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Unit 12: Warehouse Management

no storage in between. Simply, stated cross-docking, means receiving goods at one door Notes
and shipping out through the other door almost immediately without putting them in
storage.
 Material handling equipment can be generally classified as, (a) Transport equipment,
(b) Positioning equipment and (c) Unit load formation equipment. Transport equipment
is used to move materials from one location to another. It includes cranes and industrial
trucks. Positioning equipment is used to handle material at a single location, so that it is
in the correct position for subsequent handling, machining, transport, or storage. Unit
load formation equipment is used to maintain integrity when handling a single load
during transport and for storage. It includes pallets, bags and skids.
 There have been several new developments in equipment for moving stock in both factories
and distribution centers. Such developments include Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs)
and Robots.

 A material control system is an integrated package of software and hardware used in
stores operations, and elsewhere, to monitor the quantity, location and status of inventory
as well as the related shipping, receiving, picking and put away processes. Checking of
stock by physical verification is an essential feature of material control. In addition,
preparing regular reports to management indicating stock-holding, ordering position,
consumption, critical items, excess storage, slow-moving, non-moving, dormant, surplus
and obsolete stocks (by quantity and value), etc. are the other functions of material control.
The proper choice of control systems is extremely important.

12.10 Keywords

Break-bulk: This facility is for the consolidation of long-distance transportation movement for
less-than-truckload freight to lower transport costs.
Consolidation warehousing: It is a concept for supply chain simplification and cost reduction.
Cross-docking: It is a practice in logistics of unloading materials from an incoming truck or rail
car and loading these materials in outbound trucks or railway wagons, with little or no storage
in between.

Industrial Trucks: These are manual or external powered vehicles, which can move on a variety
of paths.
Owner-operated warehouse: It is operated by the firm owning the product.

Positioning equipment: It is used to handle material at a single location, so that it is in the correct
position for subsequent handling, machining, transport, or storage.
Post-distribution cross docking: This is when the cross dock itself allocates material to its stores.

Pre-distribution cross docking: This is when the customer is assigned before the shipment
leaves the vendor, so it arrives to the cross dock bagged and tagged for transfer.
Private warehouses: These charge clients a basic fee for handling and storage.

Retail cross docking: Receiving product from multiple vendors and sorting onto outbound
trucks for different stores.
Store or warehouse: It is a static unit in the material and product pipeline, necessary to match
products in a timing sense with consumers, for storage of products.
Transport equipment: It is used to move materials from one location to another.

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