仓储-不仅仅是一个存储设施

现代世界在信息技术和管理科学领域取得了许多进步。几十年前的组织更多地遵循传统的方法，因为市场上几乎没有任何形式的竞争，客户对他们收到的东西很满意。今天，随着越来越多的公司的出现，竞争的水平已经飙升到新的高度，公司必须不断创新，寻找在运行的方法和手段。供应链和物流这一管理理念彻底改变了客户服务的理念。不断变化的客户需求是企业转向供应链管理和物流的主要原因。目前的情况是，不是公司之间相互竞争，而是他们的供应链开始行动。仓储是供应链的一部分，也可以称为供应链网络中的一个环节，为产品增加价值。仓库的性能是通过其生产力和成本效益来评估的。人们对仓库有误解。我们大多数人认为仓库只不过是一个存储设施，这是不正确的。

仓库在库存管理中起着非常重要的作用。它有助于组织专注于其核心活动。有三种类型的仓库，即私人，公共或合同存储设施，这完全取决于公司的要求。构建一个合适的物流网络并不容易，因为有许多因素需要考虑。人们可以选择集中式仓库或分散式仓库。前者作为一个母仓库，有助于实现规模经济和低运营成本，而后者实际上是一组位于不同地点的多个配送中心，为客户提供更好的服务。确定仓库的位置可能是人们必须研究的下一步。投资建立仓库系统是至关重要的。大多数仓库使用最新的IT工具和先进的通信技术，通过快速的信息传输，提高整个流程的可视性。要加强内外互联互通。 Investing in the warehousing activity is encouraged but there should be some gains justifying the investment made. Warehousing is indeed an important service function within the supply chain network and starts with its basic function of material storing. Manufacturing companies often face disruptions in their production process as the customer’s demand never remains static. There is always a mismatch between the consumption cycle and the manufacturing. This is where warehouse comes in to the picture helping the organization in maintaining the inventory until the demand for it rises again. Holding of materials is another important function of the warehouse, where a proper record has to be maintained of the goods which are coming in and going out. The marketing guy studies the current demand of the customer and promises him/her to deliver the goods in time by forming delivery schedule. This makes the goods move out of the warehouse and reach its end customers in a process called dispatching. The holding cost is also a vital component in the warehouse function. The goods coming from various sources are been sent to a single point, where these are collected and consolidated in bigger quantity. These consolidated items are been sent in the form of large shipments to the client which helps in decreasing freight costs and improving economies of scale. Break bulk is a process just the opposite of consolidation. Here, the goods or materials comes in a bulkier quantity and gets segregated into smaller shipments and then sent to the customers. These items will go into several distribution centers located in different regions. Cross docking is another concept in the warehousing activity which is said to be quite similar to that of the break bulk process. Cross docking process in its simplest form is an inbound vehicle which is basically a semi-trailer truck or rail road car, loading the consignment in to the outbound trucks. The concept of cross docking is built for goods which are fast moving and gets perished quickly (FMCG). It takes away the need for a warehouse. There are warehouses which are used as product mixing points where different components from different manufacturing plants get converted into finished products. The product coming into the warehouse has to get packed first and then it gets labeled in accordance with the demand of the customers. Material handling is another function which is carried out within the warehouse. The inbound vehicle carrying the raw materials reaches the warehouse and then it gets unloaded. On the other hand, out bound truck would be waiting for the finished goods inventory to get loaded. The loading and unloading activity has to be done very carefully depending on the nature of goods. Cycle time is also a very crucial element in the warehousing activity. The order cycle time is very much proportional to the efficiency of the material picker inside the inventory warehouse. Real time information is needed in each warehousing activity and it also applies to other department of the supply chain process.

管理库存对仓库经理来说是一个巨大的挑战，因为他必须考虑许多因素。库存管理中最难回答的问题之一是应该持有多少库存?这里要做的第一件事是确定持有库存的成本。这些成本中很少包括采购成本、管理成本、财务成本、人力资本和设备成本。有一种叫库存精度的东西应该保持。一个像样的库存精度水平应该至少98%或更好。库存的性质也必须考虑，因为可以有关键货物和非关键货物。有像供应商管理库存和延迟物流这样的策略，可以更好地管理库存。在供应商管理库存中，商品的生产者希望他们的供应商管理库存。这有助于他们节省更多的时间和金钱。 Sometimes, the customer wants the product to be modified at a later stage. This is when postponement of logistics comes in to the picture by postponing the final assembly of goods to the place where it is sold. The warehouse sometimes faces situation when the inventory which it holds is not getting sold. At that time, one can switch over to JIT which is nothing but just in time production strategy. JIT helps in cutting down the carrying costs and the in- process inventory. Turnaround time of the vehicles also has to be considered. It helps in assessing the efficiency of the truck drivers and the vehicles which could help the upper management to take further decision. Even there are scrap warehouses which takes care of waste. It is part of the replenishment process. In india, majority of the people are unorganized players which include mainly the Kabadi walas. These kaabadi wala collect waste from the nearby localities and supply 75-80% of the waste to the companies, where it again gets converted into useful products. The rest 25% of the waste is used by the kabadi wala themselves. These people are very important and are the key drivers of economy. So, scrap warehouse is a part of this process contributing to the green supply chain.

仓库还保持一个安全库存，其中存储额外的需求数量的百分比。这些安全储备是在紧急需要时使用的。安全库存甚至可以与缓冲库存相关。印度不太鼓励仓储，这里的大多数人只把它局限在仓储上。在使用先进材料和升级仓库内使用的材料方面，印度远远落后于西方国家。我认为主要的问题在于管理仓库的人的心态。在印度，人们把仓库看作是一个仓库，直到客户的需求产生，而在其他国家，他们把仓库看作是一个部门，在那里他们可以为产品产生成本优势。甚至还有专门的仓库，通常被称为冷库。这些是建造和专门为物品更容易腐烂的性质。交货; vegetables. If you are looking at improving your warehouse performance then you need to improve the productivity of the materials and create more space. Meeting of throughput requirements by putting up a complete material and operational flow should be your main aim if you want to build a better warehouse. At the same time, there are terms like Ergonomics which is looking for the safety of the people working within the warehouse. Warehousing being an outsourcing activity, is still evolving and holds a promising career for young professionals.

本文由金奈商业物流学院的Sanju Mathew撰写。