Types of warehousing

The structure of the warehouse must be well thought out, because this is the only way to ensure that the warehouse functions as efficiently as possible. That is why there are different types of storage, whereby we will now go into the individual classifications in detail.

Storage according to the type of goods

Using the type of goods as a criterion for setting up the warehouse is obvious in many industries. The separation according to the type of goods can sometimes be necessary simply because of certain legal requirements in order to ensure that certain substances do not come together, but are stored in a structured, secure manner.

Operating mode of the company

Every company has its own peculiarities and, in particular, the design of the processes within the company, but also towards suppliers and customers, influence the type of warehousing. The operating mode therefore plays a major role. In other words, it could be said that each company can proceed individually, depending on the prevailing circumstances.

Storage location and storage structure

The design of the warehouse can mean that certain storage methods are available or others are hardly feasible. The location of the warehouse is also an important factor that can make a certain form of storage necessary. The spatial conditions therefore always play a major role in the type of use of the warehouse. When choosing the property in which the warehouse is to be built, the planned storage method must therefore be observed.

In addition, a distinction can be made between centralized and decentralized storage.

Warehouse owner and form of administration

The warehouse can either be operated entirely by the company itself or the storage of products is outsourced. Both variants have obvious advantages and disadvantages. If the storage is carried out by another company, the type of storage plays a smaller role, since the service provider has to take care of the optimization of the warehouse. On the other hand, you may lose control of the warehouse processes yourself and make the company dependent to a certain extent on the warehousing service provider commissioned.

Storage technology

Bearings can also be differentiated depending on the storage technology. For example, a company can also operate a warehouse in which the FIFO method is used and a second, for completely different goods, in which a different method is used. These warehouses therefore contain different products and, precisely because of the different technologies that are used, can be spatially separated from one another.

Storage means of transport

When you talk about storage, you always have to think about transport. This includes deliveries to the warehouse, internal logistics within the warehouse and the handover to downstream freight forwarders from the warehouse. Depending on which transport methods can be used in the warehouse, warehouses can be subdivided. For example, there can be a separate warehouse for goods that have to be delivered by a large truck.

So we see that there are many different types of storage, that various aspects are included and that it is difficult to say what the optimal storage will look like across the board. A decisive factor in storage is always the costs, which we will now go into in more detail.

Storage costs

A warehouse should not only be practical and efficient, but above all it should also be inexpensive. Every warehouse consumes space, systems have to be operated, and running costs arise in a wide variety of ways, including security technology, heating and electricity. The storage costs to minimize is therefore an important goal, because here considerable savings can often be realized.

The costs of warehousing include all those cost items that arise directly or indirectly from warehousing, regardless of whether they arise from the warehouse itself or in processes associated with the warehouse.

Components of the storage costs

The storage costs are made up of numerous individual components that arise in some form from the warehouse and the functions that the warehouse is supposed to fulfill. These are for example:

• Cost of the building itself
• Operating costs and maintenance costs
• Personnel costs
• Heating, electricity, water
• Costs for security technology in the warehouse
• Cleaning costs
• Costs for machines such as forklifts in the warehouse
• Warehouse software costs
• Indirect costs for the planning and optimization of the warehouse or the management of the warehouse
• Various aids and material costs
• Indirectly, the return on the tied capital through storage

Rationalization measures of all kinds, from automation to ongoing optimization of the processes in the warehouse, help to reduce costs. At the same time, it must be ensured that the functions of the warehouse are still fully fulfilled, i.e. that, despite cost reductions, enough products are available in the warehouse to enable acceptable delivery times.

Thus there is always an interplay between the cost reduction and the necessary buffer effects that a warehouse should bring with it. Finding the golden mean here is the great art.

Storage rate and calculation with example

In order to make the storage costs precisely quantifiable, there is the key figure of the storage cost rate, or LKS for short. The storage costs are set in relation to the average storage value and multiplied by 100 to get a result in percent.

If a good costs around 100 euros and the storage costs are 10 euros, the storage cost rate is 10%. The storage costs are allocated in relation to the value of the goods and can thus be actively included in the calculation of the sales prices . At the same time, limit values ​​can be considered at which storage becomes too expensive in relation to the selling price.

Manage warehousing

In order to always keep an eye on your own warehouse, you need professional solutions that may grow with you, your company and your warehouse. Warehousing software offers you exactly this possibility. You have the option of clearly checking all stocks, all incoming and outgoing items are booked digitally and delivery notes can be created with just a few clicks. In addition, suppliers and customers can be managed via the tool and the entire accounting can also be connected directly.

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Conclusion

Warehousing is an extremely broad topic because there are so many different storage options. At the same time, it is a massive cost factor, which is why ongoing optimization is essential. It is important to always keep an eye on your own warehouse to ensure that all processes are running smoothly, that enough goods are available and that costs are minimized at the same time. With modern online tools, the administration can be carried out efficiently, whether for start-ups or global corporations.