Strategic Warehouse Management

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Introduction

The Southern Boston Massachusetts area proposed for the construction of the warehouse is suitable because of the small number of warehouses that are available in comparison to the available demand. The proposed area holds a lot of potential because the supply chain management and warehouse business has not been well exploited.

Research studies indicate that the existing supply chain management systems and available warehouses are not very efficient in their work which has led to the loss of clients for some of the businesses that do business with these supply chain businesses (Stuart, 2011).

The area holds a lot of potential for being a source of high income. Research materials on studies that had been conducted in the area showed that some of the existing warehouses had poor delivery times for their clients which made them gain a bad reputation with the consumers. The disadvantage for the consumers is that some of these warehouses are the only sources of the bulk commodities that their customers need to run their businesses therefore.

Another potential weakness of existing warehouses that the company can take advantage of is that some of the warehouses in the identified region sometimes run out of the stock that consumers need. If the deliveries to clients could also be made on time, the clients would gain the necessary confidence in the Strategic warehouse management Inc. Company.

Before delivery, the staff at the Strategic Warehouse Management Inc. Company that would be set up could first determine the most efficient routes to use to deliver goods to clients.

Consideration of minor aspects such as traffic, would result in the saving of time and satisfaction of the customers’ needs. The Strategic Warehouse Management Inc. Company would also form the necessary relationships with the lowest priced producers to ensure that clients get the products they need at lower or similar prices in relation to other Warehousing and supply chain management system businesses in the area (Stuart, 2011).

The inefficiency of competitors would result in an economic advantage for the company in terms of high number of clients due to the efficient and convenient services provided by the company especially in comparison to other similar businesses (Mentzer, 2011).

The Strategic Warehouse Management Inc Company would strive towards the proficient delivery of the services that clients are in need of. The efficient delivery of services would result in the building of a good name and reputation for the company which would spread to other consumers resulting in growth and development of business. The company could ensure that every consumer in the market is aware of the services handled in an efficient manner leading to saving of time and more convenience as needed Tompkins & Smith, 1998).

The Southern Boston area has good facilities in terms of banks and higher institutions of learning. The close proximity to banks would ensure that transactions could be processed fast to avoid any incidences of delay which might lead to loss of business and impact negatively on the profit margin.

The internationally ranked higher institutions of learning would contribute to the highly trained staff that would be needed in the running of the company. Southern Boston also has a wide variety of businesses which would serve as a base for the potential clientele needed by Strategic Warehouse Management Inc. Company (Stuart, 2011).

A supply chain Assessment

Supply chain is a very important and fast developing field. The field encompasses the activities involved in manufacturing, purchasing of needed products, transportation and distribution of this products to where they are needed, at the right condition and at the right time. Supply chain management is integrated with warehousing because the handling of material often includes the storage of these materials before proper logistics can be planned and finalized on (Gattorna, 1998).

Supply chain management is a very essential part in the delivery of products to the final consumer since it forms an important link between the manufacturer and the end consumer and all the individuals and processes that are in between such as; transfer and management of necessary data needed in the exchange process, transportation of raw products and processed goods out of factories, storage of the products before they can distributed, controlling of the inventory in the warehouse systems, procuring and managing of the whole supply process (Alexander, 2002).

The supply chain management process has also expanded to include demand and supply forecasting and planning, scheduling of operations, processing of orders and ensuring that customers are served cost efficiently at effective processes for involved firms in the supply chain (Simchi-Levi, Kaminsky & Simchi, Levi, 2004).

Another importance of Supply chain management systems is that, it results in cost efficiency for firms and ensures that firms remain competitive especially when they are benchmarked with competing organizations. Proper supply chain management allows an organization to be competitive and ensure that goods are supplied to customers at or before the specified time by customers.

Effective supply management systems ensure that proper planning of the routes to be taken have been designed, modal analysis performed, preparation of the loading systems completed and the necessary distribution plans designed and the best ones chosen to ensure fast delivery of goods to consumers(Simchi-Levi, Kaminsky & Simchi, Levi, 2004).

For most businesses, the key to ensuring that they attract and retain their customers is the fast delivery of ordered goods to consumers. If the goods are not available when needed by clients, the business risks losing existing and potential clients.

Therefore all businesses should ensure effective supply management so as to remain competitive in comparison to other businesses and in order to maintain or even exceed set profit margins. Supply chain management has the intent of increasing incomes, reducing incurred costs, ensuring that the assets in an organization are effectively made us of and customers’ needs are met (Stuart, 2011).

A warehouse operations plan on how to build and manage the warehousing operations

Running of a ware house is not an easy and it requires a lot of planning and dedication to execute the necessary operations to the warehouse in order to serve clients cost effectively while increasing revenue and ensuring that customers’ needs are met.

A warehouse operations plan should include the human resource planning for the warehouse, layout plan for the space of storage for materials to handled, proper installation and availability of handling equipment and up to date warehouse management systems (Alexander Communications, 2002).

The proper documentation needed in order to be legally permitted to build up a warehouse should be sourced from the necessary authorities so that the work to put up a warehouse can begin.

It would be highly preferred to work with individuals that have already worked in the construction of a warehouse because they would be at a better position to understand the concepts used in the construction of a warehouse. The services of an efficient project manager should be acquired to ensure that construction of the warehouse takes place within a given time line that the plan of having the warehouse running is not stalled (Mentzer, 2001).

Depending on the funds that are available, the building would be expected to take a period of about six months to one year. After the warehouse building has been completed, the warehouse management should start sourcing for the right human resources for the warehouse. One of the most important resources in a warehouse is the human resource which the organization should ensure are highly skilled in their areas of expertise.

The right number of employees should be sourced. Too many employees would be an unnecessary expense to the company while a low number of employees would result in poor outcomes such as poor customer service because they would be overworked and not perform their duties effectively. The different expected duties of employees should be divided into different categories to enable proper recruiting of needed personnel (Tompkins & Smith, 1998).

Receiving of orders, storage and picking of orders are different function as that should be allocated to different people especially because of the different documentation processes that are required for effective and smooth running of the warehouse.

Within the major roles of receiving, storage and dispatch of commodities in the warehouse, are the smaller roles such as inspection of the commodities to ensure that they are in good shape when received and before delivery to clients, controlling of the available stock and ordering of more when the available stock is about to get finished, packing and loading of the commodities stored in the warehouse (Lambert, 2008).

The layout section of the warehouse should also be planned for. Warehouse activities such as receiving and loading of the stored commodities, development of actual spaces needed for the warehouse activities and the estimation of the necessary space for receiving and loading should be accounted for.

Depending on the type of commodities to be stored, shelves should be installed to ensure efficient and maximum utilization of available space. After making a layout plan, it should be reconciled with available space and revisions of available space made where necessary. For example storage space could be reduced if it is found that the available loading space is insufficient (Tompkins & Smith, 1998).

Concluding recommendation using supporting rationale derived from the above mentioned items

I would recommend that Strategic Warehouse Management Inc. Company begins its sets up of “super warehouses” in Southern Boston stemming from the results of the research that had been carried out on the area that indicated that there is a gap in efficient warehouse and supply chain management which would result in raking in of high profit margins for the company.

The establishment of warehouses in Southern Boston would also serve as a marketing tool for the Strategic Warehouse Management Inc. Company due to the efficient services that the company would offer thus earn a good name for itself.

Proper supply management is important for most companies to ensure that they remain competitive when they are benchmarked with other organizations in the same industry. That is why efficient supply chain management is a very important toll in ensuring that an organization gets to, and stays at the top. Nowadays, supply chain management includes; procurement, purchasing, information management systems, storage, storage management, logistics and distribution.

Organizations are able to take advantage and maximize on proper supply chain management, can be able to maximize on profits since clients would be aware of the reliability and speed that such a company delivers commodities to clients. Establishment of warehouses would include building of warehouses by the company. The building of the warehouses should be allocated to a construction company with a proven track record of delivery of services to clients.

The warehouses that would be constructed would be staffed with highly trained personnel to ensure customer satisfaction and efficient record keeping and management of the warehouses. The lay out plans for the warehouses would be made very efficiently to ensure that all the available space would be utilized to the maximum. Proper arrangement of the warehouse can increase space for storage and convenience for loading and offloading of the goods to and from the warehouse respectively.

Any necessary installation of equipment would be made to ensure that the storage is increased and convenient for the types of goods to be stored in the different warehouses. Strategic Warehouse Management Inc. would maximize on the expertise that it holds in warehouse management and strategically place itself as a market leader that offers delivery of commodities in a convenient, cost effective and timely manner in comparison to other companies offering similar services (Simchi-Levi, Kaminsky & Simchi- Levi, 2004).

References

Alexander, C. (2002). Warehouse Management & Control New York, NY: Alexander Communications Inc.

Gattorna, J. (1998). Strategic Supply Chain Alignment. England: Gower Publishing Ltd.

Lambert, D.L. (2008). Supply Chain Management. Florida: Hartley Press.

Mentzer, T.J. (2001). Supply Chain Management. California, CA: Sage Publications.

Simchi-Levi, D., Kaminsky, P. & Simchi, Levi, E. (2004). Managing the Supply Chain: The Definitive Guide for the Business. Ohio: Cengage.

Stuart, E. (2011). Excellence in Warehouse Management. Massachusetts: Wiley.

Tompkins, J.A. & Smith, D.J. (1998). Warehouse Management Handbook. New York, NY: Rosen.

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