Warehouse Management

Warehousing Today

Did the advent of just-in-time or on-demand manufacturing and delivery render warehouses passé, at least as bulk-storage facilities? No. With e-commerce sales, overseas production and consumers who want quick gratification, warehouses remain – and will continue to be – essential parts of the supply chain.

Stock storage, which is warehousing’s main raison d’être, fulfills many needs: It helps merchandisers meet consumers’ demand for variable, seasonal, immediately available products; it allows wholesalers to use bulk-buying discounts; and it enables manufacturers to send bigger shipments to reduce transport costs. Convenient storage bridges the gap between producers and consumers. Warehouses also stockpile goods to hedge against manufacturing shutdowns, amass emergency supplies until needed for natural disasters and safely contain large amounts of everything, from documents to collectibles that appreciate with age, such as coins or fine wines.

However, storing products – whether in the form of raw materials, completed goods or partially built items awaiting processing – is not warehouses’ only function. They’re also way stations, “sub-assembly...