10.3 Introduction
Hollywood's like a warehouse… What's interesting in the warehouse has to do with the creative people.
— Val Kilmer, Actor
Have you ever stepped foot into an authentic, industrial warehouse? If you haven't, the idea may seem unappealing—or even a little bit scary. After all, in the movies, Facilities where raw-materials, semi-finished goods or finished goods are stored for a short or long term until they are ready to be used. are often depicted as dark, dank cavernous buildings located in sketchy neighborhoods. In the movies, the warehouse is where the drug deal goes down or the climactic gun battle takes place. But, that depiction is not accurate at all. Modern, well-run warehouses are bright, safe, and professionally managed facilities where you store valuable merchandise to create time and place utilities for customers.
In reality, warehousing is big business in every industrialized country worldwide. In the United States, companies spent $141 billion on warehousing in 2015. 1 Why do we invest so much in warehousing? The easy answer: We have warehouses because we have inventory. Warehouses let you separate production from consumption, enabling you to take advantage of Producing in large lots and storing product until customers want to use it. of scale. Costs go down and standards of living go up. Warehousing also provides lots of good jobs. In the U.S., more than 2 million people work in warehousing. 2 The customer focus and complexity of a well-managed warehouse makes warehousing a great place to start your logistics career. Let's take a closer look at what goes on inside a modern warehouse.