Why is a Warehousing Service Important in Logistics?
Among the more than 31.7 million businesses in the United States, many of them use warehousing services to streamline their cold storage logistics. Warehousing allows businesses to obtain production support and hands-off processing and packaging assistance.
With consumers’ increasing demand for fast and efficient delivery, warehousing services have been a chance for businesses to explore expansion and lighten their operational load.
Logistics is all about managing the flow of goods, information, and money in your supply chain. It involves planning, monitoring, and problem-solving to keep operations running smoothly. The logistics industry is growing, with warehouse management software and services being one of the most lucrative areas of management.
We’re going to discuss why a warehousing service is important when it comes to logistics. If you want an easier way to streamline your warehouse operations, keep reading to learn more about how these services work and how they can benefit your business.
What Exactly Is Warehousing?
Warehousing is one of the most important parts of logistics. In simple terms, warehousing is the process that’s used for storing inventory for the need for sales or distribution of products.
It’s storing goods in an actual warehouse. A good way to think of it is as a middleman between obtaining your products and getting them to your customers. Warehousing services usually involve storing any goods or commodities to assist with the operations of a business.
The processes involved in warehouse services will usually include loading, packing, and wrapping goods. It could also include the actual distribution processes as well as the sorting of goods. Warehouse services will often also include delivery.
Many businesses that need products in bulk would benefit from warehousing. Businesses that have consistent orders often benefit from these types of services too.
The main functions of warehousing services span beyond the storage of products. It can also involve the stabilization of the prices of those items.
This form of product and inventory management is a good way to reduce potential risks. It can also span across the lifecycle of a business’s projects. This is done by including assembly in production processes as well.
Types of Warehousing Services
There are different types of warehouses meaning that warehouse services can cover a range of business types. That could include a warehouse that specializes in cold storage. This usually refers to any businesses that sell products such as perishable foods, medications, or any vaccines.
This could also include cosmetic products or live things such as plants. Another option could be on-demand storage. This particular type is an option that handles fluctuations in sales well. It provides business owners with the opportunity of having more additional space than what they might have considered needing.
This is a good choice for pop-up or seasonal businesses. Let’s take a look at some of the other types of warehousing services that would be available to business owners.
Pick and Pack Warehouses
If you have an online store or you are advancing throughout the e-commerce space, this type of warehouse would be a dependable option. In these facilities, items are picked, packed, and then shipped.
These warehouses are adaptable to operations for online stores as well as physical store locations.
Usually, the business will collaborate with the warehouse management staff. How it works is that the facility will receive a list of the products that you offer. Then those products would be located and packed.
After packing the product, warehouse staff will take care of everything else from labeling to shipping.
Distribution Center
A distribution or fulfillment center is a storage area that usually accommodates large inventories. These centers receive and then distribute that inventory to retailers all within a short timeframe.
These options usually have very affordable payment methods with the option to rent space a lot of the time. These facilities usually operate at a very fast pace and handle the export of products in small delivery windows such as 24 hours.
Bonded Warehouses
Bonded warehouses handle imported goods. These types of warehouses are the middleman between obtaining the product, getting them to customs, and then receiving the product.
For any business involved in the manufacturing of imported goods, a bonded warehouse would be the best option.
Smart Storage Options
Smart storage options are exactly as they sound. The fulfillment and management sources are usually run through AI technology. These types of warehouses are more appropriate for businesses that need packing, storage options, supply chain management, and transporting assistance for technology-based products.
The good thing about these options is that the chance for human error is significantly less than in other cold storage warehouse choices. It is also a good way to get fast fulfillment and streamlined management.
Public Warehouses
A public warehouse is owned by a government entity and is available to be used by companies within the private sector. The good thing about public warehouses is that they can be used for business purposes as well as for personal reasons.
The only downfall to using a public warehouse is that they aren’t as technologically advanced in their design. This makes it difficult to find accessible options that meet a lot of different business types.
Private Warehouses
Private warehouses are usually owned by a direct manufacturer or distributor. Many e-commerce-based businesses that have scaled in size will often have a private warehouse.
These options are good for companies that have a long-term plan for their operations and plan to reinvest their capital into it. They are more on the expensive side but offer better cold chain logistics optimization opportunities.
There are other types of warehousing options as well such as cross-docking. This is usually a part of logistics that involves unloading things from a manufacturer directly to the customer. In short, this type of warehousing service has as little storage involved as possible.
This type is an appropriate service option that’s used when companies have a high volume of goods to move. Cross-docking warehouses store products temporarily until they are transferred to the next link in the chain.
The Benefits of a Warehousing Service
There are countless advantages to using a warehouse service to accompany your logistics. Not only are warehouse services a good way to reduce the wait for deliveries, but it’s also a good way to find affordable fulfillment options. This can take a lot of the groundwork off of the operations team.
It can help with this by outsourcing the types of warehousing you need. If you need a better way to manage your cold storage logistics, finding a cold storage facility that handles the product packaging, processing and fulfillment services for you is a good way to start.
Inventory management in warehousing becomes significantly easier as well. Along with that, navigating warehousing and logistics services is easily managed along with increased efficiency and productivity. Using warehouse services also allows you to turn over inventory faster.
It can also help with improving customer satisfaction and product accessibility. Businesses can also expect additional benefits when using U.S. cold storage options for their cold supply chain by considering;
- Storage expansion
- General consolidation
- Better inventory management processes
- Capability to keep up with in-demand products and product changes
- Assurance of regularly supplied and managed goods
- Not having to deal with running out of stock
- Reduction in delayed orders
- Less time and money wasted
Additional Benefits of a Warehousing Service
Warehousing services can increase your capacity and give you more control over your supply chain. They can also help you generate additional revenue through the use of your own space. Warehousing services will store the products you sell, so you don’t have to purchase extra space for them.
This will free up your capital for other uses and is also another way for businesses to save money in general. Also, businesses are limiting the risk they take on. One of the ways they can do this is by limiting the chance of damaged goods.
By doing this, you are increasing the quality of your manufacturing and storage processes. This is something that will also decrease returns which means less money lost.
How a Warehousing Service Can Improve Your Logistics
The best way to achieve better logistics is to outsource parts of your supply chain. This is a good way to free up the strain that a small business may have accumulated. Doing this will leave you with more time to focus on other aspects of your business.
Stronger Supply Chain
A strong supply chain is the backbone of your business. A third-party warehousing service can help you improve your supply chain by improving delivery times, the time between packing and shipment, etc.
These services can also provide reliable transportation options and sophisticated logistics software, which can help you manage the flow of goods.
Better Customer Service
A more efficient supply chain, combined with better customer service, will help you increase your sales. Keep in mind that this is an aspect of your business that you would be outsourcing.
Timely and accurate delivery service is essential for keeping customers satisfied. This can also help to encourage customers to purchase from you again.
More Time to Focus on Other Parts of the Business
By outsourcing parts of your supply chain, you will be able to create more opportunities. For example, You can put more attention toward marketing, sales, and product development. This is a good tactic for any sized business.
Why a Warehousing Service Should Be a Part of Your Cold Storage Logistics
Warehousing services will ensure that your goods are delivered on time and that you can offer the best customer service. It will help you strengthen your supply chain and improve your logistics as a whole.
With the general difficulty of freight logistics and how complicated the processes can become on even a small or medium-sized business, these services can create a variety of opportunities. This is one of the main reasons why many companies are turning to third-party warehousing services. Often, companies will outsource warehouse services to an expert organization that can deal with their logistics competently, while saving them time and money.
Find the Solution That Works for Your Business
If you need better options for cold storage logistics, working with EVO Logistics offers ways to make things a bit more hands-off for businesses. With a focus on fast and timely delivery along with GPS traceability, we work to provide consistent satisfaction to our customers.
Interested in learning how to optimize the way you run your business? Reach out to our team today to see which of our services offerings suits your business best.
