There are multiple types of Warehousing and Inventory Management Systems across the USA, and also inventory management systems, but the important item to note is, they are not the same. While both are utilized in the basic concepts of warehousing and distribution scenarios, they have similar and contrasting attributes.
Within the general concept of types of warehousing in Miami, Florida you have a couple options no matter the industry of your business. There are private warehouses that specific corporations or businesses own and manage, possibly regionally, to receive, store, and distribute their products. Public warehousing throughout the Everglades, are a third party local solution that solves a short term capacity issue for those with private warehousing ability or leased space for small to medium sized businesses needing the ability to receive, store and distribute their products in.
There are also temporary warehouse solutions in Miami, Florida called distribution centers. Most times distribution centers handle multiple supplier drop-offs, shorter duration of storage and quick shipping times. Keep in mind that all though both distribution centers and public warehouses in the Everglades and Miami, Florida are in a local area, most offer global supplier receiving, distribution and shipping, warehouse automation, climate control and handle warehouse and inventory management systems.
Differences & Similarities of Warehousing and Inventory Management Systems
Similarities of Both
There are a few similarities between inventory management and warehouse management systems in a broad sense of the terms no matter which types of warehousing. They both handle management in several locations, supplier receivables into inventory, cycle counting, product quantity management, automated product tracking (barcodes, etc.), packing, shipping and packing of products.
Differences
Warehouse Management System
A warehouse management system allows for corporations, whether large or small, the ability to manage the entire scope of their storage quantities by each product family. For example, if you own a business in Miami, Florida and have multiple products within several different bins in a warehouse, the management system will tell you exactly by location the product family quantity.
Warehouse management handles the specific locations for each product within the warehouse for easy retrieval and finding of actual storage space. It not only handles quantity but specifics of location as well. Warehouse management is also a more integral part of upstream operations in terms of handling quality, supply counts, production control, sales, and distribution. Warehousing and distribution management allows for more business control over inventory and storage analytics and adjustments.
Inventory Management System
An inventory management system is broader in terms of simply a quantity by warehouse location per product family. It does not focus on finite detail which bin or compartment. Inventory management is not a stand-alone process and is usually integrated into the warehouse management system. It usually is the very first step in the entire process, meaning, when a business wants to ship a specific quantity of a product, the inventory is checked in total, to make sure quantity is available.
Understanding the different types of warehousing available and how each management system differs will help a business owner throughout their supply chain. Choosing warehousing and inventory management systems have come a long way from decades ago, and are much more global and technologically advanced.
