Introduction

A warehouse is a commercial building for storage of goods. Warehouses are used

by manufacturers, importers, exporters,wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are
usually large plain buildings in industrial areas of cities, towns and villages.

They usually have loading docks to load and unload goods from trucks. Sometimes warehouses are
designed for the loading and unloading of goods directly from railways, airports, or seaports. They
often have cranes and forklifts for moving goods, which are usually placed
on ISO standard pallets loaded into pallet racks. Stored goods can include any raw materials,
packing materials, spare parts, components, or finished goods associated with agriculture,
manufacturing and production. In Indian English a warehouse may be referred to as a godown.[

History[edit]
The origins of the warehouse are difficult to pinpoint. Early civilizations relied on storage pits rather
than large structures to protect seeds and surplus food. Sociologists like Alain Testart have argued
that these early storage techniques were essential to the evolution of societies.[2]

Some of the earliest examples of warehouses that resemble the buildings of today are
Roman horrea. These were rectangular buildings, built of stone, with a raised ground floor and
overhanging roof to keep the walls cool and dry. Roman horrea were typically used to store grain,
but other consumables such as olive oil, wine, clothing and even marble were also stored inside.[3]

Though horrea were built throughout the Roman empire, some of the most studied examples are
found in or around Rome, particularly at Ostia, a harbor city that served ancient Rome. The Horrea
Galbae, a warehouse complex in the southern part of ancient Rome, demonstrates that these
buildings could be substantial, even by modern standards. The horrea complex contained 140 rooms
on the ground floor alone, covering an area of some 225,000 square feet (21,000 m).[4] As a point of
reference, less than half of U.S. warehouses today are larger than 100,000 square feet (9290 m).[5]

As attested by legislation concerning the levy of duties, medieval merchants across Europe
commonly kept goods in household storerooms, often on the ground floor or one or more storeys
below the ground.[6][7] However, dedicated warehouses could be found around ports and other
commercial hubs to facilitate overseas trade. Examples of these buildings include the Venetian
fondaci, which combined a palace, warehouse, market and living quarters for lodging travelers.[8] A
number of representative medieval warehouses can also be seen in King's Lynn, U.K., where a
complex of buildings, including dwelling-houses, shops, countinghouses and warehouses, once
served the Hanseatic League.[9]

During the industrial revolution the function of warehouses evolved and became more specialised.
Some warehouses from the period are even considered architecturally significant, such
as Manchester's cotton warehouses. Always a building of function, in the past few decades they
have adapted to mechanisation, technological innovation and changes in supply chain methods.

Warehouse function
Historically, warehouses were a dominant part of the urban landscape from the start of the Industrial
Revolution through the 19th century and into the twentieth century. The buildings remained when
their original usage had changed. There are four identifiable types of warehouses.[clarification needed][10] The
cotton industry rose with the development of the warehouse, and all five types were represented
in Manchester in the United Kingdom. Warehouses of that period in Manchester were often lavishly
decorated, but modern warehouses are more functional.[11]

Warehouses allow transport optimization along the supply chain, and allow companies to work with
an optimal inventory (economic order quantity) regarding service quality. For example, at the
terminal point of a transport system it is necessary to stockpile produce until a full load can be
transported. Warehouses can also be used to store the unloaded goods from the vessel.

In industries whose goods require a period of maturation between production and retail, such
as viniculture andcheesemaking, warehouses can be used to store the goods in large quantities.

Display of goods for sale[edit]

These displayed goods for the home trade. This would be finished goods- such as the latest cotton
blouses or fashion items. Their street frontage was impressive, so they took the styles of
Italianate Palazzos.

Richard Cobden's construction in Manchester's Mosley Street was the first palazzo warehouse.
There were already seven warehouses on Portland Street when they commenced building the
elaborate Watts Warehouse of 1855,[10][12] but four more were opened before it was finished. It was
this type of warehouse that inspired the Germans in Dsseldorf and Munich to name their
prestigious department stores Warenhuser.[dubious discuss]

Overseas warehouses[edit]
These catered for the overseas trade. They became the meeting places for overseas wholesale
buyers where printed and plain could be discussed and ordered.[10]Trade in cloth in Manchester was
conducted by many nationalities.

Behrens Warehouse is on the corner of Oxford Street and Portland Street. It was built for Louis
Behrens & Son by P Nunn in 1860. It is a four storey predominantly red brick build with 23 bays
along Portland Street and 9 along Oxford Street.[12] The Behrens family were prominent in banking
and in the social life of the German Community in Manchester.[13] [14]
Packing warehouses[edit]
The main purpose of packing warehouses was the picking, checking, labelling and packing of goods
for export.[10] The packing warehouses: Asia House, India Houseand Velvet House along Whitworth
Street were some of the tallest buildings of their time.

Railway warehouses[edit]
Warehouses were built close to the major stations in railway hubs. The first railway warehouse to be
built was opposite the passenger platform at the terminus of theLiverpool and Manchester Railway.
There was an important group of warehouses around London Road station (now Piccadilly
station).In the 1890s the Great Northern Railway Companys warehouse was completed
on Deansgate: this was the last major railway warehouse to be built.[10]

The London Warehouse Picadilly was one of four warehouses built by the Manchester, Sheffield and
Lincolnshire Railway in about 1865 to service the new London Road Station. It had its own branch to
the Ashton Canal. This warehouse was built of brick with stone detailing. It had cast iron columns
with wrought iron beams.[15]

Canal warehouses
All these warehouse types can trace their origins back to the canal warehouses which were used for
trans-shipment and storage. Castlefield warehouses are of this type- and important as they were
built at the terminus of the Bridgewater Canal in 1761.

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 adds a semi-permanent storey of storage within a warehouse[16]

Vertical Lift Modules are packed systems with vertically arranged trays stored on both sides of
the unit.
Horizontal Carousels consist of a frame and a rotating carriage of bins.
Vertical Carousels consisting of a series of carriers mounted on a vertical closed-loop track,
inside a metal enclosure.

A "piece pick" is a type of order selection process where product is picked and handled in individual
units and placed in an outer carton, tote or other container before shipping. Catalog companies and
internet retailers are examples of predominantly piece-pick operations. Their customers rarely order
in pallet or case quantities; instead, they typically order just one or two pieces of one or two items.
Several elements make up the piece-pick system. They include the order, the picker, the pick
module, the pick area, handling equipment, the container, the pick method used and the information
technology used.[17] Every movement inside a warehouse must be accompanied by a work order.
Warehouse operation can fail when workers move goods without work orders, or when a storage
position is left unregistered in the system.

Material direction and tracking in a warehouse can be coordinated by a Warehouse Management

System (WMS), a database driven computer program. Logisticspersonnel use the WMS to improve
warehouse efficiency by directing pathways and to maintain accurate inventory by recording
warehouse transactions.

Automation and optimization

Some warehouses are completely automated, and require only operators to work and handle all the
task. Pallets and product move on a system of automatedconveyors, cranes and automated storage
and retrieval systems coordinated by programmable logic
controllers and computers running logistics automationsoftware.[citation needed] These systems are often
installed in refrigerated warehouses where temperatures are kept very cold to keep product from
spoiling, especially in electronics warehouse where they require specific temperature to avoid
damaging the parts, and also where land is expensive, as automated storage systems can use
vertical space efficiently. These high-bay storage areas are often more than 10 meters (33 feet)
high, with some over 20 meters (65 feet) high. Automated storage systems can be built up to 40m
high.

For a warehouse to function efficiently, the facility must be properly slotted. Slotting addresses which
storage medium a product is picked from (pallet rack or carton flow), and how they are picked (pick-
to-light, pick-to-voice, or pick-to-paper). With a proper slotting plan, a warehouse can improve its
inventory rotation requirementssuch as first in, first out (FIFO) and last in, first out (LIFO)control
labor costs and increase productivity.[18]

Pallet racks are commonly used to organize a warehouse. It is important to know the dimensions of
racking and the number of bays needed as well as the dimensions of the product to be
stored.[19] Clearance should be accounted for if using a forklift or pallet mover to move inventory.

Modern trends
Modern warehouses commonly use a system of wide aisle pallet racking[20] 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 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 offshoringin 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-style retail 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.[citation needed]

Cool warehouses and cold storage

Cold storage preserves agricultural products. Refrigerated storage helps in
eliminating sprouting, rotting and insect damage. 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. Insulationis 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 Vapour
absorption system (VAS) and Vapour compression system (VCS). VAS, although comparatively
costlier, is quite economical in operation and adequately compensates the higher initial investment.
The temperature necessary for 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.

Warehousing education
There are few non-profit organizations which are focused on imparting knowledge, education and
research in the field of warehouse management and its role in the supply chain industry. The
Warehousing Education and Research Council (WERC)[21] and International Warehouse Logistics
Association (IWLA)[22] in Illinois, United States. They provide professional certification and continuing
education programs for the industry in the country. The Australian College of Training have
government funded programs to provide personal development and continuation training in
warehousing certs II V (Diploma), they operate in Western Australia online and face to face, or
Australia wide for online only courses.

TYPES OF WAREHOUSES

The various types of warehouses are:

Private Warehouses

The warehouses which are owned and managed by the manufacturers or traders to store,
exclusively, their own stock of goods are known as private warehouses.

Generally these warehouses are constructed by the farmers near their fields, by wholesalers and
retailers near their business centres and by manufacturers near their factories.

The design and the facilities provided therein are according to the nature of products to be stored.

Public Warehouses

The warehouses which are run to store goods of the general public are known as public
warehouses.

Any one can store his goods in these warehouses on payment of rent.
An individual, a partnership firm or a company may own these warehouses.
To start such warehouses a licence from the government is required.

The government also regulates the functions and operations of these warehouses.
Mostly these warehouses are used by manufacturers, wholesalers, exporters, importers,
government agencies, etc.

Government Warehouses

These warehouses are owned, managed and controlled by central or state governments or public
corporations or local authorities.

Both government and private enterprises may use these warehouses to store their goods.

Central Warehousing Corporation of India, State Warehousing Corporation and Food

Corporation of India are examples of agencies maintaining government warehouses.

Bonded Warehouses

These warehouses are owned, managed and controlled by government as well as private
agencies.

Private bonded warehouses have to obtain licence from the government.

Bonded warehouses are used to store imported goods for which import duty is yet to be paid.

In case of imported goods the importers are not allowed to take away the goods from the ports
till such duty is paid.

These warehouses are generally owned by dock authorities and found near the ports.
Co-operative Warehouses

These warehouses are owned, managed and controlled by co-operative societies.

They provide warehousing facilities at the most economical rates to the members of their society.

CHARACTERISTIC OF IDEAL WAREHOUSES.

Any warehouse is said be an ideal warehouse if it possesses the below mentioned

charechteristics:

Warehouse should be located at a convenient place near highways, railway stations, airports and
seaports where goods can be loaded and unloaded easily.

Mechanical appliances should be there to loading and unloading the goods. This reduces the
wastages in handling and also minimises handling costs.

Adequate space should be available inside the building to keep the goods in proper order.

Ware houses meant for preservation of perishable items like fruits, vegetables, eggs and butter
etc. should have cold storage facilities.

Proper arrangement should be there to protect the goods from sunlight, rain, wind, dust, moisture
and pests.

Sufficient parking space should be there inside the premises to facilitate easy and quick loading
and unloading of goods.

Round the clock security arrangement should be there to avoid theft of goods.

The building should be fitted with latest fire-fighting equipments to avoid loss of goods due to
fire.

FUNCTIONS OF WAREHOUSING

Receiving

Receiving is that activity concerned with the orderly receipt of all materials coming into the
warehouse.

The necessary activities to assure that the quantity and quality of such materials are as ordered
and

The payment to storage or to other organisational functions requiring them

Pre-packaging (optional)

Pre-packaging is performed in a warehouse when products are received in bulk from a supplier
and subsequently packaged singly, in merchandisable quantities or in combinations with other
parts to form kits or assortments.

An entire receipt of merchandise may be processed at once, or a portion may be held in bulk
form to be done later.

This may be done when packaging greatly increases the storage cube requirements or when a
part is common to several kits or assortments.

Put-away

Put-away is the act of placing merchandise in storage.

It includes both a transportation and a placement component.

Storage

Storage is the physical containment of merchandise while it is awaiting a demand.

The form of storage will depend on the size and quantity of the items in inventory and the
handling characteristics of the product or its container.

Order picking

Order picking is the process of removing items from storage to meet a specific demand.

Its represents the basic service that the warehouse provides for the customer and is the function
around which most warehouse designs are based.

Packaging and/or Pricing (optional)

Packaging and/or pricing may be done as an optional step after the picking process.

As in the pre-packaging function, individual items or assortments are boxed for more convenient
use.

Waiting until after picking to perform these functions has the advantage of providing more
flexibility in the use of on-hand inventory

Individual items are available for use in any of the packaging configurations right up to the time
of need

Pricing is current at the time of sale

Pre-pricing at manufacture or receipt into the warehouse inevitably leads to some re-pricing
activity as price lists are changed while merchandise sits in inventory

Sortation and/or Accumulation

Sortation of batch picks into individual orders and accumulation of distributed picks into orders
must be done when an order has more than one item and the accumulation is not done as the
picks are made.

Packing and Shipping

Packing and shipping may include the following tasks:

Checking orders for completeness

Packaging of merchandise in an appropriate shipping container

Preparation of shipping documents, including packing list, address label and bill of lading

Weighing of order to determine shipping charges

Accumulation of orders by outbound carrier

Loading trucks ( in many instances, this is a carriers responsibility

Transportation

In some cases warehouses provide transport arrangement to the bulk depositors.

It collects goods from the place of production and also sends goods to the place of delivery on
request of the depositors

ADVANTAGES OF WAREHOUSING

Warehousing offers many advantages to the business community. Whether it is industry or trade,
it provides a number of benefits which are listed below:

Protection and preservation of goods

Regular flow of goods

Continuity in production

Convenient location

Easy handling

Useful for small businessmen

Creation of employment

Facilitates sale of goods

Availability of finance

Reduces risk of loss

PROTECTION AND PRESERVATION OF GOODS

Warehouse provides necessary facilities to the businessmen for storing their goods when they are
not required for sale.

It provides protection to the stocks, ensures their safety and prevents wastage.

It minimises losses from breakage, deterioration in quality, spoilage etc.

Warehouses usually adopt latest technologies to avoid losses, as far as possible

REGULAR FLOW OF GOODS

Many commodities like rice, wheat etc. are produced during a particular season but are
consumed throughout the year.

Warehousing ensures regular supply of such seasonal commodities throughout the year.

CONTINUITY IN PRODUCTION

Warehouse enables the manufacturers to carry on production continuously without bothering

about the storage of raw materials.

It helps to provide seasonal raw material without any break, for production of finished goods

CONVENIENT LOCATION

Warehouses are generally located at convenient places near road, rail or waterways to facilitate
movement of goods.

Convenient location reduces the cost of transportation

EASY HANDLING

Modern warehouses are generally fitted with mechanical appliances to handle the goods.

Heavy and bulky goods can be loaded and unloaded by using modern machines, which reduces
cost of handling such goods.

Mechanical handling also minimizes wastage during loading and unloading

USEFUL FOR SMALL BUSINESSMEN

Construction of own warehouse requires heavy capital investment, which small businessmen
cannot afford.

In this situation, by paying a nominal amount as rent, they can preserve their raw materials as
well as finished products in public warehouses.

CREATION OF EMPLOYMENT

Warehouses create employment opportunities both for skilled and unskilled workers in every
part of the country.

It is a source of income for the people, to improve their standards of living

FACILITATES SALE OF GOODS

Various steps necessary for sale of goods such as inspection of goods by the prospective buyers,
grading, branding, packaging and labelling can be carried on by the warehouses.

Ownership of goods can be easily transferred to the buyer by transferring the warehouse keepers
warrant.

AVAILABILITY OF FINANCE

Loans can be easily raised from banks and other financial institutions against the security of the
warehouse-keepers warrant.

In some cases warehouses also provide advance to the depositors of goods on keeping the goods
as security.