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Warehouse is an essential
limb of an industrial unit. It is the depository of all
materials required by an industrial unit and supplies materials
as when required. Different types of materials are required for
different operations in a production unit.
Warehouse is a storage structure constructed for the protection
of the quality and quantity of the stored produce.
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The need for a
warehouse arises due to the time gap between
production and consumption of products. Warehousing or
storage refers to the holding and preservation of
goods until they are despatched to the consumers.
By bridging this gap, storage creates time utility.
There is a need for storing the goods so as to make
them available to buyers as and when required.
Storage enables a firm to carry on production in
anticipation of demand in |
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future. Warehouses
enables the businessmen to carry on production throughout
the year and sell their products, whenever there is adequate
demand. Need for warehouses arises also because some goods
are produced only in a particular season but are demanded
throughout the year. Similarly, certain products are
produced throughout the year but demanded only during a
particular season. |
Types of Warehouses:
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Warehouse is the
most common type of storage though other forms do exist
(e.g., storage tanks, computer server farms). Some
warehouses are massive structures that simultaneously
support the unloading of numerous in-bound trucks and
railroad cars containing suppliers’ products while at the same time loading
multiple trucks for shipment to customers. |
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There are Five types of warehouses :
Private Warehouse : This
type of warehouse is owned and operated by channel suppliers and
resellers and used in their own distribution activity. For
instance, a major retail chain may have several regional
warehouses supplying their stores or a wholesaler will operate a
warehouse at which it receives and distributes products.
Public Warehouse : The
public warehouse is essentially space that can be leased to
solve short-term distribution needs. Retailers that operate
their own private warehouses may occasionally seek additional
storage space if their facilities have reached capacity or if
they are making a special, large purchase of products. For
example, retailers may order extra merchandise to prepare for
in-store sales or order a large volume of a product that is
offered at a low promotional price by a supplier.
Automated Warehouse : With
advances in computer and robotics technology, many warehouses
now have automated capabilities. The level of automation ranges
from a small conveyor belt transporting products in a small area
all the way up to a fully automated facility where only a few
people are needed to handle storage activity for thousands of
pounds/kilograms of product. In fact, many warehouses use
machines to handle nearly all physical distribution activities
such as moving product-filled pallets (i.e., platforms that hold
large amounts of product) around buildings that may be several
stories tall and the length of two or more football fields.
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Climate-Controlled Warehouse :
Warehouses handle storage of many types of products including
those that need special handling conditions such as freezers for
storing frozen products, humidity-controlled environments for
delicate products, such as produce or flowers, and dirt-free
facilities for handling highly sensitive computer products.
Distribution Center : There
are some warehouses where product storage is
considered a very temporary activity. These
warehouses serve as points in the |
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distribution
system at which products are received from many
suppliers and quickly shipped out to many customers. In
some cases, such as with distribution centers handling
perishable food (e.g., produce), most of the product
enters in the early morning and is distributed by the
end of the day. |
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