Warehouse Management

Warehouse & Inventory Management

What is a Warehouse ?
Under the Warehousing(Development and Regulation) Act, 2007, warehouse has been defined : - as any premises(including any protected place), - confirming to all the requirements, - including manpower specified by the Authority by regulations, - wherein the warehouseman takes custody of the goods deposited by the depositor and - includes a place of storage of goods under controlled conditions of temperature and humidity.

Introduction-Warehousing
Holding or preserving goods in huge quantities from time of their purchase or production till their actual use or sale. Bridges gap between production and consumption of goods. Need for storage arises both for raw material as well as finished products. Storage in large scale & in specified manner is Warehousing.

 Warehouses built in all shapes and sizes. Form facilities of 1000 sq.ft storage & handling Large scale intensive installations 1,00,000 pallet-plus range. Conventional Warehousing Racking and shelving with fok-lift or even manual opeations. Modern Warehousing Fully automated systems with conveyors and automated

How a Warehouse Should be ?

In the Warehouse certain specific parameters has to be maintain which provides easy and fast handling of the stored cargo / goods. The plinth level to be constructed at a certain specific height, the floor of the warehouse to be constructed with some specific materials and type with a certain load bearing capacity, the clear height of the warehouse should be specific. There should be proper ventilation majors should be maintain at the time of operation inside the warehouse.

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It should be properly well equipped with proper equipments to protect the stored cargo / goods inside the warehouse from any untoward incidents. The warehouse should be constructed in such a fashion that modern equipments / machineries can be used inside the warehouse for storing and handling of the cargo / goods. The warehouse should be constructed in such a fashion that availability of natural light inside should be proper which reduces the consumption of electricity. Some basic facilities are required inside the warehouse for the staff and workers working in the warehouse should be there.

Traditional Fortlifts Vs AGVs

Conventional Fortlifts Controlled by Human Beings Operated by only during work hours by taking break. Time wastage occurs and possibility of late deliveries.

Automated Guided Vehicles Controlled by the laser scanner guidance system AGVs can operate 24/7 without taking a break Reduce time wasted waiting for late deliveries

Need for Warehousing

Issues affecting Warehousing

Market & Product base Stability - Long term
market potential for growth, space for prospective expansion.

Type of Materials to be handled -

can include raw materials, WIP, OEM Auto spare parts,packaging materials and finished goods

1.Warehouse Facility: a. Type b. Size c. Location 4. Inventory & its Location.

Sequence of Warehousing Decisions

Ownership

Private

Public

How many Centralized What Size Where (Location) Interior Layout What Products, Where Decentalized

Types of Warehouses
Private Warehouse

Public Warehouse

Govt. Warehouse

BBonded Warehouse

Co-operative Warehouse

Private Warehouse
Users : Owned and managed by the manufacturers or traders to store, exclusively, their own stock of goods. Example : Constructed by the farmers near their fields, by wholesalers and retailers near their business centres and by manufacturers near their factories. Designed & Facilities : According to the nature of products to be stored.

Public Warehouses
Users : To store goods of general public.Users has to pay rent. Owners : May be an individual, a partnership firm or a company . Example : manufacturers, wholesalers,exporters, importers, government agencies, etc. Regulated by : To start such warehouses a licence from the government is required. The government also regulates the functions and operations of these warehouses.

Government Warehouses
Users : Both government and private enterprises may use these warehouses to store their goods Owners : Owned, managed and controlled by central or state governments or public corporations or local authorities Example : Central Warehousing Corporation of India, State Warehousing Corporation and Food Corporation of India

Bonded Warehouses
Purpose : To store imported goods for which import duty is yet to be paid. Owners : Owned, managed and controlled by government as well as private agencies. Private bonded warehouses have to obtain licence from the government. Example : Generally owned by dock authorities and found near the ports.

Co-operative Warehouses
Owners : Owned, managed and controlled by cooperative societies. Users : Warehousing facilities at the most economical rates to the members of their society.

Functions of Warehouses
Receiving-This includes the physical unloading of incoming transport, checking, recording of receipts, and deciding where the received goods are to be put away in the warehouse Inspection- Quality and quantity check of the incoming goods for their required characteristics. Repacking - materials have to be pre packed in unit loads/pallet loads suitable for storage. Put away Binning and storing the goods in their respective locations including the temp locations from the receiving docking area. Storage Binning the approved material in their respective locations. Order-Order picking / selection Picking often involves break bulk operations, when goods are received from suppliers in, say, whole pallet quantities, but ordered by customers in less than pallet quantity.

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Sortation This enable goods coming into a warehouse to be sorted into specific customer orders immediately on arrival. The goods then go directly to order collation. Packing and shipping Picked goods as per the customer order are consolidated and packed according to customer order requirement. It is shipped according to customer orders and respective destinations. Cross-docking Move products directly from receiving to the shipping dock these products are not at all stored in the specific locations. Replenishing This is the movement of goods in larger order quantities, for example a whole pallet at a time , from reserve storage to order picking, to ensure that order picking locations do not become empty. Maintaining stock

Factors affecting no: of Warehouses

Graph showing Total Cost on Number of Warehouses