Warehouse management – an integral part of a strong supply chain

There is an old English adage that goes, “an apple a day, keeps the doctor away”. We believe the same can be said of warehouses, as we see them as an integral part of a strong, healthy supply chain.

Supply chain resilience has never been more prominent or needed, and whilst many may know warehouse management, not many understand just how warehousing and logistics can strengthen your business.

Warehouses – how they can help you

A global network of warehouses can cover services such as consolidation, deconsolidation, fulfilment, and distribution as well as container depots. The latest warehouses, utilising a hybrid system of automation, robotics and skilled teams of warehousing professionals can act as a key component in all supply chains. By utilising warehousing services, door-to-door logistics can be achieved; be it collecting, sorting, and moving products from or to warehouses (or elsewhere), as well as preparing and managing import & export shipping containers and ensuring the delivery ends up at its final destination.

Finding the right fit

Today’s modern warehouses can be split into three main groups, each dedicated to meet certain needs.

1. Consolidation centres connected to sourcing areas, combined materials and goods pre-export, help optimise landside and air movements, and ocean container loads.
2. Deconsolidation centres are warehouses for cargo arriving to its destination market. Many of these warehouses are located close to key ocean ports, allowing for faster throughput of cargo, keeping the supply chain’s flow optimised.
3. Fulfilment centres, where picking, packing and fulfilling orders can be done close to market, for both E-commerce and B2B orders. These facilities are normally supported by Warehouse & Inventory Management Systems, handling receipt, storage, pick and pack and order fulfilment.

The future of storage

By expanding and building upon a pre-existing network of warehouses, such as large anchor regional warehouses or on-demand access multi-customer facilities, warehouses should be available in all relevant locations to facilitate shorter supply chains. Through increasing the amount and locations of warehouses, businesses can have flexibility and benefit from shorter time to market, as products will be stored closer to customers and consumers.

Warehouse management can truly help businesses in responding to changing demand patterns, new business opportunities and/or enact cost-saving activities.

In these times of ever-changing needs, the right warehousing and integrated logistics partner is one that can offer a large, global network of warehouses distributed across the globe, to create greater and seamless end-to-end solutions.