A warehouse is a commercial building used for the storage of goods. Warehouses are often large, plain buildings located in industrial areas of cities, towns, and villages. They are used by a variety of businesses, including manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, and transport companies. Warehouses typically have loading docks to facilitate the loading and unloading of goods from trucks, and may also be designed for the loading and unloading of goods from railways, airports, or seaports. They often have cranes and forklifts to move goods around the warehouse, and may use pallet racks to store goods on standardized pallets. Stored goods can include raw materials, packing materials, spare parts, components, or finished products associated with agriculture, manufacturing, and production. In Indian English, a warehouse may be referred to as a "godown."
Warehouse function
Warehouses have been an important part of the urban landscape for many centuries, and have evolved along with the changing needs of industry and commerce. In the past, warehouses were often lavishly decorated, reflecting their importance and the wealth of the businesses that owned them. Today, warehouses are more functional in design, and are typically used to facilitate the efficient movement of goods along the supply chain. They allow for the optimization of transportation and inventory management, and provide storage for goods that require a period of maturation before they are ready for sale. Warehouses play a crucial role in the global economy, and are an essential part of the infrastructure that allows businesses to operate efficiently and effectively.
Display of goods for sale
In addition to their practical uses, warehouses can also be used to display goods for sale to the public. In the past, many warehouses were designed with impressive street frontage, incorporating architectural styles such as the Italianate palazzo style, to attract customers and showcase the goods that were available for purchase. For example, Richard Cobden's construction in Manchester's Mosley Street was the first palazzo-style warehouse, and inspired the Germans in Düsseldorf and Munich to name their prestigious department stores "Warenhäuser." Today, warehouses may still be used to display goods for sale, although the emphasis is typically on functional design rather than grand architectural styles.
Overseas warehouses
Overseas warehouses, also known as foreign warehouses or off-shore warehouses, are facilities located outside of a company's home country. These warehouses play a crucial role in the global trade network by providing a convenient location for storing and distributing goods to international markets. Overseas warehouses are typically located near major ports or transportation hubs, making it easy to transport goods to and from the warehouse. This can help companies save time and money by reducing the need for long-distance transportation of goods. In addition to storing and distributing goods, overseas warehouses may also provide value-added services, such as labeling, repackaging, and other activities that help prepare goods for international markets. Overall, overseas warehouses play a key role in enabling companies to efficiently and effectively access international markets.
Packing warehouses
Packing warehouses are facilities where goods are prepared for shipment. These warehouses play a crucial role in the global trade network by ensuring that goods are properly packaged and labeled for shipment to their destination. Packing warehouses may be used for a variety of goods, including consumer products, industrial goods, and agricultural products. In a packing warehouse, goods are typically inspected for quality and then packed into containers or other packaging materials for shipment. The packing process may involve a variety of tasks, such as labeling, wrapping, and securing the goods to prevent damage during transport. Packing warehouses may also include facilities for loading the packaged goods onto trucks, trains, ships, or other modes of transportation.
Railway warehouses
Railway warehouses, also known as railyards or marshalling yards, are typically built close to major railway stations and hubs. These warehouses are used for storing and sorting rail cars and cargo, and they play a crucial role in the efficient operation of a railway network. Railway warehouses are typically large facilities that are designed to accommodate the movement and storage of large numbers of rail cars and cargo containers. The layout of a railway warehouse may include tracks for sorting and organizing rail cars, as well as loading and unloading areas for cargo. In addition to storage and sorting, railway warehouses may also include facilities for maintenance and repair of rail cars, as well as offices and other support services.
Storage and shipping systems
Some of the most common warehouse storage systems are:
- Pallet racking including selective, drive-in, drive-thru, double-deep, pushback, and gravity flow
- Mezzanine (architecture)|Mezzanine adds a semi-permanent storey of storage within a warehouse
- AS/RS|Vertical Lift Modules are packed systems with vertically arranged trays stored on both sides of the unit.
- AS/RS|Horizontal Carousels consist of a frame and a rotating carriage of bins.
- AS/RS|Vertical Carousels consisting of a series of carriers mounted on a vertical closed-loop track, inside a metal enclosure.
Piece Pick
In a piece pick operation, the picker is responsible for selecting individual products from the warehouse and placing them into the appropriate container. This is typically done using a pick module, which is a designated area of the warehouse where the picking process takes place. The pick module may include shelves, bins, or other storage systems where the products are stored, as well as handling equipment such as carts, totes, or other containers for holding the picked items. The picker uses the WMS to determine which products to pick, and follows the appropriate pick method to ensure that the items are selected and placed into the container correctly. Once the container is full, it is typically transported to the shipping area for final processing and shipment to the customer.
Automation and optimization
Optimization of a warehouse often involves finding the optimal balance between automation and manual labor. Fully automated warehouses can be highly efficient, but they can also be expensive to set up and maintain. In many cases, a combination of automated and manual processes may be the most effective approach. For example, a warehouse may use automated conveyor systems to transport pallets and other large items, while relying on human pickers to select and package smaller items for shipment.
Proper slotting of a warehouse is also important for optimization. By determining the most efficient storage locations for different products, a warehouse can improve its inventory rotation and control labor costs. Slotting may involve using different storage media, such as pallet racking or carton flow, and different picking methods, such as pick-to-light or pick-to-voice systems. In addition, a warehouse may use software tools such as a Warehouse Management System (WMS) to help optimize its operations and improve efficiency. Overall, the goal of optimization in a warehouse is to maximize efficiency and productivity while minimizing costs and ensuring that products are stored and handled properly.
Modern trends
Modern warehouses commonly use a system of wide aisle pallet racking to store goods which can be loaded and unloaded using forklift trucks.
Traditional warehousing has declined since the last decades of the 20th century, with the gradual introduction of Just In Time (business)|Just In Time techniques. The JIT system promotes product delivery directly from suppliers to consumer without the use of warehouses. However, with the gradual implementation of offshore outsourcing and offshoring in about the same time period, the distance between the manufacturer and the retailer (or the parts manufacturer and the industrial plant) grew considerably in many domains, necessitating at least one warehouse per country or per region in any typical supply chain for a given range of products.
Recent retailing trends have led to the development of Warehouse stores. These high-ceiling buildings display retail goods on tall, heavy duty industrial racks rather than conventional retail shelving. Typically, items ready for sale are on the bottom of the racks, and crated or palletized inventory is in the upper rack. Essentially, the same building serves as both warehouse and retail store.
Another trend relates to Vendor-managed inventory (VMI). This gives the vendor the control to maintain the level of stock in the store. This method has its own issue that the vendor gains access to the warehouse.
Large exporters and manufacturers use warehouses as distribution points for developing retail outlets in a particular region or country. This concept reduces end cost to the consumer and enhances the production sale ratio.
Cross docking is a specialised type of distribution center (DC) in that little or no inventory is stored and product is received, processed (if needed) and shipped within a short timeframe. As in warehousing, there are different types of cross docks.
Reverse logistics is another type of warehousing that has become popular for environmental reasons. The term refers to items that are going from the end user back to the distributor or manufacturer.
Another modern trend is for warehouses is raving.
Cool warehouses and cold storage
Cold storage preserves agricultural products. Refrigerated storage helps in eliminating sprouting, Decomposition Edible products are generally not stored for more than one year. Several perishable products require a storage temperature as low as −25 °C.
Cold storage helps stabilize market prices and evenly distribute goods both on demand basis and time basis. The farmers get the opportunity of producing cash crops to get remunerative prices. The consumers get the supply of perishable commodities with lower fluctuation of prices.
Ammonia and Freon compressors are commonly used in cold storage warehouses to maintain the temperature. Ammonia refrigerant is cheaper, easily available and has a high latent heat of evaporation but it is also highly toxic and can form an explosive mixture when mixed with oil containing high percentage of carbon. Building insulation|Insulation is also important, to reduce loss of cold and to keep different sections of the warehouse at different temperatures.
There are two main types of refrigeration system used in cold storage warehouses, a Vapor absorption refrigeration|Vapour absorption system (VAS) and Vapor-compression refrigeration|Vapour compression system (VCS). VAS, although comparatively costlier, is quite economical in operation and adequately compensates the higher initial investment.
The temperature necessary for Food preservation|preservation depends on the storage time required and the type of product. In general, there are three groups of products, foods that are alive (e.g. fruits and vegetables), foods that are no longer alive and have been processed in some form (e.g. meat and fish products), and commodities that benefit from storage at controlled temperature (e.g. beer, tobacco).
Location is a very critical aspect for the success of cold storage. It should be in close proximity of a growing area as well as a market, be easily accessible for heavy vehicles, and have uninterrupted power supply.
Cold storage and the law
There are state and local laws that regulate the cold storage industry, requiring safe working conditions for employees, and operational procedures must be in accordance with these laws. Companies that are aware of and comply with applicable regulations are more likely to pass inspection, avoid notices of violation, and will be able to continue operating at full capacity, ensuring greater customer service and uninterrupted product flow.