Nowadays in business world Essay Example

as simple as the number of floors or something as complex as the computer system used. But whatever causes them to be unique, distribution logistics must be taken into account when designing any service which utilizes warehouse distribution”. (Gordon, n. d. ) Types of Warehouse Private WarehousesPrivate warehouses are owned and supervised by the traders and manufacturers to store their own stock of goods are called “private warehouses”.

In general, these storage warehouses are built by the farmers adjacent to their fields. On the other hand, wholesalers built their warehouses for retailers near their business centres and for manufacturers near their factories. However, the design of the warehouse and the services provided therein are according to the size nature of goods to be stored. Public WarehousesThe storage warehouses which are run to store product of the general public are called public warehouses.

In these types of storage warehouses any one can store his merchandise in these warehouses on payment of rent. A partnership firm, a person, and an organization may own these storage warehouses. Nonetheless, to setup such storage warehouse a license from the government is a mandatory requirement. Government Warehouses Government storage warehouses are controlled, supervised and owned by the state or central governments or local authorities.In addition, both private and government enterprises may use these storage warehouses to store their products.

Central Warehousing Corporation of India, State Warehousing Corporation and Food Corporation of India are instances of agencies maintaining government warehouses. Bonded Warehouses Bonded storage warehouses are controlled, managed and supervised by private as well as government agencies. To operate storage warehouse a private bonded storage warehouse has to attain a license from

the government. Bonded storage warehouses are used to stock imported product for which import duty is yet to be paid.However, incase of imported products often importers are not granted to take away the goods from the ports until the duty is paid. Co-operative Warehouses These storage warehouses are owned, supervised and controlled by co-operative societies.

They render storage warehousing services at the most economical rates to the members of their society. Choosing Right Site for Locating a Warehouse or Distribution Center “Hosing the right site for locating a warehouse or distribution center (DC) is a key challenge for any business.Numerous factors -- such as access to transportation, an available worker pool, community support, and environmental regulations -- converge to make a certain location a prime spot for meeting one company's transportation and distribution goals, while sounding a death knell for another's” (Moses, 2005) Problems Associated with Storage Warehouses External Is your company’s storage warehouse in located in a correct place to meet the service requirements of your customers and business partners? In today’s world of business distribution networks have gone through changes as many organizations have revised and refocused their business strategies.Internal “Do you have too many orders shipped incomplete or which must be held too long in order to receive missing inventory items? Are these distribution problems, sales forecast problems, purchasing problems, order problems, sales personnel not knowing their customers orders plans, or other problem? Or is it a combination of these problems, each contributing to the total problem? Are your operations in a constant crisis/expedite situation? If so, why? It is almost mandatory now to have a warehouse management system, which should include

bar-coding, for accurate inventory information.It should be a system which helps manage the day-to-day activities and to manage the overall performance of each warehouse.

And, very importantly, it should be integrated into the company system for orders, sales, manufacturing, purchasing and accounting. Other problems include safety and security issues, proper goods management issues and so forth”. (Craig, 2003) Warehouse Process The different parts of the storage warehouses process involve, goods receiving and unpacking, storing, picking and methods of picking, and organization of warehouse activities.Characteristics of Ideal Warehouses We have discussed above various types of warehouses.

In each of these storage warehouses sufficient arrangements should be made to keep the storage goods in good conditions. In this regard, any storage warehouse is said be a perfect storage warehouse if it owns certain characteristics, which are given below: o Storage warehouses should be situated at a suitable place near stations, airports, highways, railway and seaports where goods can be loaded and unloaded easily. o Mechanical gadgets should be there to loading and unloading the goods.This cuts down the wastages in handling and also it drops handling costs.

o Sufficient space should be available inside the premises to keep the goods in good order. Storage warehouses meant for conservation of spoilable items such as honey, fruits, vegetables and so forth. Must have cold storage facilities. o Suitable arrangement should be there to protect the goods from pests, rain, wind, dust, sunlight and so on.

o Adequate parking space should be available inside the building which helps in prompt loading and unloading of goods.Warehouse Management System and its Essentials “Managing a warehouse is not necessarily a very easy task.

To be highly successful in this dynamic and exciting market and business environment, it is very crucial to evaluate each and every function of the business. The company must arm itself with state-of-the-art warehouse management systems. The warehouse management system must quickly and cost-effectively integrate the functionality required to solve the challenges of the business, with the ability to adapt to changing requirements and technologies.The warehouse management systems help in various aspects like picking, packing, receiving, shipping, inventory control and audits.

Warehouse management is the technique of supervising the receiving, handling, storing, moving, packaging, and distributing of materials in and around the warehouse. They deal in finished goods and involve functions such as cross-reference lists and warehouse master records. On the other hand, there are other tasks such as allocation of the goods, transfer in process, safety of stock.The storage warehouse management system should provide best-of-breed solutions to maximize functional efficiency and boost output. It should cuts cost to advance the bottom line.

In today's world of business storage warehouse management systems should have intelligent work guidance modules simpatico with RFID technology to provide cut down labor costs, amplified productivity, better space usage and great correctness”. Moreover, the storage warehouse management system should be simpatico with the organization’s present information system”. (Warehouse Management - Get the Edge!, n. d. ) Functions of Storage Warehouses Storage of Goods The primary function of storage warehouse is to store big stock of goods. These goods are stored from the time of their production or purchase till their utilization.

Protection of Goods A good storage warehouse provides safety to goods from damage or loss due to wind, heat, dust

and moisture and so forth. Furthermore, it makes especial arrangements for various goods according to their size and nature. A good storage warehouse also cuts down losses due to spoilage and wastage during storage. Risk BearingStorage warehouse take over the risks incidental to storage of products.

Once products are delivered to the warehouse-keeper for storage purpose, the entire responsibility of these goods goes on to the warehouse-keeper. Hence, the risk of damage and loss to commodities in storage is assumed by the storage warehouse keeper. As it is bound to return the goods in good condition, the storage warehouse becomes answerable for any loss, pilferage, theft or damage, etc. Financing When goods are banked in any storage warehouse, the depositor of goods gets a receipt, which acts as an evidence about the deposit of trade good.

The storage warehouse can also issue a document in favor of the owner of the goods, which is known as storage warehouse-keeper’s warrant. This warrant is a document of title and may be transferred by simple endorsement and delivery. Processing Some goods are not consumed in the form they are produced. Processing is required to make them consumable. For instance, timber is seasoned, fruits are ripened, and paddy is polished. Thus in that cases sometimes owner of storage warehouse also undertake these actions on behalf of the owners.

Grading and BrandingOn demand storage warehouse also perform grading and branding of goods on behalf of the importer of goods, manufacturer, and wholesaler. It also provides services for mixing, blending and packaging of products for easy handling and sale. Transportation In some cases storage warehouse also provide transport arrangement to the bulk

depositors. It gathers products from the place of manufacturing and also sends products to the place of delivery on request of the depositors.

(Not Available, n. d. ) Warehouse Security Issues “The significance of storage warehouse security has increased dramatically during the past decades.Businesses have begun to understand that they can gain cost efficiencies by including security practices in storage warehouse design. Many older storage warehouses have made changes geared toward defending employees.

These include employee identification equipment at building entrances, and accessible intercom systems so employees can immediately report unusual activity from anywhere on the property. In newer warehouses, traditional perimeter security is beefed up with fencing, infrared beam detectors, motion sensors, and sophisticated camera systems. Government, safety, and industry regulations also drive security requirements.From climate-controlled spaces, to tamper-proof packing zones and storage areas for flammable or aerosol products, warehouse owners are now required to provide secured space for specific types of inventory.

Delivery and shipping areas also must include space to check unbroken bar codes over box seams, or scan thermal seals on food shipments. New warehouses are designed to accommodate these procedures”. (Moses, 2005) Conclusion The rise in global activities has rapidly increased the logistics systems all over the world and the circumstances demand complete awareness about the warehousing significance and requirements.As the warehousing is very critical segment in logistics operations the warehousing procedure must be followed very carefully to complete successful logistics operation. The ignorance of the principles can bring much harm to the sender or exporter and can delay the logistics.

Therefore one can say that proper warehousing guarantees the accuracy of the logistics system.ReferencesCraig Thomas (2003), Journal Article Warehousing---Location,

Location, Location Gordon Petten, (n. d. ) Jounal Article, Distribution Logistics and Warehouse Distribution Moses Dave, (May, 2005), Journal Article, Building a Better Warehouse Not Available http://www. nos.

org/Secbuscour/cc11. pdf Accessed, June 22, 2007 Peter Baker, (2007) International Journal Article, An exploration of warehouse automation implementations: cost, service and flexibility issues, Vol. 12 Sanders, Nada R, Ritzman, Larry P, (2004) Journal of Business Logistics, Using Warehouse Workforce Flexibility to Offset Forecast Errors Warehouse Management - Get the Edge! http://ceosedge. com/warehouse-management/ Accessed, June 22, 2007