Choosing a CCTV system for a warehouse: a buyer’s checklist

Most warehouse CCTV problems are not camera problems. Footage exists but does not show the face at the gate, the recorder filled up two weeks ago, or the system has been offline since the last power cut and nobody noticed. Here is what to settle before you sign a quotation.

1. Start with a site survey, not a camera count

A proper survey walks every entrance, loading bay, aisle, cash or dispatch point and perimeter line, and records what each camera must show. The output should be a coverage plan you can read: where each camera goes, what it covers, and where the blind spots are.

2. Decide what each camera is for

• Identify: faces and number plates at gates and doors. Needs higher resolution and the right lens at close range.
• Observe: what is happening in an aisle or bay.
• Detect: movement along a perimeter, especially at night.

Mixing these up is the most common reason footage is useless when you need it.

3. Plan for night and dust

Ask how each position performs in low light, and whether outdoor cameras are rated for dust and rain. Loading bays with bright doorways and dark interiors need cameras that handle strong contrast.

4. Size recording to your retention policy

Decide how many days of footage you need to keep, often 30 days or more for stock investigations, and size the recorder (NVR) and storage to that, with recording settings agreed in writing. Ask what happens when a drive fails.

5. Treat the network and power as part of the system

Cameras need cabling, switches and power that keep running. Ask about backup power for the recorder and network, and how the system will be protected from internet access by outsiders.

6. Remote viewing and multi-site

If you run several warehouses, ask for central viewing with access limited by role, so managers see their own sites and head office sees all of them.

7. Access control at the same time

Doors, stores and server rooms often need card or code access. Installing access control with the CCTV saves a second round of cabling.

8. Maintenance decides whether it keeps working

Agree a maintenance schedule: health checks, cleaning, firmware updates and a response time when a camera or recorder fails. A system with no owner degrades quietly.

What a good quotation looks like

• A coverage plan from the site survey
• Camera models and positions, recorder and storage sized to your retention days
• Cabling, switches and backup power listed separately
• Installation, commissioning and handover documentation
• A maintenance agreement with response times
• Equipment, installation and support itemised, exclusive of VAT

Fledge surveys, supplies, installs and commissions CCTV and access control for offices, branches and warehouses, and responds to tenders and RFQs with itemised quotations.