Unit four Warehousing.docx

Unit four Warehousing.docx

《Unit four Warehousing.docx》由会员分享，可在线阅读，更多相关《Unit four Warehousing.docx（28页珍藏版）》请在冰豆网上搜索。

UnitfourWarehousing

UnitFourWarehousing

PartOneText

FunctionsandBenefitsofWarehousing

Warehousingisanintegralpartofeverylogisticssystem.Itplaysavitalroleinprovidingadesiredlevelofcustomerserviceatthelowestpossibletotalcost.Thewarehousingactivityisthelinkbetweentheproducerandthecustomer.Overtheyears,warehousinghasevolvedfromarelativelyminorfacetofafirm’slogisticssystemtooneofitsmostimportantfunctions.Wecandefinewarehousingasthatpartofafirm’slogisticssystemthatstoresproducts（rawmaterials,parts,goods-in-process,finishedgoods）atandbetweenpoints-of-originandpoint-of-consumption,andprovidesinformationtomanagementonthestatus,condition,anddispositionofitemsbeingstored.Warehousingcanbeprovidedbyeitherdistributioncentersorwarehouseswhicharetypicallyviewedasplacestoholdorstoreinventory.Thediscussionsinthischapterarerelevantforunderstandingwarehousingrangingfromfunctionsofwarehousing,itseconomicandservicebenefits,theownershiparrangement,tootherconsiderationsanddecisionsforwarehouses.

FunctionsofWarehousing

Warehousinghasthreebasicfunctions:

movement,storage,andinformationtransfer.Themovementfunctioncanbefurtherdividedintofourhandlingactivities:

receiving,transfer,orderselectionandshipping.Thereceivingactivityincludesthephysicalunloadingofproductsfromthetransportationcarrier.Italsoincludestheupdatingofwarehouseinventoryrecords,inspectionfordamage,andverificationofthemerchandisecountagainstordersandshippingrecords.Transferinvolvesthephysicalmovementoftheproductintothewarehouseforstorage,movementtoareasforspecializedservicessuchasconsolidation,andmovementtoout-boundshipment.Customerorderselectionisthemajormovementactivityandinvolvesregroupingproductsintotheassortmentcustomerdesires.Thelastmovementactivity,shipping,consistsofproductstagingandphysicallymovingtheassembledordersintocarrierequipment,adjustinginventoryrecords,andcheckingonorderstobeshipped.

Thesecondfunctionofwarehousing---storage---canbeperformedonatemporaryorsemi-permanentbasis.Temporarystorageemphasizesthemovementfunctionofthewarehouseandincludesonlythestorageofproductnecessaryforbasicinventoryreplenishment.Temporarystorageisrequiredregardlessoftheactualinventoryturnover.Theextentoftemporaryinventorystoragedependsonthedesignofthelogisticssystemandthevariabilityexperiencedinleadtimeanddemand.Semi-permanentstorageisthestorageofinventoryinexcessofthatrequiredfornormalreplenishment.Itcanalsobereferredtoasbufferorsafetystock.Themostcommonconditionsleadingtosemi-permanentstorageare

（1）seasonaldemand

（2）erraticdemand（3）conditioningofproductssuchasfruitsandmeat（4）speculation,and（5）specialdeals,suchasquantitydiscounts.

Informationtransfer,thethirdmajorfunctionofwarehousing,occurssimultaneouslywiththemovementandstoragefunctions.Managementalwaysneedstimelyandaccurateinformationasitattemptstoadministerthewarehousingactivity.Informationoninventorylevels,throughputlevels,stock-keepinglocations,inboundandoutboundshipments,customerdata,facilityspaceutilization,andpersonnelisvitaltothesuccessfuloperationofpublicorprivatewarehouses.

EconomicandServiceBenefitsofWarehousing

Traditionally,theintroductionofwarehousingintoasupplychainisregardedasanetincreaseinthetotalcostsofconductingbusiness,thenwhyiswarehousingstilldesirableandindispensable1?

Benefitsrealizedfromstrategicwarehousingareclassifiedaseconomicandservice.Nowarehousingshouldbeincludedinalogisticalsystemunlessitisfullyjustifiedonsomecombinationofcostandservice⒉Theeconomicbenefitsofconsolidationandbreak-bulkaretoreducetransportationcostbyusingwarehousecapabilitytogroupshipments.Inconsolidation,thewarehousereceivesmaterials,fromanumberofsources,whicharecombinedinexactquantitiesintoalargesingleshipmenttoaspecificdestination.Thebenefitsofconsolidationsaretherealizationofthelowestpossiblefreightrate,timelyandcontrolleddelivery,andreducedcongestionatacustomer’sreceivingdock⒊Abreak-bulkoperationreceivesasingleshipmentandarrangesfordeliverytomultipledestinations.Thebreak-bulkwarehouseorterminalsortsorsplitsoutindividualordersandarrangeslocaldelivery⒋Bothconsolidationandbreak-bulkarrangementsusewarehousecapacitytoimprovetransportationefficiency.Figure1illustrateseachactivity.

Consolidation

PlantA

PlantBConsolidationwarehousesABC

PlantC

Break-Bulk

CustomerA

PlantABreak-bulkwarehouseCustomerB

CustomerC

Figure1

Thedirecteconomicbenefitofstorageistoaccommodateseasonalproductionordemand.Forexample,lawnfurnitureandtoysaretypicallyproducedyear-roundbutaresoldonlyduringaveryshortmarketingperiod.Incontrast,agriculturalproductsareharvestedatspecifictimes,withsubsequentconsumptionoccurringthroughouttheyear.Bothsituationsrequireinventorystoragetosupportmarketingefforts⒌Storageprovidesabuffer,whichallowsproductionefficiencieswithintheconstraintsimposedbymaterialsourcesandconsumers⒍

Warehousecanprovideservicesthatenhancetop-linerevenuegrowth⒎Thedemandforhighlycustomizedservicehastransformedmoderndistributionwarehousesintofacilitiesthatspecializeinperformingvalue-addedservices⒏Avalue-addedserviceisanyworkthatcreatesagreatervalueforcustomers.Value-addedservicestypicallychangethephysicalfeaturesorconfigurationofproductssotheyarepresentedtocustomersinauniqueorcustomizedmanner.Warehousescanpostponefinalproductconfigurationbycompletingpackaging,labeling,andevenlightmanufacturing.Forexample,vegetablescanbeprocessedandcannedinbrightsattheprocessingplants.Brightsarecanswithoutlabels⒐Holdinginventoryasbrightsmeansthatproductisnotcommittedtospecificcustomersorcartonconfigurationduringprocessing.Onceaspecificcustomerorderisreceived,thewarehousecancompletelabelingandfinalizepackaging.Examplesofpostponementrangefrompackagingpharmaceuticalstocustomizingappliances.

WarehouseOwnershipArrangements

Warehousesaretypicallyclassifiedbasedonownership.Aprivatewarehouseisoperatedbytheenterprisethatownsthemerchandisehandledandstoredinthefacility.Apublicwarehouse,incontrast,isoperatedasanindependentbusinessofferingarangeofforhireservices,suchasstorage,handling,andtransportation⒑Publicwarehouseoperatorsgenerallyofferamenuofrelativelystandardizedservicestocustomers.Contractwarehousing,whichisacustomizedextensionofpublicwarehousing,combinesthebenefitsofprivateandforhirewarehousing.Contractwarehousingisalong-termbusinessarrangementthatprovidesauniqueortailoredlogisticsservicesforalimitednumberofcustomers.Theclientandthewarehouseoperatortypicallysharetherisksassociatedwiththeoperation.Theimportantdifferencesbetweencontractandpublicwarehouseoperatorsaretheanticipatedlengthoftherelationship,degreeofexclusiveorcustomizedservices,andsharedincorporationofbenefitsandrisks.

WarehouseManagementSystems

Thedevelopmentofworkproceduresgoeshardinhandwithtrainingwarehousepersonnel⒒MostfirmsdependuponaWarehouseManagementSystem（WMS）⒓tostandardizeworkproceduresandencouragebestpractice.Itismanagement’sresponsibilitytoseethatallpersonnelunderstandandusetheseprocedures.

WMSalsocoordinatesworkproceduresthatareimportantforreceivingandshipping.Establishedproceduresforreceivingandensuringproductentryintoinventoryrecordsarecritical.Ifpalletsareused,themerchandisemustbestackedinappropriatepatternstoensuremaximumloadstabilityandconsistentcasecounts⒔Personnelworkinginshippingmusthaveknowledgeoftrailerloadingpractice.Inspecifictypesofoperations,particularlywhenmerchandisechangesownership,itemsmustbecheckedduringloading.

Workproceduresarenotrestrictedtofloorpersonnel.Proceduresmustbeestablishedforadministrationandmaintenance.Replenishmentofwarehouseinventorycancauseoperationalproblemsifproperorderingproceduresarelacking.Normally,thereislimitedinteractionbetweenbuyersandwarehousepersonnel,althoughsuchcommunicationisimprovingwithinintegratedsupplychainmanagementorganizations.Buyerstendtopurchaseinquantitiesthataffordthebestprice,andlittleattentionisgiventopalletcompatiblequantitiesoravailablewarehousespace⒕Ideallybuyersshouldcoordinatewithwarehousepersonnelbeforecommissioninglargeordersorintroducingnewproducts.Theexperienceofsomecompanieshasforcedmanagementtorequirebuyerstopredeterminewarehousespaceassignmentpriortoordering.Anotherpotentialproblemisthequantityofcasesordered.Thegoalistopurchaseinpallet-multiplequantities⒖Forexample,ifaproductisideallystackedonpalletsina50-casepattern,thebuyershouldorderinmultiplesof50.Ifanorderisplacedfor120cases,uponarrivalthecaseswillfilltwopalletsplus20onathirdpallet.Theextra20caseswillrequirethewarehousecubicspacetypicallyusedforapalletof50andwillrequirethesameamountofmaterialshandlingcapacitytomove.

WarehouseDecisionsandConsiderations

Thebasicconceptthatwarehousesprovideasanenclosureformaterialstorageandhandlingrequiresdetaile