Q.Explain in detail the warehousing services.

Warehousing preserves goods' original quality, value and usefulness and today acts as a cost-efficient logistical service provider.

Types of warehouses

• Private — owned/leased by a company for its own goods (control, flexibility, better dealer relations).
• Public — store goods for the public for a fee; government-licensed; owner acts as agent (flexible locations, no fixed cost, value-added services).
• Bonded — licensed to accept imported goods before duty is paid; goods kept "in bond"; duty in instalments, part removal, re-export possible.
• Government — fully owned and managed by the government (FCI, STC, CWC). …

What warehousing is

The warehouse was originally a static unit for keeping and storing goods scientifically and systematically so as to preserve their original quality, value and usefulness. Today, warehouses have ceased to be mere storage units and have become logistical service providers in a cost-efficient manner — delivering the right quantity, at the right place, at the right time, in the right physical form, at the right cost. Modern warehouses are automated with conveyors, computer-operated cranes and forklifts and use logistics-automation software.

Types of warehouses

• Private warehouses — owned, operated or leased by a company for its own goods (e.g., retail chains, multi-brand companies), planned around a material-handling system. Benefits: control, flexibility and improved dealer relations.
• Public warehouses — store goods for traders, manufacturers or any member of the public for a fee; government-regulated through licences. The owner acts as an agent of the goods' owner, is responsible for their safety, and offers transport by rail and road. Benefits: flexibility of location, no fixed cost, and value-added services like packaging and labelling; convenient for small manufacturers.
• Bonded warehouses — licensed by the government to accept imported goods before payment of tax and customs duty. Importers cannot remove goods until duty is paid; meanwhile they are kept here by customs and are said to be "in bond." They allow branding, packaging, grading and blending; goods can be removed in part, duty paid in instalments, and goods even re-exported without paying customs duty — thus facilitating entrepot trade.
• Government warehouses — fully owned and managed by the government through organisations such as the Food Corporation of India, State Trading Corporation and Central Warehousing Corporation.
• Cooperative warehouses — set up by marketing or agricultural cooperative societies for the members of their society.

Functions of warehousing

• Consolidation — receives and consolidates goods from different plants into a single shipment to a customer. …