Warehouse Functions

A. Movement: Receiving, In-storage handling and shipping.

(a)    Receiving-Activities involved are

–          Unloading the transportation vehicle, which in most cases is done manually.

–          In Indian context, limited automated and mechanized methods have ben developed that are suitable to varying product characteristics.

–          The product is hand-stacked on pallets to form unit load for movement efficiency.

(b) In-storage handling

–          On receipt of the product, the merchandise is transferred within the warehouse to position for storage or order selection.

–          On receipt of order, the required products are accumulated and transported to a shipping area.

–           The entire operation helps in selection process for grouping materials, parts, and products into customers’ orders.

(c) Shipping

–          Involves checking and loading orders onto transportation vehicles.

–          Shipping in unit loads leads to considerable saving of time in loading the vehicle.

–          Checking is important at a point when merchandise changes ownership as a result of shipment.

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B. Storage: can be either planned or extended.

(a) Planned storage

–          Storage for basic inventory replenishment is referred to as a planned storage.

–          Duration varies depending on the performance cycle length.

(b) Extended storage

–          Sometimes storage may be required for several months prior to customer shipment.

–          Seasonal items require storage to wait for demand or to spread supply across time.

–          Erratic demand, product conditioning, speculative purchases and discounts call for extended storage.