A. Movement: Receiving, In-storage handling and shipping.
(a) Receiving-Activities involved are
– Unloading the transportation vehicle, which in most cases is done manually.
– In Indian context, limited automated and mechanized methods have ben developed that are suitable to varying product characteristics.
– The product is hand-stacked on pallets to form unit load for movement efficiency.
(b) In-storage handling
– On receipt of the product, the merchandise is transferred within the warehouse to position for storage or order selection.
– On receipt of order, the required products are accumulated and transported to a shipping area.
– The entire operation helps in selection process for grouping materials, parts, and products into customers’ orders.
(c) Shipping
– Involves checking and loading orders onto transportation vehicles.
– Shipping in unit loads leads to considerable saving of time in loading the vehicle.
– Checking is important at a point when merchandise changes ownership as a result of shipment.
–
B. Storage: can be either planned or extended.
(a) Planned storage
– Storage for basic inventory replenishment is referred to as a planned storage.
– Duration varies depending on the performance cycle length.
(b) Extended storage
– Sometimes storage may be required for several months prior to customer shipment.
– Seasonal items require storage to wait for demand or to spread supply across time.
– Erratic demand, product conditioning, speculative purchases and discounts call for extended storage.
23 Comments