How important is warehouse logistics?

Warehouses stock a great amount of things, this is the way most people look at warehouses: A truck pulls up to the dock and someone unloads product and puts it away in racks. Somebody else comes along, grabs some product, puts it puts it on pallets and loads it in to another truck.  Warehouse logistics is so important for those who have an experience in the warehousing department the process of warehouse storage is a lot more complicated? One must have the ability to track the location of every single piece of product located throughout the facility. When a small warehouse can take up to 75,000 square feet and hold hundreds of thousands of individual pieces of hundreds, even thousands of different products, it becomes clear that maintaining a warehouse it not a piece of cake. In short it’s hard and demands a lot of hard work.  So how does a warehouse manager and his staff manage and keep track of all the product going in and out.

Two small phrases have revolutionized today's storage issues: Lean manufacturing and lean storage. "Lean" is built on the concept of eliminating waste by minimizing inventory and eradicating processes that do not add value to the customer. In warehousing, this means whatever product comes in is shipped back out, whether its internal or external within a few days. Some companies use the phrase "Just in Time Stocking" to describe this method. Using "lean" techniques requires less storage area, but requires a far greater utilization of logistics and a dedicated workforce who understands the importance of accuracy and quality. Traditional warehousing is different thelean method requires more organization and a greater focus in the processes to eradicate activities that are non-essential. When the product comes in, it must be quickly sorted, checked in, and accurately placed on shelves, racks, and sometimes they can even be placed on the floor. 

Accuracy is the key as when the employee who is picking an order comes along; there can be no time wasted looking for misplaced products Lean warehousing requires less space because there is minimal storage stock. Instead of keeping a month's supply in the racks, only a week's supply is kept on hand which is easier to deal with.

This is when warehousing logistics come into play. Every warehouse has some products that move faster than others. These faster moving products need to be organized in such a way as to so that errors can be minimized. They must also be located as close to the shipping department as possible to minimize the travelling time it takes when picking. Think of it this way: The receiving department may put away one crate of 100 parts. The shipping department may have to make a hundred trips to that crate to empty it. Thus, in regards to man hours, it makes sense to locate it closer to the shipping department than the receiving department. The whole concept of "lean" is to do as much as possible with as little as possible: less space, less equipment, and fewer workers. Through all phases of lean, this requires organization, efficiency, and a dedicated and well-trained workforce to make it work out.