Many people are unaware of the different warehousing stages that typically occur before a product is sold to the customer. Some are aware that they happen but might not understand the importance of going through these stages.
This blog will explore the different types of warehousing stages, when you should use them, and why they’re so important.
Introduction
Warehousing operations first began in 1840 with the invention of railroads. Then, in 1847, warehouses were built for the loading of goods at the west coast.
In 1869, Americans started taking advantage of improved transportation to store goods and then ship them to other locations.
Today, there are many different types of warehousing systems used by many logistics companies, especially Amazon (e-commerce giant), for better supply chain.
Warehousing stages are an important part of the shipping process. They are responsible for receiving and storing products until they are ready to be shipped out to customers.
Each stage has a specific job to do, which is why it’s so important that all the stages work together correctly.
If one stage is missing or ineffective, it can cause a lot of problems for the rest of the shipping process. Once a warehouse is set up, shipments can be processed quickly and efficiently.
Various Stages of Warehousing
Over time, warehouses became more sophisticated and more efficient at delivering goods to customers. More importantly, they became an essential part of the shipping process by helping companies keep on schedule and reduce costs by using fewer resources while still delivering high quality products on time.
Here’s a look at the different warehousing stages and their duties:
Pre-shipment
This stage is responsible for receiving items from manufacturers and other suppliers, and verifying that they are in compliance with specified specifications. This is also where quality control checks are made on submitted products.
Product staging
This is where products are temporarily stored until they’re ready to be sent out to customers. It’s important to make sure that products are properly staged according to their shipping destination and size. This stage also handles product recalls if necessary.
Inbound logistics
This is where products arrive from the outside world and are checked for any defects or unauthorized additions. It’s also where orders are processed and shipped out to customers.
Outbound logistics
This is where finished products are shipped out to customers. It’s also where products are unloaded from trucks or trains, and reloaded into vehicles for their next stop.
Routing & planning
This is where routes and schedules are determined and then assigned to drivers who may be delivering a variety of products to various destinations throughout the day.
In this stage, which can last anywhere from one night to several weeks, drivers need to make sure they follow the routes that were preset in the routing & planning stage as well as maintain a safe speed while driving their vehicle on various streets and highways.
Here they also need to check their route chart against traffic conditions so there aren’t any delays or mishaps on the roadways.
Delivery
Once a delivery driver completes all the steps in this stage, he or she moves onto this final stage, which can last several hours or even days depending on how long it takes to unload their vehicle and prepare themselves for their next route.
This is when drivers receive their next order from the client, complete delivery and sometimes clean up after themselves.
After completing all of these steps each day, drivers are ready to head out on the streets once more each morning to continue delivering orders and packages that have been created by various clients throughout the day.
Importance of Warehousing Stages
The importance of warehousing stages cannot be overstated. They are the foundation on which a successful e-commerce business is built. Without a well-organized and managed warehouse, your business will not be able to thrive.
Here are seven reasons why warehousing stages matter the most:
- Product Availability:
Without properly staged warehouses, you may find that your products are unavailable for sale due to low stock levels. This can lead to frustrated customers and lost sales. It’s important to have a system in place that ensures that all products are available at all times, so that customers can always count on finding what they’re looking for. - Efficiency:
A well-managed warehouse will help you to achieve greater efficiency in your operations. This means that you’ll be able to produce more products faster and with less waste. It also allows you to focus on your core business rather than wasting time managing inventory levels. - Cost Control:
Having accurate inventory levels can help you to control costs associated with production. This means that you’ll be able to make better decisions about what products to produce and how much resources to allocate to each project. - Customer Satisfaction:
A well-staged warehouse will help you to deliver high levels of customer satisfaction. Customers like knowing that they’ll receive the product they need when they need it. A well-managed warehouse will enable you to meet the needs of your customers while ensuring that you don’t exceed their delivery schedule expectations. - Staff Satisfaction:
A well-managed warehouse will help you to avoid staff anxiety and frustration. This can lead to staff burnout and dissatisfaction with their jobs if they’re never able to achieve the level of productivity that they need in order to be successful at what they do. - Productivity:
A well-managed warehouse will help you to achieve greater levels of employee productivity and efficiency. In other words, a better warehousing stages maximizes the amount of output that each employee can produce. - Safety:
A proper-staged warehouse will help you to avoid employee injuries and accidents while also ensuring that your workers are treated fairly and with respect at all times.
Conclusion
In today’s digital world, it is all but impossible to keep your products in stock. This fact has forced retailers and other businesses to adopt a “Just In Time” philosophy, which means that they must always be willing and able to quickly procure the materials they need from suppliers.
To ensure that their supply chains are agile enough to meet this demand, many businesses have turned to warehousing stages. Without proper functioning warehouse stages, retailers and other businesses will find themselves unable to meet customer demands.
