WAREHOUSING

INTRODUCTION Warehouse can play a key role in the integrated logistics strategy and its building and maintaining good relationships between supply chain partners. Warehousing affects customer service stock-out rates and firm’s sales and marketing success. A warehouse smoothens out market supply and demand fluctuations. When supply exceeds demand, a demand warehouse stores product in anticipation of customer’s requirements when Demand exceeds supply the warehouse can speed product movement to the customer by performing additional services like marking prices, packaging products or final assembling etc.

Warehousing can be defined as a location with adequate facilities where volume shipments are received from production center, which are then broken down into particular order and shipped onwards to the customer.

Warehousing is an integral part of any logistics system. The warehouse is a between producer&customer.

Out-bound warehouse help consumers buy on demand without a near4by production plant warehousing cost are about 10% of total integrated logistics costs for most companies.

DEFINITION

A warehouse is a commercial building for storage of goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. they are usually large plain buildings in industrial parts of towns. They come equipped with loading docks to load and unload trucks; or sometimes are loaded directly from railways, airports, or seaports. They also often have cranes and forklifts for moving goods, which are usually placed on ISO standard pallets.

OBJECTIVES OF EFFICIENT WAREHOUSE OPERATIONS

Provide timely customer service.

Keep track of items so they can be found readily & correctly.

Minimize the total physical effort & thus the cost of moving goods into & out

of storage.

Provide communication links with customers

TYPES OF WAREHOUSE

Private Warehousing, Public-Warehousing, Contract Warehousing etc…..

Private-Warehousing

A firm producing or owning the goods owns private warehouses. The goods are stored until they are delivered to a retail outlet or sold. Potential advantage of using a private warehouse is the ability to maintain physical control over the facility, which allows mangers to address loss, damage, and theft. When not in use they can rent it out. The construction and maintenance of private warehousing can be extremely costly. All the expenses have to be carefully analyzed and evaluated. These are:i. Fixed expenses and building and land acquisition costs which are high.ii. Expenses incurred on ensuring that warehouses are properly equipped with material-handling equipment like conveyors, forklifts, hand trucks, racks and bins, and dock levelers.iii. The costs of salaries of staff required for peak activity periods which can be very high since retrenchment during slack periods may not be possible;iv. Extra payment to be made for work on Saturday and Sundays and holidays.v. Generator and other services charges are required to be taken into account.vi. The office and record-keeping equipment necessary for successful warehousing operations has to be budgeted for;vii. To this must be added the cost of such item as fuel, air-conditioning, power and light.viii. The cost of maintaining insurance records and of the premiums paid for fire, theft, and also for workmen’s compensation.

Advantages The advantages and disadvantages of private warehousing as against those of public warehousing are: a. Private warehousing offers better control over the movement and storage of products as required by the management from time to time.b. There is less likelihood of error in the case of private warehousing since the company’s products are handled by its own employees who are able to identify the products of their own company better.c. If there is sufficient volume of goods to be warehoused, the costs of private warehousing compares favorably with that of public warehousing. But private warehouse may not be expected to be packed up to the brim all the while. Therefore the costs of private warehousing per unit may actually be higher.

Public-Warehousing

A public warehouse rents space to individuals or firm needing storage, some provide wide array of services including packaging, labeling, testing, inventory, maintenance, local delivery, data processing and pricing. All the foregoing cost factors operate in public warehousing as well. But in public warehousing, the expenses are distributed over several other consignments of other clients. In most instances therefore can render better service with greater flexibility for the user. A company running a private warehouse will have to compare costs incurred with the total figure for the complete service through public warehousing.

Advantages:a. It is generally less expensive and more efficient.b. Public warehouses are usually strategically located and immediately available.c. Public warehousing is sufficiently flexible to meet most space requirements, for several plans are available for the requirement of different users.d. Fixed costs of a warehouse are distributed among many users. Therefore the overall cost of warehousing per unit works out to a lower figure.e. Public warehousing facilities can be given up as soon as necessary without any additional liability on the part of the user.f. The costs of public warehousing can be easily and exactly ascertained, and the user pays only for the space and services he use.

Contract-Warehousing Contract warehousing is a specialized form of public warehousing. In addition to warehousing activities such warehousing provides a combination of integrated logistics services. Thus allowing the leasing firm to concentrate on its specialty. They provide customized services, e.g. Value Added Services.

Bonded Warehouses Private and public warehouses can be “bonded under the customs and excise act and municipal corporation regulations, facilitating deferred payment of customs, excise or octroi duty. The warehouseman releases only those goods on which the duty is paid on production of roof of such payment and release order issued by the appropriate authority.

Field Warehouse Field warehouses are those which are managed by a public warehousing agency in the premises of a factory or company which needs the facility for borrowing from a bank against the certification of goods in storage or in process by an independent professional warehouseman.

Cold Storages: Cold storage facilities are provided for perishables against payment of a storage charge for the space utilized by different parties. In a cold storage, it is essential that the temperature is regulated and temperature variation is controlled to the degree particularly for certain sensitive items.

Agricultural Warehouses:

These warehouses are meant storing agricultural produce grown in a certain area and are located in assembling or regulated markets. These warehouses receive agricultural commodities either directly from the farmers or through their commodities agents, or from wholesalers.

Distribution Warehouses: These warehouses are located close to the manufacturing concerns or consuming areas. Their location depends on the nature of the product, the time taken for transit, operating coast and the need to make the product available in the market in obedience to the demand for it.

Buffer Storage Warehouses: These warehouses are built at strategic locations with adequate transport and communication facilities. They store food grains or fertilizers, etc.

Export and Import Warehousing: These warehouses are located near the ports from where international trade is undertaken. They provide transit storage facilities for goods awaiting onward movement. Facilities for break-bulk, packaging, inspection, marketing, etc., are available at these warehouses.

FUNCTIONS OF WAREHOUSES:

Warehouses are basically intermediate storage points in the logistics system where raw material, work in process, finished goods and good in transit are held for varying duration of times for a variety of purposes. The warehousing functionality today is much more than the traditional function of storage.

The following are main function that warehousing serves today:

1. Consolidation This helps to provide for the customer requirement of a combination of products from different supply or manufacturing sources. Instead of transporting the products as small shipments from different sources, it would be more economical to have a consolidation warehouse. This warehouse will receive these products from various sources and consolidate these into shipments, which are economical for transportation or as required by the customers.

2. Break Bulk As the name suggests, the warehouse in this case serves the purpose of receiving bulk shipments through economical long distance transportation and breaking of these into small shipments for local delivery. This enables small shipments in place of long distance small shipments.

3. Cross Docking This type of facility enables receipt of full shipments from a number of suppliers, generally manufacturers, and direct distribution to different customers without storage. As soon as the shipments are received, these are allocated to the respective customers and are moved across to the vehicle for the onwards shipments to the respective customers at these facilities. Smaller shipments accompanying these full shipments are moved to the temporary storage in these facilities awaiting shipments to the respective customers along with other full shipments.

4. Product Mixing Products of different types are received from different manufacturing plant or sources in full shipment sizes. These products are mixed at these warehouses into right combination for the relevant customers as per their warehouses and continuously provided for the product mixture shipments requiring these.

5. Stock Piling This function of warehousing is related to seasonal manufacturing or demand. In the case of seasonal manufacturing, certain raw materials are available during short periods of the year. Hence, manufacturing is possible only during these periods of availability, while the demand is full year around. This requires stockpiling of the products manufactured from these raw materials. An example is mango pulp processing. On the other hand, certain products like woolens are required seasonally, but are produced throughout the year, and thus need to be stockpiled as such.

6. Postponement

This Functionality of warehousing enables postponement of commitment of products to customer until orders are received from them. This is utilized by manufacturers or distributors for storing products ready up to packaging stage. These products are packaged and labeled for the particular only on receipt of the order.

7. Positioning This permits positioning products or materials at strategic warehouses near to the customers. These items are stored at the warehouse until ordered by the customers when these can be provided to the customers in the shortest lead-time. This function of warehousing is utilized for higher service levels to customers for critical items and during increased marketing activists and promotions.

8. Assortment Assortment warehouse store a variety of products for satisfying the variety requirements of customers. For example, retailers may demand different brands of the same product in small quantities rather than larger quantities of the single brand.

9. Decoupling During manufacturing, operation lead-times may differ in order to enable production economies. Thus, the batch size and the lead-time of production may differ in consecutive operations. This decoupling of operations requires intermediate storage of materials required for the subsequent operation.

10. Safety Stocking In order to cater to contingencies like stock outs, transportation delays, receipt of defective or damaged goods, and strikes, safety stocks have to be maintained. This ensures that, on the inbound site production stoppages do not occur, and, on the outbound side customers are fulfilled on time.

Advantages of Warehousing

Warehousing offers many advantages to the business community. Whether it is industry or trade, it provides a number of benefits which are listed below.

i. Protection and Preservation of goods - Warehouse provides necessary facilities to the businessmen for storing their goods when they are not required for sale. It provides protection to the stocks ensures their safety and prevents wastage. It minimizes losses from breakage, deterioration in quality, spoilage etc. Warehouses usually adopt latest technologies to avoid losses, as far as possible.ii. Regular flow of goods- Many commodities like rice, wheat etc. are produced during a particular season but are consumed throughout the year. Warehousing ensures regular supply of such seasonal commodities throughout the year.iii. Continuity in production- Warehouse enables the manufacturers to carry on production continuously without bothering about the storage of raw materials. It helps to provide seasonal raw material without any break, for production of finished goods.iv. Convenient location- Warehouses are generally located at convenient places near road, rail or waterways to facilitate movement of goods. Convenient location reduces the cost of transportation.v. Easy handling- Modern warehouses are generally fitted with mechanical appliances to handle the goods. Heavy and bulky goods can be loaded and unloaded by using modern machines, which reduces cost of handling such goods. Mechanical handling also minimizes wastage during loading and unloading.vi. Useful for small businessmen- Construction of own warehouse requires heavy capital investment, which small businessmen cannot afford. In this situation, by paying a nominal amount as rent, they can preserve their raw materials as well as finished products in public warehouses.vii. Creation of employment - Warehouses create employment opportunities both for skilled and unskilled workers in every part of the country. It is a source of income for the people, to improve their standards of living. viii. Facilitates sale of goods- Various steps necessary for sale of goods such as inspection of goods by the prospective buyers, grading, branding, packaging and labelling can be carried on by the warehouses. Ownership of goods can be easily transferred to the buyer by transferring the warehouse keeper’s warrant.ix. Availability of finance- Loans can be easily raised from banks and other financial institutions against the security of the warehouse-keeper’s warrant. In some cases warehouses also provide advance to the depositors of goods on keeping the goods as security.x. Reduces risk of loss - Goods in warehouses are well guarded and preserved. The warehouses can economically employ security staff to avoid theft, use insecticides for preservation and provide cold storage facility for perishable items. They can install fire-fighting equipment to avoid fire. The goods stored can also be insured for compensation in case of loss.

SQUARE ROOT LAW

In their aggressive effort to take cost of logistics network, firms are searching for new ways to reduce levels of inventory without adversely effecting customer service. A currently popular approach is to consolidate inventories into fewer stocking location in order to reduce aggregate inventories and their associated cost. Correspondingly, this strategy requires the involvement of capable transportation and information resources to see that customer service is held at existing levels and is even improved whenever possible.

Square root law: The square root law helps to determine the extent to which inventories may be reduced through such strategy. Assuming the total customer demand remains the same, the Square Root Law estimates the extent to which aggregate inventory needs will change as a firm increases or reduced the number of stocking location. In general, the greater the number of stocking locations, the greater the amount of inventory needed to maintain customer service levels. Conversely, as inventories are consolidated into fewer stocking locations, aggregate inventory levels will decrease. The extent to which these changes will occur is understood through application of the square root law.

The Square Root Law states that: “the total safety stock inventories in the future number of facilities can be approximated by multiplying the total amount of inventory at existing facilities by the square root of the number of future facilities divided by number of existing facilities”.

ThereforeWhere,N1 = Number of existing facilitiesN2 = Number of future facilitiesX1 = Total inventory in existing facilityX2 = Total inventory in future facility

Example A company presently distributing 40,000 units of product to its customer from eight facility location throughout India is located at A, B, C, D, E, F, G and H. The company is evaluating an opportunity to consolidate its operation into two facilities. Square Root Law we will find the total amount of inventory in the two future facilities.

SolutionHere,X1 = 40,000N1 = 8N2 = 2

THE NUMBER OF WAREHOUSES

The number of warehouses is another decision parameter impacting a number of cost variables and customer service. If customer service is taken in cost terms as cost of customer dissatisfaction, the number of warehouses will affect transportation, inventory, and warehousing and customer dissatisfaction costs.

Transportation costs initially decreases with increasing number of warehouses. This is due to the transportation economics obtained by having large-volume long-range transportation from consolidation warehouses and short-range small-volume transportation from break-bulk warehouses. However, as the number of warehouses increases beyond a certain value, the transportation costs starts increasing due to large number of transportation trips in – between the larger numbers of warehouses. Inventory costs continuously increases with the increasing number of warehouses beyond the increased space available needs to be utilized and firms increase the commitment of inventory at these warehouses beyond those actually needed. Transit inventory costs continuously decrease with the increased number of warehouses due to the shorter transportation times between the larger number of warehouses. The warehousing costs increase with more warehouses due to the maintenance and facility costs associated with each warehouse. For the same space, a single warehouse incurs less warehousing cost than two warehouses.The increasing number of warehousing leads to increasing customer service levels, thus, decreasing customer dissatisfaction cost.

WAREHOUSE LOCATION:

Warehousing is important to the firms since it improves service and reduces cost improvements in service are gained through rapid response to customer request (time utility), which is a primary factor leading to increased sales. The location decision regarding warehouses is affected by manufacturing plant, customer and market locations. A traditional classification by Edgar Hoover classifies warehouse locations as market-positioned, manufacturing-positioned, or intermediately-positioned.

1. Market-positioned warehouses

Market-positioned warehouses are located near to the customers and markets (point of product consumption) with the objective of serving them. These generally have a large variety and low volume of items to service local requirements. Such warehouses reduce cost by providing place utility. A Market-positioned warehouses functions as a collection point for the products of distant firms with the resulting accumulations of product serving as the supply source for retail inventory replenishment. This approach allows large and cost-effective shipments from the manufacturer with lower-cost, local transportation providing service to individual retailers. Market-positioned warehouses may be owned by the firm or the retailer (private warehouses), or they may be an independent business providing warehouses service for profit (public).

2. Manufacturing-Positioned Warehouses

Manufacturing positioned warehouse are located near to the manufacturing facilities in order to support manufacturing on the inbound side and to facilitate assortment-creation and shipping on the outbound side. Improve customer services and manufacturing support achieved through type of warehouse which acts as the collection point for products needed in filing customer orders and material needed for manufacturing.

3. Intermediately-Positioned Warehouses

Intermediately-positioned warehouses are those located between manufacturing and market-position warehouses. These help in consolidation of assortments for shipments from different manufacturing facilities. A firm may have many manufacturing plant located, for economic reasons, near the sources of raw material. Under these conditions the cost-effective warehouse may be at some intermediate point.

A few of the factors governing the warehouse locations are:• Availability of services• Land cost• Availability of transport linkages for example, to a rail siding• Availability of utilities of water and power• Taxes and insurance cost• Expansion space availability• And soil strength and lay off land for drainage.

SIZE OF WAREHOUSE Many factors influence how large a warehouse should be. First it is necessary to define how size is measured. In general, size can be defined in terms of square footage or cubic space.Some of the most important factors affecting the size of warehouse are:

1.Customer service levels 2. Size of market 3. Number of products marketed 4. Size of the product 5. Material handling system used 6. Production lead time7. Office area in warehouse8. Types of racks and shelves used

As a company service levels increase, it typically requires more warehousing space to provide storage for higher levels of inventory. As the market served by a warehouse increases in number or size, additional pace is required. When a firm has multiple products or product groupings, especially if they are diverse, it needs larger warehouse to maintain at least minimal inventory levels of all products. In general, greater space requirements are necessary when products are large, production lead-time is long, manual material handling system are used the warehouse contains office, sales or computer activities and demand is erratic and unpredictable.Demand Fluctuations Impact Warehouse Size:

Demand also has an impact on warehouse size. Whenever demand fluctuates significantly or is unpredictable, inventory levels generally must be higher.This result in a need for more space and thus a larger warehouse.

WAREHOUSE LAYOUT AND DESIGN:

A good warehouse layout can increase output, improve product flow, reduce cost, improve service to customers and provide better employee working condition. The optimal warehouse layout and design for a firm will vary by the type of product being stored, the company financial resources, competitive environment and needs of customer. The warehouse manager must consider cost of trade between labor, equipment, space and information. Whatever layout the company finally selects for its warehouse it is vital that all available space be utilized as fully and efficiently as possible.

Warehouse operating principles Design criteria:

Three factors, which have to be considered in the design process, are the number of stories in the facility, height utilization and product flow. Most warehouse houses have 20-30 foot ceiling. Through the use of racking or other hardware it is possible to store product up to the building ceiling. Warehouse design should also allow for straight product flow through the facility whether items are stored or not. In general this means that product should be received at one end of the building, stored in the middle and then shipped from other end. Figure below illustrates the flow of production.Straight line product flow minimizes congestion and confusion.

Product flow

Handling technology: The second principle focuses on the effectiveness and efficiency of material handling technology. The element of this principle concern movement continuity. Movement continuity means that it is better for a movement handler to make a longer move than to have a number of handlers. Exchanging the product between handlers wastes time and increases the potential for damage. Thus, as a general rule fewer longer movements in the warehouse are preferred.

Storage plan: According to the third principles, a warehouse design should consider product characteristics, particularly those pertaining to volume, weight and storage. Product volume is a major concern when defining a warehouse storage plan. High volume sales product should be stored in a location that minimizes the distance it is moved, such as near primary aisle and in low storage racks. Such a locations minimizes travel distance. Conversely, low-volume product can be assigned locations that are distant from primary aisle or higher up in a storage rack. Relatively heavy items should be assigned to location low to the ground to minimize the effort and risk of heavy lifting. open floor space or high level racks can be used for bulky or low density product as it requires extensive storage volume. Storage plan must consider and address the specific characteristic of each product. A storage plan based on product movement, In a warehouse layout product are grouped according to their compatibility, complementarities, popularity.

1. Compatibility refers to whether products can be stored harmoniously 2. Complementarities how often product are ordered together and therefore stored together3. Popularity relates to different inventory turnover rates or demand rates of products. Items that are in greatest demand should be stored closest to shipping and receiving docks.

Good warehouse layout and design often involve the use of automated equipment, such as a conveyor system to handle large number of products packaged in a carton.

WAREHOUSE OPERATIONS

The essential processing of materials in a warehouse involves following operations:

Receiving Goods: A warehouse accepts the merchandise delivered by a transporter or an attached factory and then accepts the responsibility for this merchandise.

Identifying Goods: The appropriate stock- keeping units are identified and a record made of the number of each item received.

Sorting Goods: The economic goods are sorted out for appropriate storage area in the warehouse.

Dispatching Goods to Storage: The goods are kept aside where they can be found later, when needed.

Holding Goods: The goods are kept in storage under proper protection until needed in the warehousing.

Retrieving Selective or Packing Goods: Items ordered by customers are taken out from storage and grouped in a manner useful for the next step.

Marshalling Goods: The several items making up a single order are brought together and checked for completeness and order records are prepared or modified.

Dispatching Goods: The consolidated order is packaged suitably and directed to the right transport vehicle.

Preparing Records and Advices:

The number of orders received, the items received and on hand etc., are recorded for replenishment action and stock control.

A warehouse may be used as a physical processing station. For example, goods may be stored for aging, a form of processing. In some systems, minor assembly work, conditioning, breaking bulk, adaptive work for special requests, etc., may be carried out as a part of warehouse activity.

1) Receipt of Goods

The following operations are carried out before the acceptance of goods for storage and issue of a warehouse receipt:

• The user of the facility or depositor tenders the goods for storage.

• The technical assistant attached to the warehouse examines the goods visually to determine whether the stocks are worth storage.

• The goods are in good condition and can be stored; the depositor is required to submit an application for storage of goods, with details of his name and address, nature of the commodity, number of packages, their weight and value, etc.

• If the goods or commodities require cleaning to bring them up to an acceptable standard, this must be done by the depositor.

• The goods are sampled as per a set procedure of sampling, depending on the nature of the commodity.

• The samples so taken are analyzed as per the specifications provided by law.

• The stocks are graded on the basis of such characteristics as moisture content, foreign matter, shriveled grains dirt, etc.

• If the packages or bags of the stock are not of a standard weight, they are standardized at the warehouse.

• The bags or packages are counted, if they are standardized, before unloading from the truck and after stocking, to be doubly sure that the correct number of packages has been tendered.

• Warehouseman takes the specimen signature of the depositor or his agent for future verification on the cards kept at the warehouse.The warehouseman prepares a warehouse receipt with all the particulars, such as location of the warehouse, name of the depositor and his address, description of commodity, its quality or grade, weight, etc.

2) Storage in Warehouse

One of the fundamental features of warehousing is scientific storage and preservation of goods. In order to ensure that the quality remains the same and is well preserved, the following steps are taken:

• One of the samples obtained after a scientific sampling of the stocks is duly sealed with a signed sample slip put inside the bag and is handed over to the depositor for future verification in the event of any dispute as regards quality of the commodity.

• The warehouse is demarcated into different sections for storage of different commodities or items according to their nature. These commodities or items are accepted in the specific section meant for such goods.

• Different stacking methods are adopted, depending on the size of the packages and the duration of storage.

• Quick moving goods are stored in a separate section, generally close to the doors, and those goods which are likely to remain in storage for a long time are stored a little away.

• Gangways and operational spaces between stacks are left for necessary disinfestations operations, re-stacking, turn-over, etc.

• The goods are periodically inspected to check that there has been no damage during storage.

• If there is damage of goods or if it is found that the goods are not capable further storage, the warehouseman can take action to have them delivered.

• If the depositor indicated in the notice does not take delivery of goods within the stipulated period, the goods may be auctioned in the prescribed manner. A notice of auction will be sent to the depositor indicating the date, time and place of the auction well in advance.

3) Delivery of Goods

The delivery of goods is conditioned by the following factors:

• The goods stored in the warehouse may be delivered in one lot or in installments, as required by the depositor.

• If the depositor is given an opportunities to examine his goods before taking delivery and if he find on the time of taking delivery that the goods have been allowed to deteriorate or to get damaged, he may lodge a protest within 72 hours of his examination, and defer taking delivery. He has also to advise the licensing authority under the act for necessary investigation and redresses.

• An application for delivery of goods has to be tendered by the depositor or his authorized agent.

• The warehouse receipt is surrendered, duly discharged.

• The specimen signature is verified before delivery is made.

• The storage charges, insurance charges, etc., payable are worked out and collected before delivery is made.

• If a part delivery is required, such delivery is endorsed in the column provided for it in the warehouse receipt, and the receipt is returned to the depositor or the bank which has produced the receipt for such delivery.

• If the goods are to be delivered in full, the warehouse receipt, duly discharged, is surrendered to the warehouseman.• Necessary entries in the stack-wise register, godown register, depositor’s ledger, stock register etc. are made after delivery is made.

• The stocks are delivered against an acknowledgement of the depositor or his agent to the effect that the goods have been received in goods condition and the sample kept in the warehouse is returned to the depositor at the time of delivery.

SPACE UTILIZATION AND HANDLING 

As shown above, the warehouse operation is composed of four key work activities:

goods receipt storage picking goods dispatch

To estimate the resource requirement for the whole warehouse, one should start by estimating the requirements for each of the key work activities in turn and the level of demand. Then, the resource requirements for all activities should be combined together, taking into account the way that the activities are phased during the working day, in order to make an estimate of the total resources required.

Aspects to consider when managing Warehouse Operations

planning the workload

allocating resources

space utilization & handling,

o receiving goods;

o Storing goods.

assembling consignments

dispatching consignments

disposal of goods

pest control

security

inventory management

handling and stacking techniques

occupational health and safety

CONCLUSION

The entire area of facilities development that is size and number of warehouses, location analysis, warehouse layout and design is an important factor yet complex, part of warehouse management. In recent years, computers have played a more significant role as logistics executives attempt to optimize warehouse operations.

Thus a warehouse plays a multi-faceted role in the integrated logistic system.

Today’s Warehouse Plays a New RoleWarehouses are no longer just for storage. In today's cost-conscious, efficiency-driven environment, many manufacturers are reevaluating their definition of warehousing. Anything that doesn't lend itself to a high-speed, highly mechanized, low-labor environment is being sent to the warehouse.Driving this evolution is a desire to take links out of the supply chain and make sure that costs are optimized and as close to the customer as possible.

INNOVATIVE WAREHOUSE USES

As a result of this shift, manufacturers are gradually expanding the services they expect from their warehousing providers, seeking ways to increase flexibility, improve inventory control, manage costs, and streamline the supply chain.Three services, in particular, are drawing considerable interest:

1. Shared space environment. Companies with dramatic seasonal or promotional fluctuations face unique warehousing challenges. They don't want to invest in space that they can't fill year-round, but they must accommodate business surges. A shared space environment accommodates shipping peaks and valleys by balancing multiple manufacturers' requirements with complementary surges.

To manage this arrangement, a third-party provider analyzes shippers' space requirements and identifies peak periods of activity. Shippers with peaks at opposite times of the year can be paired in a single facility. For example, a sunscreen manufacturer might be paired with a holiday gift basket company.

The companies' operations are located at opposite ends of the building and ebb and flow toward the middle as required. Both companies are guaranteed additional overflow space, but only pay for the space as they need it. They're able to meet maximum requirements and accommodate business growth without having to invest in permanent space and equipment. Locating the facility in an optimal location also helps minimize transportation costs and maximize responsiveness to customer needs.

2. Secondary packaging. Many manufacturers also want to bring functions such as secondary packaging closer to the customer to give them the flexibility to accommodate seasonal fluctuations or delay product configuration until the last minute to meet current demand.Approximately 40 percent of manufacturers currently outsource some or all of their secondary packaging services, according to the 2009 Secondary Packaging Outsourcing Report, sponsored by Saddle Creek Corporation. Increased flexibility and reduced costs are the top benefits reported.Whether it's assembling a back-to-school point of purchase promotion, adding a colored face plate to a cell phone, shrink-wrapping a rainbow pack of sports drinks, or formatting computer disks with the latest software, outsourcing secondary packaging services allows manufacturers to meet customer needs and increase efficiency without increasing overhead. The move can also reduce transportation and labor costs, as well as costs associated with carrying and managing inventory.

3. Cross-docking. As manufacturers seek ways to move products more efficiently and cost-effectively, many are rediscovering cross-docking—moving product directly from receiving to shipping with little or no inventory and minimal handling. The process is resurfacing as a way to take costs out of the supply chain, accelerate inventory velocity, and improve service levels.While historically used for durable goods, high turn rates and reduced handling make cross-docking an effective solution for everything from perishable products to high-value/high-security goods. The process helps get product to market quickly and economically while reducing the need for warehouse space and inventory carry costs.Many companies are exploring variations on traditional, "pure" cross-docking, integrating transportation strategies such as consolidation and deconsolidation to maximize savings. For example, a company may receive inbound loads daily but ship out just twice a week, reducing transportation spend while making deliveries that meet end-user requirements.

INVOLVING A 3PLMany manufacturers are recognizing that 3PLs are often better positioned than their own internal operations to adapt to the expanded warehouse role.Experienced 3PLs offer convenient facilities with a skilled workforce, state-of-the-art equipment and facilities, and established systems and processes for peak performance. Because warehousing, packaging, and transportation operations take place under a single roof, communication and planning improve, helping to ensure performance quality and timeliness. Effective 3PLs also routinely review forecasting, scheduling, processes, equipment and other variables, looking for opportunities for improvement.Demand for specialized warehouse services will climb for the foreseeable future as manufacturers intensify their focus on core competencies. Fortunately, third-party providers can provide innovative, flexible solutions to help streamline their supply chains, increase flexibility, and better manage costs.

Companies are constantly trying to find ways to improve performance and warehouse operations is area where supply chain managers can focus to gain maximum efficiency for minimum cost. To get the most out of the operation, a number of best practices can be adopted to improve productivity and overall customer satisfaction. Although best practices vary from industry to industry and by the products shipped there are a number of best practices that can be applied to most companies.When considering the level of effort involved in warehouse operations, the greatest expenditure of effort is in the picking process. To gain efficiencies in picking the labor time to pick orders needs to be reduced and this can achieved in a number of ways. Companies with the most efficient warehouses have the most frequently picked items closest to the shipping areas to minimize picking time. These companies achieve their competitive advantage by constantly reviewing their sales data to ensure that the items are stored close to the shipping area are still the most frequently picked.

THE NUMBER OF WAREHOUSES

The number of warehouses is another decision parameter impacting a number of cost variables and customer service. If customer service is taken in cost terms as cost of customer dissatisfaction, the number of warehouses will affect transportation, inventory, warehousing and customer dissatisfaction costs.

Transportation costs initially decreases with increasing number of warehouses. This is due to the transportation economics obtained by having large-volume long-range transportation from consolidation warehouses and short-range small-volume transportation from break-bulk warehouses. However, as the number of warehouses increases beyond a certain value, the transportation costs starts increasing due to large number of transportation trips in – between the larger numbers of warehouses. Inventory costs continuously increases with the increasing number of warehouses beyond the increased space available needs to be utilized and firms increase the commitment of inventory at these warehouses beyond those actually needed. Transit inventory costs continuously decrease with the increased number of warehouses due to the shorter transportation times between the larger number of warehouses. The warehousing costs increase with more warehouses due to the maintenance and facility costs associated with each warehouse. For the same space, a single warehouse incurs less warehousing cost than two warehouses.

The increasing number of warehousing leads to increasing customer service levels, thus, decreasing customer dissatisfaction cost.