Warehouse logistics receives goods and merchandise, checks them and stores them properly according to the inbound . Specialists put together route plans, load orders and deliver them to customers. At the heart of all these operations is the optimization of logistics processes - because only if these run efficiently can the warehouse functions be used to their full potential. In this article, we reveal which goals warehouse logistics pursues in addition to process optimization and how these can best be achieved.
At every Sites , goods and merchandise are received and checked for their usability. The main objective is always to make the material flow faster, more efficient and as error-free as possible by storing and transporting the goods - from the inbound to outbound. In summary, warehousing pursues eight objectives:
The first objective of warehouse logistics is to ensure that all required goods, merchandise and raw materials are always available in sufficient quantities. If a supplier has delivery difficulties or there are supply bottlenecks due to seasonal differences, a sufficiently filled Sites can ensure that fluctuations are compensated for.
Another goal of warehouse logistics is to achieve a short delivery time coupled with high delivery reliability. On the one hand, the time between placing the order and shipping the goods should be as short as possible. Production rhythm, the duration of order processing, the availability of the ordered goods at Sites and delivery reliability are among the factors that influence delivery time.
High delivery reliability, in turn, ensures that promised delivery dates are actually met. It is also influenced by various factors, such as the reliability of the workflow and the readiness to deliver. High delivery reliability is an elementary prerequisite for customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. It is therefore often more decisive than the price of the goods.
Another goal of warehouse logistics is to ensure optimum storage capacity through efficient processes and advance planning. This determines how many goods the storage system can hold in total. In order to determine which storage capacities and financial resources are required, precise preliminary planning via demand assessments, market observations and growth forecasts is a prerequisite.
Data evaluations - for example on order quantity, duration of procurement, reorder level and safety stock - help warehouse logistics specialists to optimize processes and use warehouse capacities in an economically sensible way. Improved ordering processes offer the opportunity to carry out inventory management in a profit-optimized manner.
This point is also one of the goals of warehouse logistics: an optimal cost-benefit ratio. The best possible cost-benefit ratio requires a well thought-out and tailored warehouse strategy. This defines the rules for how and in what order incoming and outgoing products are delivered, picked, and shipped.
Using suitable storage racks and EDP systems, employees can monitor and control the processes involved in loading and unloading at Sites . Fixed and free storage location systems are available when choosing a suitable storage location arrangement.
All storage strategies pursue the goal of a good cost-benefit ratio. If, for example, cost-intensive components are stored at Sites, which are only rarely needed but frequently have to be adapted, it may make more sense to produce them only when there is a need for them instead of storing them for a longer period of time.
Another goal in warehouse logistics is to ensure high delivery flexibility. This refers to the ability of the delivery system to respond flexibly to customers' wishes - whether in terms of delivery time, a change in the quantity of product ordered, or with regard to transport variants.
With regard to delivery time, the terms "just-in-time" and "just-in-sequence" play an important role. "Just-in-time" means that a required product is delivered precisely in terms of time and quantity in order to keep the costs and effort of warehousing at the processing location as low as possible.
The same goal is also pursued by the "just-in-sequence" delivery method - except that the smooth procurement of the required goods is refined even further here: The goods are not only delivered to the right place at the right time in the right quantity, but also in the correct type, so that they can be processed there immediately. The supplier must therefore pay additional attention to the correct sequence of products when packing and loading the goods.
To ensure such high delivery flexibility and the smooth procurement of goods, electronic data exchange between buyer and supplier is indispensable.
At Sites itself, it is also important to constantly optimize the processes that take place. Factors such as the conveyors used (e.g. belt conveyors, forklifts), the routes taken by the goods in the Sites or the steps involved in booking goods in the merchandise management system are just a few examples that can be examined for their potential for improvement. Optimization of the logistical processes taking place at Sites is therefore also an important goal within warehouse logistics.
All goals and measures are ultimately about reducing the time and costs of the various logistics processes. Reducing warehousing costs is accordingly an elementary goal in warehousing, which can be achieved by means of various methods, evaluations and measures.
Possible solutions include, for example:
All the players involved in the value chain need a high-performance network for the transmission of information and data - because only a high level of information and communication capability makes it possible, for example, to deliver required parts to the minute. If, for example, suppliers are informed "just in time" about consumption at the manufacturer or customer, inventories can be reduced thanks to modern communication systems.
Warehouse logistics is facing ever greater challenges: Growing customer demands, increasing requirements for delivery time and readiness for delivery, a greater variety of products, shortened life cycles of goods and commodities as well as changed requirements for suppliers due to globalization and offshoring are just some of the tasks that warehouse logistics has to face.
These high standards can only be achieved if all the players involved in the value chain work together and all processes function smoothly - from purchasing, goods delivery, warehouse logistics and distribution to delivery to the customer.
In order to achieve ambitious goals such as a constant reduction in costs, it is not possible without a high degree of automation - also with regard to the cooperation of the various players. With TradeLink, you can increase precisely this productivity - because all coordinative tasks are simplified and partially automated thanks to the cloud solution.
Achieve measurable results through collaboration now with TradeLink's simplest and most effective form of supply coordination. For more information and a free demo of our software, simply contact our Expert:in.
In a clearly arranged tool, the parties involved can find all the necessary information about inbound and outbound. External supply partners can also be easily added. Time-consuming e-mails, telephone calls and Excel spreadsheets, as well as expensive and error-prone paper processes, are a thing of the past.
Suppliers and business partners can easily access the information with their access, without complicated IT implementation. The data is stored securely and, of course, DSGVO-compliant in the cloud. Thanks to the complete transparency of the performance of suppliers and service providers, an average of 30% of storage costs can be saved in inbound- and outgoing goods processes.
