WAREHOUSING

OPERATIONS

Sohail AhmedVighio

13IN101

WAREHOUSING - Definitions:

• Robert Hughes has defined it in following words, "Warehousing is a set of activities that are involved in receiving and storing of goods and preparing them for reshipment.“

• Keeping in view the various definitions we may say that warehousing is not only concerned with storage facility it is also involved in various other activities like receiving, identifying, holding, assembling and preparing available to meet the demand.

Warehousing Operations involve three Major Activities :

• INBOUND ACTIVITIES• PROCESS ACTIVITIES• OUTBOUND ACTIVITIES

INBOUND ACTIVITIES

• RECEIVING • PUT-AWAY

RECEIVING • Unloading and checking the shipment. The number of containers or

package of materials unloaded from the carrier's vehicle is checked against the carrier's manifest (freight bill or delivery order) to ensure that all the full consignment or order has been delivered.

• Unpacking and inspecting the material. A receiving clerk is held responsible for three verification. First, he or she checks the material received against the supplier's packing slip and against a copy of the firm's purchase order to verify that the correct items have been shipped. Second, the quantity of the shipment is verified in the same manner. Finally, the clerk inspects the general condition of the material to determine whether any external damage was incurred during shipment.

RECEIVING – Cont.

• Completion of the receiving report.  When the receiving clerk has finished the inspection, he or she completes the form by recording the quantities of the items received, indicating those that are still open, and noting any other useful information on the form.  Regardless of the system used, four operating groups generally require notification that the material has been received: the requisitioner , the purchasing department, the accounting department, and the inspection department if technical inspection is required.

RECEIVING- Cont.

UNLOADING

COUNTING

IdentifyingMarking

Registering Goods

PUT-AWAY

During put-away process the warehouse staff scans the bar code from the pallet (carton) and according to instructions moves it on given address. The second put-away method enables to let the selection of warehouse location on warehouse staff who only by scanning the address from the rack notifies the system where the goods has been stored. Also in this case the defined rules for put-away are checked.

PUT-AWAY PRODUCT CATEGORY • Product key• Product code• Size• Weight • Cost• color

STORAGE / PALLETIZING

PROCESS ACTIVITIES• ORDER PICKING• REPLINISHMENT• STOCK ROTATION

ORDER PICKING Order picking is the process of pulling items from inventory

to fill a customer order. It is seen as the most labour intensive activity within a warehouse.

• Different order picking methods:• There are many order picking methods. These include:• Zone picking• Batch picking • Wave picking

METHODS OF ORDER PICKING ZONE PICKING: • Each order picker is assigned a specific zone and will only

realise order picking within this zone. BATCH PICKING:• An order picker is assigned and picks batch wise orders. WAVE PICKING:• A variation of zone and batch picking. Rather than orders

moving from one zone to the next for picking, all zones are picked at the same time and the items are later sorted and consolidated into individual orders/shipments

REPLINISHMENT

• Replenishment is the movement of inventory from upstream to downstream.

• The purpose of replenishment is to keep inventory flowing through the supply chain by maintaining efficient order. The process helps prevent costly inventory overstocking.

STOCK ROTATION

• To rotate stock means to arrange the oldest units in inventory so they are sold before the newer units.

• For example, a grocery store will restock its shelves by putting the oldest units in the front part of the shelves. The newest units will be placed in the back of the shelves. The hope is that the customer will select the most convenient (older) units from the front of the shelf.

It is important to rotate stock in all areas: retail display area, warehouse, factory, etc. The reason to rotate stock is to reduce the losses from deterioration and obsolescence.

Stock Rotation Methods FIFO - First In, First Out LIFO - Last In, First Out Bar Code OR Date Of Manufacture System• RFID Chip Inventory Systems• Radio frequency identification (RFID) chips are the newest

technological innovation in inventory control. RFID chips are tiny microchips embedded in a product that send out a signal so the product can be tracked. RFID chips offer real-time access to inventory data and solve many of the deficiencies of bar code inventory control systems, but they are still relatively expensive.

OUTBOUND ACTIVITIES

• Packing• Shipping

Packing

Packing

• The primary task for packing is to minimize damage that could occur after an item has left the production line.

• In the warehouse the item is subject to a variety of situations where damage could occur. 

• Forklifts can drop materials, they can fall from conveyor belts, or fall from broken pallets. In each of these instances, the packing has to be designed so that it will protect the item from damage, but light enough so that is does not increase the weight of the finished good so much that the shipping costs are significantly increased.

• In addition the packing must protect the item from environmental damage, such as extreme temperature, water damage, contamination with other goods, or damage from static, which is important for electronic items.

Shipping

• Confirmation• Invoicing • Sealing • Staging • Loading