, it is necessary to advertise it more boldly. People need to be made to feel the convenience and benefits of using a "tire hotel". At the same time, as with everything new, seasonal storage is primarily used by upper segment customers, for whom the cost of this service simply does not matter, but its quality and level are important. And here, of course, it is worth offering a specialized branded system, and not just ordinary shelving, because you need to make sure that you do not have to blush if the client suddenly wants to get acquainted with the place where his precious tires are taken.