Warehouse Consultants and Warehouse stocking and fulfilment
28/03/2011
Warehouse stocking and fulfilment is mainly concerned with fulfilment and distribution, this can concern both bricks and mortar retailers and internet trading. Bricks and mortar retailers can involve anything from pharmaceuticals and consumer packaged goods.
The main types of warehouses that warehouse consultants deal with are:
1. Retail Distribution Centres: These types of warehouses typically supply products to retail stores, such as supermarkets, clothing stores, bookshops etc. Therefore the end customer for these types of warehouse is the retail stores themselves. Warehouse consultants will therefore manage the relationship with the end customer
2. Service Parts Distribution Centre: This type of warehouse holds spare parts for products that require an expensive initial outlay such are aeroplanes and automobiles. Many types of manufacturing companies that manufacture expensive products have net parts the respective manufacturing industry in question. In this instance the warehouse consultant would be managing the relationship between the supply parts distribution centres and the manufacturers.
3. Online Retail or ecommerce: This type of distribution centre receives orders online, then those orders enter the pick, pack, ship process to the end customer. The warehouse consultant here would not only be concerned with the distribution centre and the running of it, but would also be involved to some extend with the technical side concerning the online operation.
4. 3PL (3rd party logistics) Warehouse: This type of warehouse concerns the ability of an online retailer to use a bricks and mortar warehouse to fulfil its supply needs. These could be anything from electronics to bookstores. Large online companies such as Amazon often act as 3PL to a host of different companies supplying many differing products from many differing sectors. A warehouse consultant might source a 3PL for a company
5. Perishables Warehouse: This type of warehouse holds items such as pharmaceutical food or beverages that have a short shelf life. A short shelf life usually applies to something that has to move fast before the product deteriorate and cannot be used. This type of warehousing also utilises cold storage. This type of warehouse usually is part of a “cold chain” where temperature and other conditions that can impact the merchandise is closely monitored and controlled. Again a warehouse consultant would source the right warehouse and oversee the storage process.
Warehouse consultants can be both in-house or can be hired externally to provide expert advice on all aspects of warehouse management. An example of an awared winning company that has been doing this for years includes Gideon Hillman Consulting.
