It’s not uncommon to hear about businesses moving from one location to another. In 2022, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Oracle Group moved to Texas. In recent years, further north a bit, there has been significant growth and excitement around the revitalization of the City of Detroit, with the support of the State of Michigan, investors, volunteers, and Fortune 500 companies are relocating or expanding. And whether the company is moving its headquarters down the block or from across the globe, corporate relocation is a complex undertaking that needs especially careful planning and execution.
But I have to wonder: How would a company pack up its bags and relocate? Well, this is where commercial moving services come in.
Commercial Move Meaning
Commercial moving is the process of transporting and relocating business or office equipment, including office furniture like desks and chairs and electronic equipment like computers and printers. Commercial movers can also work with warehouses and laboratories to transfer machinery, crates and pallets, or special equipment to a new location.
Types of Commercial Movers
There are basically three types of commercial movers. These are as follows.
- Commercial movers specializing in office moves deal with moving business documents and records, such as personal employee files, tax forms, and account records. Because they work with sensitive data and much equipment, commercial movers need to have the appropriate training and measures, in addition to the expertise, special skills, equipment and transportation, in order to do the job safely and securely. In other words, commercial movers must have the knowledge and systems in place to keep sensitive business data confidential and protected all throughout the moving process.
- Commercial movers specializing in warehouse moves require a different set of skills and equipment from office movers. Since warehouses typically have heavy pieces of equipment, such as forklifts, crates and pallets, a commercial mover must also have the appropriate machinery on hand. And, trained crews are expected to disassemble, pack and transport these items.
- Commercial movers specializing in laboratory moves work with fragile lab equipment. So, this type of move might involve specific rules, such as when relocating special equipment or other materials that must be handled with utmost care. Laboratory moves require specialty services to appropriately pack and transport these equipment within an often tight timelines.
In addition to offices, warehouses and laboratories, some of the other businesses that might require the services of a commercial mover include educational institutions, medical offices, hospitals, retail outlets and non-profit organizations.
How Does Commercial Moving Work?
Once you have a commercial mover in mind, the first thing you do is get an estimate. When you get in touch with them, you’ll be asked to provide details of your move, including what items you’re relocating, where you’re transferring to and when? This information will help the commercial mover come up with an estimate for you.
You might hear from a dedicated moving consultant who will flesh out the details, such as timelines of the move and any other requests you might have. After that, your move will be booked and the company will proceed with the relocation on the scheduled date. Then, it’s basically hands off from here.
A note on furniture
Depending on your commercial moving company, their crew may pack your equipment for you too. If that’s the case, they’ll come to your location with packing materials, such as high-quality boxes and tape.
Most commercial movers will also disassemble office furniture to make them easy to transport. However, you’ll have to confirm with the company if they also reassemble your office furniture for you at your new location. If this is something important for you, then an end-to-end commercial mover who will disassemble, transport, unpack, assemble and install your office furniture will be your best option.
Prohibited items
While commercial movers can surely work with office furniture, some other items may be off their service. What these items may be will vary depending on the company you work with, so make sure to talk with them regarding this topic. For instance, some states prohibit the movement of alcohol, so if your business deals with these items, you might have difficulty hiring a commercial mover in this case.
Benefits of Using a Commercial Mover
Businesses have a lot on the line, so they want to make sure their relocation is as smooth and problem-free as possible. So, the no. 1 benefit for hiring a commercial mover is convenience. Businesses can let the commercial mover handle the packing, transporting and even unpacking. With one less item on their mind, business owners and managers can focus their attention on handling the business operations.
Another benefit that a commercial mover provides businesses is peace of mind. Because commercial movers have the knowledge, skills, expertise, and training, you can be assured that your items are well taken care of. The possibility of them getting lost or damaged during transportation is slim to none.
In addition, commercial movers allow businesses to save on costs compared to doing the move on their own. If they choose the latter route, they’ll have to acquire or rent the necessary equipment to pack, load and unpack their items. With commercial movers, businesses don’t have to go through all that hassle, as commercial movers already have the necessary equipment required for the packing and transportation of business items.
Cost of Commercial Movers
Continuing with our discussion on cost, how much commercial movers will charge your business will depend on several factors, including the number of items involved, where you’re moving from and to as well as how many locations are involved. Specialty services, such as craning, as well as packing and unpacking services will also incur additional costs.
Some estimates peg the rate of commercial movers at $1,500 to $9,000 for every 1,500-square-meter office space that needs to be packed and moved. It can surely go up to the ten of thousands of dollars for a large office space with lots of workstations, equipment and documents.
It will also matter if you’re moving just to a different part of the state or if you’re moving across states. Obviously, local moves will be cheaper than a move involving multiple states over a long distance.
What does a commercial move mean?
In conclusion, while the logistics of relocating a business might seem overwhelming at first glance, understanding what a commercial move entails makes it clear that there are experts ready to make the process smoother and more manageable.