Life Storage Inc., a self-storage real estate investment trust and property-management firm, has made Warehouse Anywhere LLC, its third-party logistics and warehousing-services subsidiary, available to corporate customers. The cloud-connected solution is designed to allow real-time inventory tracking, control and reporting. It’s intended to help business tenants get products closer to their customers, reduce the cost of logistics, increase inventory tracking accuracy and improve delivery time, according to a press release.

“Radio frequency identification (RFID) technology is installed in each storage unit, tracking inventory that enters and exits with accuracy that can’t be achieved manually,” the release stated. The system integrates Spyglass, an online inventory-management portal, with enterprise resource-planning networks to allow customers to view, manage and report on inventory from desktop or mobile devices. Access is controlled via mobile app and Bluetooth-enabled intelligent locks.

“Corporate and small-business customers are an increasingly important segment for Life Storage. Leveraging Warehouse Anywhere to efficiently solve last-mile delivery challenges is an exciting opportunity to develop deeper customer relationships,” said Ed Killeen, chief operating officer. “Using our technology and a network of more than 10,000 Life Storage or partner facilities, our customers can forward-deploy inventory at a local level to help meet their customers’ needs.”

Three offerings are available through the service. The Enterprise solution is the most comprehensive, combining a “hyperconnected inventory system” with a footprint of micro-storage centers, live inventory tracking, account support and ancillary services. Lightspeed is designed for e-commerce companies, in which storage needs are co-mingled to lower costs, and inventory services and final-mile deliveries are charged on a per-transaction basis. The third offering, Core, is a value-added service for commercial self-storage clients. It provides access to Warehouse Anywhere’s online customer portal and mobile app for transparency and control over downstream supply chains.

Warehouse Anywhere was initially created in 2016 after Life Storage purchased the assets of Intelligent Logistic Solutions. It’s been deployed in several industries, including healthcare, retail, and service and repair.

Based in Buffalo, Life Storage operates more than 700 self-storage facilities in 28 states under the Life Storage and Uncle Bob’s brands. Its portfolio of owned and managed facilities comprises more than 50 million square feet.

Source:
BusinessWire, Life Storage Expands Its Warehouse Anywhere Last Mile Delivery Solution