WAREHOUSE MANAGEMENT Introduction to Warehousing A warehouse is a location with adequate facilities where volume shipment are received from

a production centre, broken down, reassembled into combinations representing a particular order or o rders, and shipped to the customer's location or locations. The concept of distrib ution warehouse or a distribution centre is vastly different from the earlier co ncept of a godown for storage. The godown is merely a dumping place. Godowns are maintained merely for storage of surplus goods. The earlier concept, which led to the establishment of warehouses, was based on the need for ensuring a continu ous, uninterrupted supply of goods in the market area for the following: (1) Ens uring protection against delays and uncertainties in transportation arising from a variety of factors. (2) Eliminating lack of sophistication in production cont rol and consequent uncertainties in the availability of product at the desired t ime and place. (3) Providing for adjustment between the time of production and t he time of use because production and use can be seldom synchronized. From the f oregoing, it is obvious that earlier a warehouse was considered a necessary evil which was to be toletated, but which did little to provide a differential advan tage. The modern distribution centre or distribution warehouse is a pivot in the physical distribution system. According to this system, movement is the primary objective of a warehouse. As per this new concept, a warehouse is a location wh ere inputs (incoming factory shipment) are converted into outputs (outward shipm ents representing orders of customers).this conversion takes place without consu ming too much time. The goods may be received over a period of time from differe nt places, combined or broken down into each individual customer's orders, and dis patched to the next point in the distribution channel without their coming to re st within the confines of the distribution centre. Because of the usual and ofte n inevitable lack of coordination between inbound and outbound goods, storage fa cilities of a temporary nature must be provided for in the scheme. Characteristics of warehouse activity The warehouse activity work is non-value ad ding work. It is pointed out for better profits the stores should not exist. Also the material movement should be reduced to zero. These are non-value adding activ ities. This is because value is what the customer is prepared to pay for. A custom er is willing to pay for is the physical conversion/ processing of material into product. The configuration of the product forms only one element of what a cust omer is willing to pay for. Also customer needs other points such as following. The product should be available, At a required location At required time. Wareho use provides these values. These are apart from value added due to conversion. F or that reason management must pay the maximum attention to the stocking and han dling related activities. The reduction and elimination of unnecessary activity requires care and attention in the planning of these activities so that the perf ormance of the system improves. For that it is observed that the locations of mo st stores, they tend to be placed at a remote corner, out of sight and mind. Wha t is really required is that the storage of material be as close to the point of use as possible. This facilitates communications with production, and also make s the movement of material simpler. Warehouse away from factory may be acceptabl e coupled with good transport arrangements and good information communication sy stem backed with computer arrangements.

Functions of warehouse The functions of warehouse are as follows. Receive the Ma terial: - Receiving and accounting of products. This receiving is to be done fro m manufacturing factories and subcontractors directly. Count for proper quantity as per the documents. Store the Material properly: - Provide the right and adeq uate storage and preserve the material properly. Ensure that the materials do no t suffer from damage, pilferage or deterioration. When receiving the material it is to be seen that often the products come in big packs of more number of quant ity. Mixing of material: - The products and subassemblies are received from diff erent sources are often requiring mixing and assembling together to satisfy need of customers. This job is at increasing day by day. Some main warehouses of eng ineering goods are coupled with a small assembly shop and finishing work like ju st attaching nameplate after final check up. Remove the material when required: - Facilitating easy location and removing materials. Deliver the material to rig ht place: - Fulfilling the demand of customer and markets by proper issue of ite ms on the receipt of authorized documents. This includes consolidating the requi rements from customer. In a package of order there will be number of products, s ubassemblies, which are to be collected from different suppliers. Keep the recor ds perfectly in discipline: - To maintain proper records and update receipt and issue of materials Packaging and waiting for order: - Often warehouse person has to make package for delivery till the final order is received with payment cond itions fulfilled by customer. The material is then loaded carefully in the trans port vehicle to present to the customer in appropriate condition. Maintaining go od housekeeping: - Keeping the warehouse clean and is good order so that the han dling, preservation, stocking, receipt and issue can be done satisfactorily. Keep proper control: - Keeping a vigil on the discrepancies, abnormal consumptio ns, accumulation of stocks, pilfaration, theft etc. Exercising control measures. Manage the people in perfect discipline: - The people working have to be follow ed as per the written policies and manual. Avoid keeping surplus material: - Min imization of surplus and obsolescence through proper inventory control, and effe ctive disposal of surplus and obsolete items.

Verification of stocks at regular interval: - Verifying the bin card balances wi th the physical quantities in the bins and initiating the purchasing cycle at ap propriate time so as to avoid the out of stock situations. Arranging transport: - For presenting the product consignment to the customer it is essential to plan and arrange proper vehicle. This needs to be done for keeping economy and quali ty. The placing the product upside down etc as per need is very much required to maintain the product quality. WAREHOUSE ORGANISATION The organization of the warehouse is a shown in figure above. This is a major ma rketing function. It is having the main section as receiving, transport, finishe d goods stores and accounting. The movement department is often reporting to mat erials manager. However it has link with stores management. This is administrati vely reporting to stores management but functionally it is with marketing depart ments. From the total control point of view the warehouse may get included with the rest of materials activities. This facilitates the coordination among relate d materials activities from the point of view of operations. It has also importa nt job of inventory control. Warehouse activity is related with the production d epartment. That is because of the following. In order to run the production oper ation smoothly the production management must complete understanding of product mix to market their schedules. In order to supply the required products to the m arket the production shops have to plan the materials, manpower, machines etc. PRIVATE AND PUBLIC WAREHOUSES A warehouse may be privately owned and operated by a company making its own goods. This is called

private warehouse. A ware house may be owned and operated by another organizatio n, including a government agency, and only used by a company on certain terms an d conditions. This is called a public warehouse. A public warehouse may be owned by a company in the private sector but used by the general public. Irrespective of whether a warehouse is a private or a public, the following factors have to be taken into account to work out the cost of storage: Interest on the cost of b uying the site. Interest on the cost of furniture. Cost of repairs and maintenan ce. Depreciation on building and equipment. Insurance. Private Warehousing The construction and maintenance of private warehousing faci lities can be extremely costly. All expenses have to be carefully analyzed and e valuated. These are: Fixed expenses and building and land acquisition cost, whic h are high. Expenses incurred on ensuring that warehouses are properly equipped with material-handling equipment like conveyors, fork lifts, hand trucks, racks and bin, and dock levelers. The cost of salaries of staff required for peak acti vity periods, which can be very high. The cost of maintaining insurance records and of the premiums paid for fire, theft, and also for workmen's compensation.

To this must be added the cost of regular maintenance and repairs and the cost o f such items as fuel, airconditioning, power and light. Advantages of Private Wa rehousing The advantages of private warehousing are as follows: Private warehous ing offers better control over the movement and storage of products as required by the management from time to time. There is less likelihood or errors in the c ase of private warehousing since the company's product are handled by its own empl oyees. In sum locations, for certain products or materials, public warehousing m ay not be available and only solution possible may be the establishment of a pri vate warehouse. Public Warehousing All the foregoing cost operates in public warehousing as well . But, in public warehousing, the expenses are distributed over several other co nsignments of other clients. Therefore, the net result is lower cost for each. A dvantages of public warehousing Some of the advantages of public warehousing are : It is generally less expensive and more efficient. Public warehouses are usual ly strategically located and immediately available. Fixed costs of a warehouse a re distributed among many users. The cost of public warehousing can be easily an d exactly ascertained, and the user pays only for the space and services he uses . Public warehousing is sufficiently to meet most space requirements, for severa l plans are available for the requirements of different users.

TYPES OF WAREHOUSES Bonded Warehouses Private and public warehouses can be bonded under the customs and excise act and municipal corporation regulations, facilit ating deferred payment of customs, excise or octroi duty. The warehouseman relea ses only those goods on which the duty is paid on production of roof of such pay ment and release order issued by the appropriate authority. Field Warehouse Fiel d warehouses are those which are managed by a public warehousing agency in the p remises of a factory or company which needs the facility for borrowing from a ba nk against the certification of goods in storage or in process by an independent professional warehouseman. Cold Storages: Cold storage facilities are provided for perishables against payment of a storage charge for the space utilized by di fferent parties. In a cold storage, it is essential that the temperature is regu lated and temperature variation is controlled to the degree particularly for cer tain sensitive items. Agricultural Warehouses: These warehouses are meant storin g agricultural produce grown in a certain area and are located in assembling or regulated markets. These warehouses receive agricultural commodities either dire ctly from the farmers or through their commodities agents, or from wholesalers. Distribution Warehouses: These warehouses are located close to the manufacturing concerns or consuming areas. Their location depends on the nature of the produc t, the time taken for transit, operating coast and the need to make the product available in the market in obedience to the demand for it. Buffer Storage Wareho uses: These warehouses are built at strategic locations with adequate transport and communication facilities. They store food grains or fertilizers, etc. Export and Import Warehousing: These warehouses are located near the ports from where international trade is undertaken. They provide transit storage facilities for g oods awaiting onward movement. Facilities for break-bulk, packaging, inspection, marketing, etc., are available at these warehouses. WAREHOUSE DESIGN The stores activity has characteristic of non-value added activity. Just by saying that th ere is tendency to view at it poorly. However the need cannot be neglected. And it is essential to have better look at the design of the stores lay out and faci lities. It should be not be located at a remote place, as is done number of fact ories. We can eliminate or reduce stores but not at the cost of stoppage of prod uction. That way the stores can add the value to the production activity.

There is no uniquely ideal manner to deign all stores. In the view of objectives , in the correct proportion, depends on the situation and on the experience and knowledge of the designer. Some of the objectives of the storage function are pr esented here. The intent is not to prescribe a formula for designing a store, bu t to outline the consideration that could play a role in the design. A thing has to be kept in the mind that the stores design is not like any other office desi gn. Office design can be changed on and often. Changing the stores design is cos tly matter. One cannot do it often. So proper thinking has to be done well befor e taking actions. Consideration for Design How well does the store meet the need s of its customer? Is appropriate technology being used? How well are the resour ces utilized in the store? How manageable is the store? How flexible is the stor e? How well a store meets the needs of its customer depends on the customer and what his needs are. Speed of response, stock rotation, and the flexibility to ac commodate a variety of parts etc. could be some of the needs that may be need to be addressed. Customer need is an output expected from the store. The equipment s can be used in the stores are narrated in the further chapters. The staff and the workers need to be provided with training. It is necessary to study what equ ipments will be useful for satisfying the needs. Apart from the cost of the foll owing points must be studied along with volume of receipts and the dispatches be fore deciding. Should be use for workers. The physical matters like dimensions, weights, and speeds of the equipments. Should be easy to maintain. WAREHOUSE LOC ATION The following considerations determine the location of a warehouse: Market service area and cost of distribution from the warehouse to the market area. Sa tisfaction of transport requirements and facilities available in the form of rai l spur, link roads and vehicles. Transportation rates prevailing in the area and distribution cost per unit. Competition by rival companies and whether they hav e warehouse in the same area. Availability of power, water, gas, sewerage dispos al and their cost. Labour supply and labour cost in the area. Industrial relatio n climate and labour productivity. Pricing arrangements and the level of service desired to be rendered in terms of availability of the product to the customer. Individual company requirements and constraints, including commitments, if any, made to employees and others about a particular location which may influence a decision. Real estate, excise and government taxes assessed in the area. Attitud es of local residents and government toward establishment of the warehousing.

 Potential for later expansion. Cost of land for the warehouse and other costs. P ossibility of change in the use of the facility at a later date if the company s o desires, and lease or sale of the land and building. An ideal warehouse location has following characteristics: It protects the stock s against ground moisture, rain, objectionable odours, insects, rodents, birds, poultry, cattle, thieves, wind, fire, etc. It provides the necessary facilities for manual and mechanical operations, inspection, disinfection, cleaning, recond itioning, packaging, etc. of the commodities. It is an economic unit, close to t he market or railway siding with adequate covered platforms and connected by goo d motorable roads. It offers the necessary amenities, such as water for drinking and fire-fighting, office and residential accommodation, etc. As far as possibl e, it is located away from grain mandies, grocery or shopping centres, grain fie lds, garbage dumping grounds, sewerage tanks and disposal plants, dairies, poult ry farms, tanneries, factories, because their close proximity is detrimental to healthy storage facilities. Within a given general areas chosen for a warehouse, the choice of a particular site depends on access, availability of transportati on to and out of the site, are its proximity to major customers. The site is not cut off from any part of the total service area by a river or other geographic barriers. CAPACITY OF WAREHOUSE The term capacity of a warehouse refers to the overall cub ic content of the warehouse building, as well as the length, width, and height. The volume content of a warehouse building is affected by a number of factors. S ome of these are enumerated below: Type of material to be handled; Handling syste m to be used;

 Stock layout arrangements; Dock requirements; Local building codes; Office area required. Setting up a fixed warehouse at a given location becomes a constraint on warehou se operations for number of years. The internal layout may be changed with a rel ative ease. But it is difficult to change the overall size of the warehouse. Thr ough the warehouse size may be expanded at a later date or extra place may be le ased, the resulting available space may not be ideal. In general, poor planning of the warehouse leads to either higher material handling costs in the warehouse with lower designed capacity or unnecessary space cost if larger space than wha t is require is designed. WAREHOUSE OPERATIONS The essential processing of materials in a warehouse involv es following operations: Receiving Goods: A warehouse accepts the merchandise de livered by a transporter or an attached factory and then accepts the responsibil ity for this merchandise. Identifying Goods: The appropriate stock- keeping unit s are identified and a record made of the number of each item received. Sorting Goods: The economic goods are sorted out for appropriate storage area in the war ehouse. Dispatching Goods to Storage: The goods are kept aside where they can be found later, when needed. Holding Goods: The goods are kept in storage under pr oper protection until needed in the warehousing. Retrieving Selective or Packing Goods: Items ordered by customers are taken out from storage and grouped in a m anner useful for the next step.

Marshalling Goods: The several items making up a single order are brought togeth er and checked for completeness and order records are prepared or modified. Disp atching Goods: The consolidated order is packaged suitably and directed to the r ight transport vehicle. Preparing Records and Advices: The number of orders rece ived, the items received and on hand etc., are recorded for replenishment action and stock control. A warehouse may be used as a physical processing station. Fo r example, goods may be stored for aging, a form of processing. In some systems, minor assembly work, conditioning, breaking bulk, adaptive work for special requests, etc., may be carried out as a part of warehouse activ ity. 1) Receipt of Goods The following operations are carried out before the acc eptance of goods for storage and issue of a warehouse receipt: The user of the f acility or depositor tenders the goods for storage. The technical assistant atta ched to the warehouse examines the goods visually to determine whether the stock s are worth storage. The goods are in good condition and can be stored; the depo sitor is required to submit an application for storage of goods, with details of his name and address, nature of the commodity, number of packages, their weight and value, etc. If the goods or commodities require cleaning to bring them up t o an acceptable standard, this must be done by the depositor. The goods are samp led as per a set procedure of sampling, depending on the nature of the commodity . The samples so taken are analyzed as per the specifications provided by law. T he stocks are graded on the basis of such characteristics as moisture content, f oreign matter, shriveled grains dirt, etc. If the packages or bags of the stock are not of a standard weight, they are standardized at the warehouse. The bags o r packages are counted, if they are standardized, before unloading from the truc k and after stocking, to be doubly sure that the correct number of packages has been tendered. Warehouseman takes the specimen signature of the depositor or his agent for future verification on the cards kept at the warehouse. The warehouse man prepares a warehouse receipt with all the particulars, such as location of t he warehouse, name of the depositor and his address, description of commodity, i ts quality or grade, weight, etc. 2) Storage in Warehouse One of the fundamental features of warehousing is scient ific storage and preservation of goods. In order to ensure that the quality rema ins the same and is well preserved, the following steps are taken: One of the sa mples obtained after a scientific sampling of the stocks is duly sealed with a s igned sample

slip put inside the bag and is handed over to the depositor for future verificat ion in the event of any dispute as regards quality of the commodity. The warehou se is demarcated into different sections for storage of different commodities or items according to their nature. These commodities or items are accepted in the specific section meant for such goods. Different stacking methods are adopted, depending on the size of the packages and the duration of storage. Quick moving goods are stored in a separate section, generally close to the doors, and those goods which are likely to remain in storage for a long time are stored a little away. Gangways and operational spaces between stacks are left for necessary disi nfestations operations, restacking, turn-over, etc. The goods are periodically i nspected to check that there has been no damage during storage. If there is dama ge of goods or if it is found that the goods are not capable further storage, th e warehouseman can take action to have them delivered. If the depositor indicate d in the notice does not take delivery of goods within the stipulated period, th e goods may be auctioned in the prescribed manner. A notice of auction will be s ent to the depositor indicating the date, time and place of the auction well in advance. 3) Delivery of Goods The delivery of goods is conditioned by the following facto rs: The goods stored in the warehouse may be delivered in one lot or in installm ents, as required by the depositor. If the depositor is given an opportunities t o examine his goods before taking delivery and if he find on the time of taking delivery that the goods have been allowed to deteriorate or to get damaged, he m ay lodge a protest within 72 hours of his examination, and defer taking delivery . He has also to advise the licensing authority under the act for necessary inve stigation and redressal. An application for delivery of goods has to be tendered by the depositor or his authorized agent. The warehouse receipt is surrendered, duly discharged. The specimen signature is verified before delivery is made. Th e storage charges, insurance charges, etc., payable are worked out and collected before delivery is made. If a part delivery is required, such delivery is endor sed in the column provided for it in the warehouse receipt, and the receipt is r eturned to the depositor or the bank which has produced the receipt for such

delivery. If the goods are to be delivered in full, the warehouse receipt, duly discharged, is surrendered to the warehouseman. Necessary entries in the stack-w ise register, godown register, depositor's ledger, stock register etc. are made af ter delivery is made. The stocks are delivered against an acknowledgement of the depositor or his agent to the effect that the goods have been received in goods condition and the sample kept in the warehouse is returned to the depositor at the time of delivery. Inventory at Multiple Locations - Square Root Formula Currently popular approach is to consolidate inventories into fewer stocking locations in order to reduce aggregate inventories and their associated costs. The root law (SLR) help determ ine the extent to which inventories may be reduced through such a strategy. Assu ming that the total customer demands remain the same, the SLR estimates the exte nt to which aggregate inventory needs will change as a firm increases or reduces the number of stocking locations. In general greater the number of stocking loc ations greater is the amount of inventory needed to maintain customer service le vels. Conversely, as inventories are consolidated into fewer stocking locations, aggregate inventory level will decrease. The extent to which these changes will occur is understood through application of the square root law. The inventory l evel is normally proportional to the square root of number of warehouses. The sq uare root law states that the total safety stock inventories in a future number of facilities can be approximated by multiplying the total amount of inventory a t existing facilities by the square root of the number of future facilities divi ded by the number of existing facilities. X2 = [X1] x N2 N1 Where, N1 = no. of e xisting facilities, N2 = no. of future facilities X1 = total inventory in existi ng facilities, X2 = total inventories in future facilities. Assumptions: Althoug h the square root formula is simply stated, the model is base on several reasona ble assumptions: 1) Inventory transfers between stocking locations at the same l evels are not common practice; 2) Lead time do not vary and thus inventory centr alization is not affected by supply uncertainties; 3) Customer service levels as measured by inventory availability, is constant regardless of the number of sto cking locations Demand at each location is normally distributed WAREHOUSE SECURI TY The hazards for the goods stored in a warehouse are of the following nature: Theft and house breaking. Fire. Floods. Riots and civil commotion. Moisture, ins ects and rodents. Though goods are generally insured against all these risks, ex cept the last one, it is nevertheless advisable to take adequate precautions to protect them. For this purpose, the following measures are undertaken

1. Location & Structural Unity A warehouse is constructed on a site away from co lonies which breed anti-social elements. The selected site is also away from low -lying areas, rivers etc., so that the flooding might be avoided when the river is in spate. The structure is designed in such a manner that the plinth is atlea st one metre above the ground level. The platform of the verandah and plinth of the warehouse are constructed in such a way that is made rodent-proof. It genera lly has a compound wall of sufficient height, with only one gate for entry and e xit to ensure better and closer watch on incoming and outgoing persons and vehic les. A warehouse is also located away from dumping grounds, garbage pits, etc., to ensure that insects which normally breed in such places, do not damage the go ods in warehouse. 2. Internal Security The owners of goods, their agents and oth er dealing with the warehouse are screened so that entry is permitted to only su ch persons as come on genuine business and do not indulge in pilferage or other adverse activities of sabotage, etc. sufficient surveillance measures are taken to ensure that the staff working in the warehouse do not indulge in pilferage, t hefts, etc. should be left for this has to be decided also in relation to the un certain needs of the future. LICENSING OF WAREHOUSE IN INDIA Each state has passed a warehouse act, which gov erns the working of the warehouse of the central or state warehousing corporatio ns or any private warehouseman. Under this act, every warehouseman has to obtain license. The following are some of the conditions laid down for the grant of a The warehouse must be suitable for proper storage of th license for warehousing: e class of goods intended to be stored. The applicant must be competent to condu ct such a warehouse. The applicant must fulfill any other conditions that the st ate government may notify from time to time. The applicant must pay the fees pre scribed for the issue of a license and also furnish security. Under the state wa rehouses acts, a warehouseman takes such care of the goods stored with him as a man of normal prudence would take of his own goods. The warehouseman must keep h is warehouse clean and in a hygienic condition, and take all the necessary preca utions against rats, pests, etc. Goods are required to be compulsorily insured a gainst damage by fire, floods, theft or any other accident.

MATERIAL HANDLING The handling of material is a human activity which has been pe rformed since time immemorial. The construction of the great pyramids and other historical monuments all over the world called for the handling of various types of materials in various form methods. Material handling has now become an impor tant and specialised function of all industrial activity. It is as important as, costs and the production process. A modern manufacturing plant works on assembl y line principles. In an automobile plant, the chassis moves along the assembly line where different workers attach different parts in turn tighten a bolt or ma ke certain adjustments. Finally, the finished car emerges at the end of the proc ess. A similar procedure is followed for other assembly line production processe s. Before it reaches the ultimate customer, the product has to pass through a se ries of handling processes from the procurement of raw materials to the sale of the final article. The manufacturing establishment first receives the raw materi al or spare parts which go into the making of the product. They are conveyed to the place where they are stored. Then they are taken to the preliminary fabricat ion or manufacture or the first production process. Thereafter, they are again s ent to the storage before they are moved into the various stages of manufacturin g operations. Once the machine and processing operations are finished, the semimanufactured or finished product moves to final inspection and packaging. When a ll the manufacturing operations are completed, it is again sent into storage to await transportation to consumers. Material handling is an essential production function. Organisations do not pay adequate attention to this function. On an av erage, fifteen to twenty percent of the cost of a product is incurred on materia l handling. Over and above this tangible cost of material handling and of labour and machinery costs, they are the hidden costs of material handling which arise from the damage of raw materials to the finished products, delay in transportat ion, deterioration in the quality of the product, waste of productive labour tim e and loss of production. This total material handling cost must be minimized by designing a proper system. Material handling is undertaken at every stage of lo gistics activity, and is an integral part of the other elements of logistics fun ction. Material is handled during the production process, warehouses or storage, in transport, during packing and when goods are returned by the customer for on e reason or the other. This would insure cost reduction in the operation of the overall material handling function and increase productivity. MATERIAL HANDLING SYSTEM Material is handled at the following stage i. Raw material is transported from the vendor to the vendor to the warehouse of the production unit. It is re ceived by trucks, by rail wagons or even by ship. At the warehouse the handling of material takes place. Thereafter, the material is stored. ii. At the time the material is required for production process, it is again handled. It is fed int o the production process. iii. This time the material handling is generally an i ntegral part of the production process. iv. After the material has been finally processed and turn into a finished product, the finished product is handled and loaded for dispatch by a given mode of transport to a field warehouse or a deale r. v. Sometimes, the finished product is packed and directly loaded for transpor t. vi. The material produced at the end of the process may be intermediate finished product, so it also required handling. vii. The semi-finished product is transp orted to other production unit so; this required another material handling proce ss. viii. Assuming that the product has been stored in its final finished form, it has to be finished before dispatch from the production center.

ix. The goods may be dispatched straight to the customer; in this case the handl ing of the goods is done by the customer himself. x. The goods may be dispatched to a field warehouse of the company, or to a publ ic warehouse, or to warehouse of stockist or distributor. In this case they are stored suitably for dispatching to a customer, retailer or dealer, as the case m ay be. Material handling involves the following point: a) Receiving or dispatchi ng of goods involving unloading, loading; b) Flow of material within the product ion unit and warehouse; c) Weighing of raw materials and finished products at wa rehouse; d) Sampling of raw materials, intermediate products and finished produc ts at nominated stages; e) Documentation. Each of the above functions have been discussed in more detail in the following paragraphs. Receipt and dispatch & loa ding unloading The receipt of raw materials or the dispatch of finished products , at the production center, plant warehouse or field warehouse may be considered a part of the transportation function. Receipt i. Receipt of wagons, trucks, sh ips, etc., in a nominated area or location. ii. Unloading of individual truck, w agon or ship. iii. Storage of the goods (whether raw material or finished produc t) unloaded. iv. Weighing of the goods received. v. Documentation for receipts o f goods. vi. Documentation for the storage of goods. vii. Communication to all c oncerned about the receipt of the goods. Dispatch i. Receipt of road trucks, rai l wagons, ships, etc., in a nominated area or location. ii. Weighing if goods wh ether directly or indirectly. iii. Loading of individual truck, wagon or ship. i v. Storage of adequate material to ensure uninterrupted loading. v. Sampling of goods that are loaded. vi. Documentation of dispatches, storage, weighing and sa mples. vii. Communication of information about dispatches to all concern. In general, the activities performed under material handling for the receipt and dispatch of goods would require arrangement for: i. The loading and unloading o f trucks, wagons or ships; ii. Waiting space for trucks, wagons and ships; iii. Adequate storage space; iv. Weighing facility; v. Sampling facility; vi. Documen tation and communication system. These arrangement are discussed briefly in the following paragraphs 1) Loading and unloading The loading and unloading of goods has to be examined from the standpoint of speed of loading and unloading , conv enience and the saving on damage during the unloading/ loading operations. The l oading and unloading facilities include suitable civil engineering structures fo r the berthing of trucks, rail wagons or the ships and the loading unloading and handling machinery.

Unloading structures Fixed unloading structures include a sufficient number of p roperly designed docks for the unloading of road trucks, adequate length of a pl atform of a proper design for unloading rail wagons, and an adequate number of b erths or wharfs of suitable design for ships. RAIL PLATFORMS Rail platforms are so designed that the wagons stand alongside a rail platform. The height of the rail platform, measured from the top of the rai l surface, is kept at 105 cms. But the platform may be at the rali level, depend ing on the consignments required to be unloaded or loaded. Heavy crane consignme nts are usually unloaded on open rail-level platform, for crane movement is conv enient on such platforms. Loose consignments like coal, sand, earth, etc., are a lso loaded on rail-level platforms. These platforms have only paved surfaces. Th e width of the platform is determined on the basis of the storage space required , the space for the movement of the men or machinery. But special care has to be exercised to keep loaded or unloaded materials away from the track so that no d erailment occurs. The length of a rail platform is determined by the number of r ailway wagons required to be unloaded or loaded at one time. The number of wagon s placed at one time for unloading or loading should be determined on the basis of the incoming or outgoing materials for the rated capacity of the plant. Infra structure facilities should be liberally provided so as to take care of an incre ase in the capacity for loading and unloading operation. Increases in loading an d unloading capacity may not be possible or become too expensive if sought to be undertaken only at a later date, for then a major change may be called for in t he layout of the rail-yard platforms, which may not be possible or may require m ajor structural changes, including demolition, and this may turn out to be expen sive. Often, it may be convenient and some times desirable to split the length o f the platform to achieve greater flexibility in loading and unloading operation s. This would take care of the practical problem which arises when one wagon in the middle of a large number of wagons lined along the platform is found to be d efective or not loadable for some reason. The platforms may be of equal lengths and positioned along two tracks. IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII III IIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIII Platform length distributed over two or more platforms

This arrangement may be further modified to achieve greater flexibility in loadi ng and unloading by positioning a platform on either side of a track. IIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIII One platform on either side of track But the arrangements become inconvenient by reason of the existence of the island platform and present difficulties in conv eying the material from or to the island platform. This arrangement, however, is convenient when loading and unloading operations are arranged with the help of an overhead or underground conveyor. SHIP WHARFS Wharfs or berths are provided for the berthing of ships. Ships are b erthed alongside a wharf. The length of a berth or a wharf and the draft set a l imit to the capacity of the ship handled at the berth. The length of the ship to be handled at a wharf has to be less than the length of the wharf, so that the vessel can be anchored fast to the bollards. The draft at wharf has to be more t han the draft of the ship, which is determined by the weight of the vessel. Thus , the draft at the wharf determines the maximum load that can be brought in by t he ship. It is always better to bring in a ship with the maximum load so that th e freight charge per tonne may be the minimum.

Bollard Schematic design of a ship alongside a wharf Owing to the silting that takes pla ce because of natural and man-made reasons in many ports, the draft has a tenden cy to decrease. Desilting operations may have to be undertaken to accommodate a particular capacity ship. TYPES OF HANDLING MACHINERY Normally, road trucks, rail wagons or ships can be u nloaded manually. But with the large volume of materials to be handled, the manu al system becomes unwidely, and some degree of mechanization has to be resorted. Also in order to speed up the loading/unloading of materials and to make it con venient and cheaper, handling machinery may be installed on truck docks, railway platforms and wharfs Handling machinery is of two types. Fixed machinery, such as granty cranes, or fixed cranes which have a certain reach required by vehicle s to come close to them for loading and unloading cargo. If a dock or platform i s occupied for one reason or the other, the machinery cannot be utilized for loa ding and unloading. In this case, the second type of machinery can be used to mo ve near the vehicle. In this category fall the various types of mobile cranes or fork lifts or pay loaders, which lift the material from the truck, wagon or shi p. To speed up the operations, various types of conveyor systems may also be ins talled. Receipt and Despatch of vehicles The incoming or outgoing vehicles canno t be straightaway placed for loading and unloading, especially when the precedin g vehicles are under operation. For example, while some trucks are being unloade d at the docks, more trucks may come in. Similarly, some railway wagons may be u nder unloading, in meantime, more wagons may come in. Special arrangements such as Circulating area for road vehicles, Marshalling Yard for Rail wagons, etc. ha ve to be made for these vehicles, wagons and ships. Circulating Area for Road Ve hicles For road vehicles, a circulating area is provided where vehicles can be p arked, awaiting their turn for handling, otherwise they would have to wait outsi de the factory gates and may block the entry or exit of vehicular traffic. Arran gements should also be made for sufficient number of toilets so that the crew do not commit nuisance outside.

Marshalling Yard for Rail Wagons Railway wagons on their inward and outward jour ney, a marshalling yard is provided. The wagons meant for the factory is sorted out and are taken to the factory. The marshalling is also required to sort out e mpty from loaded wagons. The design of a marshalling yard calls for a specialize d skills. A marshalling yard consists of two or more lines, suitably connected w ith loading lines. The design of a marshalling yard calls for careful railway op erating considerations, so that there may be an easy flow of wagons from and to the loading points and a quick marshalling of different wagons. EQUIPMENT Storin g The different kinds of equipment which are used in a storeroom can be broadly classified into two categories, viz. A judicious selection of different store eq uipment is a key of the successful operation of a storeroom. Once a typical set is done it is difficult to change the set up in future. The commonly used equipm ent in storeroom are as follows: Cabinets Stacking boxes Special storage rack ravity feed racks Outdoor platform and racks Open and closed shelves Trays Drums The selections of the equipment shall be governed by size, shape, other physical characteristics, and the extent of preservation required. The selection of the material for racks etc. wood or steel should be carefully done. The steel equipm ent has advantages of strength, cleanliness and fire resistance. Material Handling Equipments In any given set up the material handling equipment s the layout of the stores, production shops is to be coordinated well. They are closely related with each other. Manual material handling Here the initial inve stment is low. The equipment used in such systems are racks, drawers, bins, hand

trucks, and gravity conveyors. The operations are done manually. So the problems related to labour control exist. The systematic working, handling higher loads, speed of operation is generally at low level. Utilisation of available space ca nnot be done beyond certain height due to natural human constraints The common t ype of material handling equipment used in stores is as follows: Trolleys Hoists Monorail Belt conveyor Roller conveyor Crane The selection of the material hand ling equipment depends upon the size, shape and weight of the item the location of the item in the stores, etc. Manual equipments Hand carts Unpowered wagons, d ollies, and trucks pushed about by workers. Hydraulic scissor-lift tables These are used for loading and unloading heavy materials like tools, die etc. these ar e used as goods lift from transporting and raw material from ground level to fin ish first floor level. They are driven by electricoperated power pack. Stackers and portable cranes: These are used for loading and unloading heavy mat erials from trucks. Also loading heavy dies on the press machines. These are ope rated hydraulically. Manual stacker These are fabricated from steel channels for strength. They can b e shifted any where in the shop. Without bending they can lift heavy materials. By hydraulic pump they lift or lower the material. Hydraulic Pallet trucks Quick lift pumps design. Ultra-urethane wheels and sealed dual-precision ball bearing s require less than 75 lbs. pulling force at full capacity. Hydraulic pump inclu des overload and upper limit relief valve. Fingertip lever control for selecting raising, neutral or lowering positions. Articulation steering wheels. Include t wo steering wheels and two front load rollers. Steering wheels include bearing d ust covers, providing longer life. Spring-loaded loop handle automatically retur ns to vertical position which not in use. Hydraulic pump design facilitates easy -access seal replacement.

Red powder coat finish is helps as antirust. Pedal lift elevating shop tricks, m echanical material stackers, and motorized stackers. Monorail traveling trolleys , portable gantry cranes are useful equipments in stores. Pallet Trucks These are used for low level of working, to lift the material, mov e the material. Height is adjustable for any essential height. It is manually op erated, safe and move on castor wheels, which are easy to move. Castor Wheels These are made with the pressed thick steel, base. They are versat ile to be used for all moving material carrying equipments. These make the equip ments easy to maneuvering the equipment. They have thrust bearings for easy move ments. Rubber or polyurethane material is used for low load capacity requirement s. Fork-lift truck These trucks are much used in the production shops and warehouse s. They are good in moving the material from a place to place. Over and above th e tote boxes on the forks can be elevated to desired level above the ground leve l. Ladders Different types of ladders are required in stores for placing of the mat erial at high level points. They are of different types. As per the requirements they are used. Wall supporting extendable ladder. Self supporting extendable la dder. Trolley based strong ladder, with solid steel base, the safety locks are p rovided. Normally the ladders are made of thick aluminium sections. This makes t hem light in weight, non-rusting, and rust proof. Safety locks, rubber shoes, ro pes, pulleys and castor locks are provided for ease of movements. Mechanised systems Mechanized and automatic equipments need higher level investm ent. On long term they may be economical. Machine power, electrical energy or me chanical engineering techniques are used in place of labour. They use forklift t rucks, tow tractors, order picker trucks, cranes and conveyors Conveyers Conveye r system to move material or products has given start for the engineers. Steel/p lastic balls or rollers are mechanical mounted on the side channels and the prod ucts move on them by driver motor or the power of gravity. Belt-Motor-driven cha in that drags. Materials along a metal slide base Rollers

These are good for moving heavy materials from one place to other place. The pat h is well guided by the number of rollers mounted on a structure. The rollers ca n be powered by motor. Cranes Cranes are useful to pick up and shift the heavy m aterial from one place to other place. Hoists are mounted on overhead rails; the y lift, swing, and transport large and heavy materials. The cranes and hoists ar e having limited travel distance. These are specifically used to shift heavy goo ds from and to ships. Elevators A type of crane that, while in a fixed position, lifts materials usually between floors of buildings. Turntables: This device is used to mechanize the working on components in the different stages in continua tion to avoid handling. The stations on turn table hold, index, and rotate mater ials or parts from operation to operation. Automated systems The concept of a totally automated storage and retrieval syste m has been inviting the attention of professionals to match the storage system/ with the rapid developments in the technology. In automated systems computer pro grams are used to achieve controls on the movements of equipments. Here the tota l movement is co-coordinated and perfectly synchronized. These are systems for r eceiving orders for materials from anywhere in operations or unloading areas, co llecting the materials from locations within warehouse, and delivering the mater ials from locations within a warehouse, and delivering the materials to workstat ions in operations or loading areas. Computers and communication systems are use d for placing orders for materials, locating the materials in storage, giving co mmands for delivery of the materials to locations for loading/unloading/operatio ns, and adjusting inventory records showing the amount and location of materials . Automated Guided Vehicle Systems (AGVS) Take the material order as per the lis t Automatically load the containers of materials from unloading area. Deliver to the place. Unloading the material. The operator carries with him the list of it ems to be items to be retrieved. By making use of predefined system he goes thro ugh the storeroom, stops the handling equipment at respective bins and completes the list in a picking tour. He may go aisle-by-aisle or according to items in l ist or by any other system. Operation Research techniques of sequencing, routing , etc., can be applied to determine the optimal locations of items and optimal r oute in a picking tour. Benefits Increase storage capacity. Increase system thro ughout due to their continuous and tireless use. Reduce the labour costs. Produc t quality is improved with the elimination of human error. Identify parts based on bar codes. Offer higher return on investment. Better capability than standard inventory control systems.

PACKAGING Introduction The term packaging may be defined as the use of container s and parts, together with the decoration and labeling of the product in order t o contain, protect and identify the merchandise and facilitate the use of the pr oduct. Sales promotion is an important consideration in the selection of packagi ng aids in motivating a customer to buy the product. The degree of motivation de pends on the type of product, the type of customer and the demand and supply sit uation. The printing matter and the company emblem or trade mark project the man ufacturer's image to the customer. All kinds of products, namely, solids, liquids, gases suspensions and colloids, have usually to be packed before distribution. Depending on the market area, packaging may be classified as for domestic sale o r for export sale. The various goods may be classified into the following broad categories: 1. Engineering goods; 2. Consumer goods; 1. Engineering goods These may be divided further into the following: (a) Heavy engineering goods, such as pumpas, compressors, engines, machinery, spares, etc. (b) Light engineering good s, such as instruments, small electronic motors, etc. (c) Domestic appliances, s uch as sewing machines, fans, mixers, radios, tvs, etc. 2. Consumer goods These may be classified as under: a) Food products: Canned products like vegetables an d fruits. Bakery products like biscuits, bread, cakes, etc. beverages, alcoholic , soft drinks, juices, tea, coffee, cocoa, etc. Toffee, chocolates, etc. Other p roducts like sugar salt, spices, etc. b) Cosmetics, such as toothpaste, hair cre am, shampoo, face powder, nail polish, etc. PACKAGING MATERIALS Jute Since it has been recognized that renewable resources s hould continue to be the mainstay, for a number of applications, the use of jute , also known as hesian or burlap, is common and encouraged. Interestingly, India still continues to export a sizable portion of its jute packaging production. N ew varieties of jute, better methods of weaving and imparting improved functiona l qualities to it-like making it odour free- are some of the areas which have re ceived special attention. There is a general shift towards the use of synthetics in performance to jute in bulk packaging. Packaging Paper and Board In the fiel d of paper and board, the country is entirely dependent upon indigenous forest r esources which, however, are being rapidly depleted. Bamboo constitutes the main supply source of paper raw materials. Research is under way on the use of quick yielding timber varieties and of hard woods for paper manufacture. Glass The us e of glass containers still continues to be encouraged for milk, liquid, pharmac eutical preparations, fluid beverages, etc. India has abundant supplies of miner als which are required for the manufacture of glass.

Tinplate India produces hot dipped tinplate. Presently most of the mills adopt t he electrolytic process of coating tin. Attempts have been made to manufacture d ifferential coatings as well. Tinplate consumption is restricted by the slow gro wth in the processed food industry, and large-scale uses continue to be for petr oleum oils, edible oils and paints. Tinplate containers for packaging have been adopted in India because of the necessity for long periods of shelf life and the inadequacies of the system of handling and transportation which has made high- s trength packaging compulsory. With the view to reducing dependence on tinplate, dual packaging systems have been adopted for certain food products, whereby the use of refill packages is encouraged. Cellophane A small quantity of cellophane is manufactured by a few units in India. There has been hardly any expansion in its use in this country owing to the high cost of inputs for the manufacture of cellophane and adverse atmospheric conditions and marketing systems. Aluminium F oils and Tubes The use of aluminium foils is confined mostly to pharmaceuticals, foods and tobacco. The alternatives to aluminium foil are metalised plastics. E ven though the introduction of collapsible tubes was generally for tooth-paste a nd pharmaceutical ointments a great variety of typical Indian products have got into collapsible tubes. Plastics The Indigenous production of plastics had its o rigin in industrial alcohol. The setting up of petro-chemical complexes has had considerable impact on the promotion of plastic raw materials. Earlier, the coun try was dependant on high and low density polyethylene. Small quantities of impo rts of other thermo-plastics used to meet the country's packaging requirements. Th e versatility of plastics and their ability to upgrade indigenous materials has naturally encouraged their greater use. a) Laminated Jute Packaging: Even during the early sixties, India began to export jute bags made from polyethylene extru sion coated or polyethylene laminated jute materials. The large-scale expansion of the fertilizer industry in the country resulted in the expansion of markets f or this material. Many export commodities use this as a packaging or as a water proof wrapping material for the safe transit of goods. b) Other laminates and co atings: In the absence of oriented polypropylene, polyethylene-coated papers hav e had the maximum share of the flexible pouch market. Industries have found poly ethylene-coated materials to be inexpensive and have favoured their use. Polyeth ylene- coated foil, glassine paper, poster-paper-all find extensive markets in t he country. c) Shrinkable Films: India uses shrinkable films and heat-set plasti c films. In the area of shrink packaging, however, the industry has limited it t o the intermediate packages rather than extend it to transportation packages. PRODUCT AND PACKAGE DESIGN Many products must be distributed in the way they are manufactured. These may be costly to protect and may be subject to frequent dam age. A product can undergo slight changes in design so that objectionable obtrus ions maybe reduced or removed or the weak elements, which are likely to become d amaged in shipment, may be strengthened. It is not adequate realized that obtrus ions or weak points can result in

unnecessarily higher transportation, packaging and damage costs. The size, shape or closure of many consumer packages often offer sufficient flexibility to suff icient flexibility to effectively create a modular packaging or to standardizes a reduced number of different packages or containers of improved designs. The ma nner in which a product is sold or packaged also has a direct bearing on transpo rtation costs. The higher the density the lower the transportation cost. Protect ive packaging The problem of protecting the product through the distribution pro cess without damage is a major concern of the marketing and logistic manager. Th e objective is to arrive at an optimum protection level that will meet the desir ed customer service standard at a minimum packaging expense. Only the most criti cal and highly expensive items should be packaged for full protection. Reduction in the protective levels must be evaluated against the added costs of warehousi ng, compulsory use of racks and expensive redesign of mechanized and automated h andling system subjecting the packages to drop and impacts. Cost reduction in pa ckaging The problems of the higher costs of physical distribution are caused whe n we examine packaging narrowly and departmentally. The marketing management con tinues to look at packaging strictly from a sales point of view. Packaging engin eers, who are under purchasing or manufacturing, examine it only as a protective device. Only a physical distribution manager can look at packaging broadly and conceive of changes in design, size, mode of transportation, etc. which will con tribute to the effectiveness of the distribution system. Most companies continue to deal with packaging as an engineering problem without the total system outlo ok. Transport Packaging For the internal movement of goods, the Indian railways have introduced specially designed containers. They differ from inter-modal containe rs in dimensions and in capacity; but they meet the requirements of the reductio n of gloss and damage in transit, and minimized the packaging costs. The develop ment of inter-indol containers has been undertaken in India. The country's maritim e transport has been geared to carry container cargo. Efforts have been made to develop container ports in the country. Testing of Packaging Tests on packaging are performed mainly to determine its compatibility and transport-worthiness. Th e various tests carried out are to determine tensile strength, breaking load, bu rst factor, tearing strength, resistance to humidity (with salt spray) and vibra tions, drop strength, etc. The Indian Standards Institution has now developed va rious standards for packaging.