Warehouses are a crucial part of the global supply chain system. A warehouse can simply be defined as a planned space, usually a large commercial building for handling and storage of goods. This is not to be confused with a distribution center where most products stay only for a relatively shorter time and only to achieve a specific task such as consolidation, assembly, or cross-docking.
Warehouse operator’s role in the supply chain has significantly changed in the past few years. It used to be that the operators only had to take care of the long term storage of goods. Now, some warehouse operators also play an important part in logistics and include value-adding services such as loading and unloading, packing, and transporting to help businesses achieve their time-critical tasks.
Why is warehousing important in freight forwarding
Warehouses, if taken by face value, only stores goods until it is needed to be moved. But if we drill down to the specificities, storing goods combined with warehousing strategies such as JIT(Just-in-Time) or postponement and warehousing technology like WMS (Warehouse Management Systems) not only reduces costs but also increases flexibility and enhances efficiency and responsiveness.
For freight forwarders, warehouses allow freight to be moved faster over shorter distances so your container is always ready and chances of any errors or mishandling in the forwarding process are greatly reduced.
Different Types of Warehouse
If you are looking for a warehousing solution, there are a few things you should consider. One of them is the kind of warehouse that you would need. Here is a quick non-exhaustive list of the types of warehouses that are commonly available.
- Raw Material Warehouse
- Work in Progress Warehouse
- Finished Goods Warehouse
- Local Warehouse
- Value Added Warehouse
- Fulfillment Warehouse
- Climate Controlled Warehouse
- Bonded Warehouse
Freight Forwarding and Warehousing All in One
The next time you are looking for a reliable and professional freight forwarding service with warehousing, SFI is the number one choice for freight forwarding.
Want to know more about the warehousing service that we offer?
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