Warehousing Operations

By
Dr. P. Ravi Kumar
 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
 Marking
Identifying

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  STORAGE / PALLETIZING
• Product key
• Product code
• Size
• Weight
• Cost
• color
 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