The Warehouse: More than Four Walls

How exciting could warehousing possibly be? The general perception of this once-pallid business function is that it's a straightforward, box-in, box-out operation. Well not anymore. Warehousing has gained more attention (and investment) as business activities disperse across the globe and managers increasingly view their businesses as supply chains in an attempt to optimize the entire stream end-to-end.

Warehousing historically has been the unglamorous step-child of the supply chain, with none of the sexy appeal of a FedEx cargo jet or the complexity of an Intel semiconductor plant. But now, warehouses run sophisticated software systems that rival those in manufacturing facilities, and many warehouse managers are taking every possible step to increase throughput and streamline operations. How far have warehouses come from the storage-shed days? World Trade Magazine has a great article by Lara Sowinski about the evolution of warehousing. Here are two examples of extreme measures warehouses have taken to streamline operations:

[...] while speed is typically desirable in this industry, it's meaningless if the throughput doesn't improve, says [John Clark of Dematic, a leading provider of automated material handling systems]. Strategically placing boxes very close together on the conveyer helps improve throughput, as does 'dynamic gapping,' which allows each section of the conveyer to speed up or slow down independently. "It's like a highway. If everyone is going the same speed you can be very close together. Dynamic gapping increases or decreases the amount of space you need between two products to achieve better throughput."
[...] the phsical aspects of the warehouse are getting fine-tuned to enhance productivity and efficiency. [...] W. Paul Delp, President, Lansdale Warehouse, [says] "Lasers are also being used to flatten and smooth out warehouse floors to enhance forklift operations; even floorjoints are carefully sealed to reduce friction."