Warehouse Design and Management

Introduction

Warehouses play a critical role in matching product demand with supply across different levels in the supply chain. No supply chain design and management is adequate without deciding the location, design and management of warehouses.Today warehouses operate not only as centers for storage but also as centers for value-addition. Several warehouses have assembly, packaging, and repair facilities made available within its premises.

With costs exploding in the market, the location of a warehouse is crucial for an organization’s profitability. While the location of warehouses depends on the level of customer service, location of suppliers, tax incentives and mode of transport, the design of the warehouse primarily depends on the type of commodity, level of mechanization and throughput capacity. Further, an understanding of warehouse management principles can play a bigger role in improving the efficiency of operations, reducing employee fatigue and turnover, and improving customer service levels.

While the Indian warehousing sector is expected to grow at a rate of 35-40% every year, about 80% handling and warehousing facilities are not mechanized and traditional manual methods are used for loading, unloading and handling of food grains and other commodities. With ageing population and shortage of skilled labour, mechanization of warehouse activities is very likely to occur in the near future. Few warehouses in India can showcase sophisticated design and automation technologies when compared to American and European warehouses. Further, to prevent food produce losses and to provide better conditions for product storage and retrieval, better cold storage facilities need to be designed and managed.