L4M7- Chapter 1- Methods of storage and movement of inventory Flashcards
What is the definition of stock designated as cross dock?
Cross dock is a warehouse location where goods received from suppliers wait for immediate shipment- they are effectively in transit
The term cross docking is the activity of unloading a delivery but immediately preparing it for despatch without it being stored
What is reverse logistics?
Movement of goods from customers back to sellers or manufacturers e.g. returning clothes back to ASOS
It can also be called return logistics- movement of goods in the reverse direction from original supply. Can be because they are faulty or there is some guarantee
What is the difference between a standalone warehouse and an integrated one?
Standalone are not connected to manufacturing, assembly or retail.
Integrated is where on site some materials or products are used or sold to external users
what are the purposes of warehouses/stores?
Make stock available
Maintain a safe work and storage environment
Secure/safe storage
Suitable environment for stock to minimise damage
What factors influence locations of storage?
Cost of location
Availability of buildings
suitability of buildings
Availability of staff
Nature of the product being stored
Access to transport links
What does the acronym COSHH stand for?
Control of substances hazardous to health
How does the frequency of demand influence the layout of a store or warehouse?
Products that are more commonly used should be located close together and easy to quickly access. Note, this does not mean the products are individually high value, but must be used frequently.
Give examples of characteristics required for specific storage requirements
Size, shape, weight, volume, temperature, conditions, environmental consideration, hygiene, legislation and life can be thought about.
Stock may also need to be stored in specific locations or within certain containers. E.g. for movability heavy items may be located on a pallet whereas smaller items within a tote box
What is ‘flow’ within a warehouse?
The ability for stock to be moved quickly and safely around a facility. A poor flow reduces efficiency
What are the 7 trends that can be seen in demand and inventory usage? Hint- all begin with s
Stable- Demand is not falling or rising
Soaring- Demand is rising
Shrinking- Demand is going down
Seasonal- Demand rises and falls cyclically, normally in line with seasons
Surging- Demand sees a temporary and normally steep increase
Sporadic- Infrequent and unpredictable demand
Shutdown- Demand is focussed around events such as a factory shutdown or maintenance period
What can be done in warehouse design to deal with irregular or seasonal demand problems?
Flexibility in the design e.g. layout which allows for seasonal storage
Eliminating unused space or unwanted stock for space (Ocado pickfaces does this with seasonal resting)
Temporarily buying additional storage
Getting suppliers to hold additional stock with short lead times
Getting specialist logistical support
What factors influence the flow design of a warehouse?
What is the warehouse for?
What is being stored?
Where is the warehouse positioned vs customers?
How is space utilised?
Is staging space required?
Which stock is most frequently required?
What key elements are required in the warehouse?
Will stock be processed at the same time?
What is a ‘through flow’ layout?
This is a layout designed to work in straight lines. There are many different designs including U shaped and Fan shaped, width of aisles, space utilisation and space flexibility.
What is consignment stocking?
Acquiring stock from a supplier and only paying for that stock when it has been used or sold
What types of codes can be used by organisations for products?
Numerical- all numbers
Alphabetical- All letters
Alpha- numerical- Mixture of numbers and letters
Random generated- Utilisation of random number generators
Sequential- Each item takes the next number in the sequence
Structured- Where different parts of the product code have significance e.g. 121-178 means batch 121, product number 178
What is a check digit?
Numbers added to product codes which allow computer based validation. These are usually created using specific number sequences and are designed to reduce probability of errors
What are product codes specifically for?
Means of identifying an exact product. However, they can also support internal and external systems and allow for better understanding of the attributes of a product e.g. stock availability
What is a fixed asset?
An accounting term used to describe items acquired by an organisation which are not routinely sold but used within the organisation e.g. land, buildings, fixtures, fittings, office or warehouse equipment
Can also be called non current assets
What are the advantages and disadvantages of using containers/containerisation?
Advantages:
- Economies of scale
- Value for money
- Security
- International trade
- Outsourced to a third party provider
- More environmentally friendly than air freight
Disadvantages:
- Small risk of containers falling into the ocean
- Long lead times
- Unforeseen risk- suez canan blockage
- Value for money but significant expenditure
- Customs requirements
- Require loading/unloading
What are the 7 types of trend? (7S’s)
Surging
Seasonal
Stable
Soaring
Sporadic
Shrinking
Shutdown
What is flow in a warehouse?
Materials are received, stored, processed, and dispatched and the way the products are moved is the flow. Doing it in an efficient way will optimise a warehoused productivity
What is a through flow layout?
Designed to work in straight lines
What are some examples of industries/products that use standard codes?
Car light bulbs
Small batteries
The military
Health services
books
Import/exports
Dangerous substances
What is live storage pallet racking?
This is where pallets are multiple deep but accessed from the front and new stock added to the rear
What is unit load?
Describes the grouping of different items into a convenient stack for ease of handling/storage
What are the advantages and disadvantages of containerisation?
Pros:
Economies of scale
Value for money
Security
Access to international trade
Environmentally friendly
Cons:
Small chance of loss of cargo at sea
Long lead times
Unforeseen events
Good value but significant expense
Customs requirements
Additional equipment to load/unload
What is a dock?
A feature of warehouse design used for loading or unloading vehicles
What is kitting?
Kitting is an activity in a warehouse for assembling groups of items that are to be used together
What is a reach truck?
Designed for use in narrower aisles than standard counterbalance forklift trucks
What is COLM?
Cost of last mile- relates to the disproportionate cost of the last mile in the distribution network
What is warehouse Zoning?
Arrangement in a stockyard, warehouse or store facility which determine the use of an area based on characteristics of the stock/equipment
What is an order accumulation bay?
An area in the warehouse where multiple elements of a delivery are stored until the shipment is complete and can be shipped as one consignment.
What is a stillage?
Robust pallet, sometimes made of metal or heavy duty plastic with caged sides to improve retention of contents and increase packing potential
What is OEM?
Original equipment manufacturer- Generally perceived as the producer of own branded parts which are sold to other manufacturers for production and retail
What is the difference between a counterbalance forklift and a reach truck?
A counterbalance forklift is the standard sit on forklift for loading and unloading goods
A reach truck works in a narrower aisle than the standard forklift.
What is a roller system?
Used to transfer large volumes of stock in boxes in large warehouses. (think about the rollers/ conveyors in Hatfield CFC)
What is a skid?
Similar to pallets but have no bottom slatted layer making them cheaper.
What is a slip sheet?
Allows use of no pallet base, a thin sheet of material the same size as the unit load it under the load and can be pulled to remove the load from a pallet
What is the difference between a 1D and a 2D barcode?
1D is a conventional barcode reading numbers in 1 direction
2D is like a QR code as the scan happens in 2 directions
What is the difference between passive and active RFID?
Passive give off a signal when requested
Active periodically release a signal permanently
In space flexibility what are random and semi random locations?
In a warehouse layout you may have fixed positions where something always goes. If it is random it will go anywhere that is available, semi random adds a layer to put it say in a random location within the front row of storage because it is high use.
Crucial to all layout is knowing where the stock is.
Give examples of pallet storage
Live pallet storage
Double deep- 2 pallets deep
Double sided access
Drive in and drive through
post pallets/skids
What is cycle counting?
Also called routine stock checking, effectively an audit of what stock you have in the system vs actual stock inventory
