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JP Property Management and Warehousing Storage

Some Common Kinds of Warehouses

Warehouses are buildings that store goods as part of various supply chains. However, there are several different types of warehouses that are commonly used. Read on to find out more on some of the main kinds of warehouses today.

Distribution Centers

These centers play an important role in the earlier part of the supply chain. Distribution centers are designed to help store and ultimately sell goods in large quantities. Often, manufacturers will house their goods in these centers where they can then sell them to retailers.

Fulfillment Centers

Further down the supply chain are fulfillment centers. These are usually third party owned and handle storage, order processing, packing and shipping for a retail company’s goods. Many online retailers send their goods to fulfillment centers because this is cheaper and more logistically manageable than owning a warehouse. Once customers place orders, the fulfillment center handles order fulfillment (hence the name).

Cross-dock Warehouses

Sometimes, goods do not need to be actually stored at all, just transferred from one transportation mode to another. Cross-dock buildings work as distribution centers where goods often go straight from one carrier to sorting, and then out the door with a truck. These warehouses are helpful for sorting goods for a single retail store into one truck for delivery. This avoids having trucks deliver for multiple stores, which would be inefficient.

Temperature-controlled and Climate-controlled Buildings

These warehouses are helpful for managing perishable or sensitive goods. Temperature control in a warehouse entails a series of heating and/or cooling units that keep a steady temperature range for products. Climate control is a bit more involved. It allows warehouses to control humidity and airflow as well, enabled by insulation, dehumidifiers, and other systems. These complex warehouses help protect against mold, dust, pests, and more for very sensitive goods.

Hazardous Material Warehousing

When a company needs to store flammable, caustic, radioactive, and otherwise hazardous materials, they use specialized warehouses. There are specific storage containers these warehouses use to store hazardous materials. They tend to be located further out from populated areas as well, given their risk. Plus, the employees in these warehouses often have training to handle hazardous materials. They have specialized protective equipment to help them safely manage the goods they store.

Automated Warehouses

Automation in warehouses is a key way to improve efficiency. An automated warehouse can leverage tracking technology, modern equipment, and distribution software to dramatically decrease risk and improve turnaround time. Today, most warehouses have some element of automation involved, from software to hardware and more.

Private Warehouses

Some large companies may invest in their own warehousing for their goods. This requires a huge investment on the front-end to plan and build a warehouse. However, for large enough companies, this can save money over the long term. This also gives them control over custom warehouse features like climate control, hazardous material management, automation, and the like.

JP Property Management specializes in customized warehousing for our clients’ needs. We understand the ebb and flow of business. We can also work with you to come up with a tailor-made solution for your products. Whether you need seasonal storage space, long term warehousing, or anything in between, we are happy to accommodate your needs. Interested in learning more? Give us a call at 502-550-7126 or visit our website today to learn more and request a quote!

History of Warehousing

Warehousing is an integral part of the global supply chain today. The modern warehouse has roots that date back to Ancient times. Read along for a brief overview of the history of the warehouse.

Ancient Warehouses

The earliest iterations of the warehouse can be seen as far back as Ancient Rome. Romans stored grains in the Horrae Galbae, a complex of large structures near the Tiber river constructed in the 2nd century BC. The Horrae Galbae held the public grian supply, and also served as a storage space for imports of goods like olive oil, food, and wine. The function of the Horrae Galbae – to store goods for short and long-term timeframes for easy access and transportation – makes it the earliest documented warehouse-like structure.

Medieval Warehousing

Medieval Europe saw some additional warehouse-like structures. One prominent example is the Fondaco dei Tedeschi, a mixed-use building complex in Venice, Italy constructed in 1228 that was occupied by German merchants. This large complex served as a dwelling for the merchants and also a warehouse and market for trade. Here again we see an early example of the warehouse, with functions like storage and link to trading.

Industrial Revolution: A Turning Point in Warehousing

It wasn’t until the first and second Industrial Revolutions that the warehouse as we know it really came into being. This makes sense when we consider the implications of the Industrial Revolutions on global trade. The first Industrial Revolution in the 18th century saw a rise in mass production. This required specialized commercial practices, including storage, for enormous quantities of goods. With factory processes becoming more common, this specialization was inevitable. Warehouses for specific goods were also built along trade routes to streamline work processes and increase profits.

The second Industrial Revolution in the late 19th century brought electricity, transportation infrastructure, internal combustion engines, communication networks, and other innovations that spurred further improvements in warehousing. Rapidly increased globalism in trade meant that warehouses needed to become extremely efficient with product fulfillment. In many ways, we can see the beginnings of the modern supply chain develop in this time. Machines, electricity, and steel all additionally helped to reconfigure the construction and operations of warehouses. Plus, with places like the United States investing in railway infrastructure, rail-side warehouses could reside right next to an efficient train system that further improved efficiency.

The 20th century, today, and beyond

Throughout the 20th century, warehouses continued to improve upon standardization, technology, mechanization, and more. With a global economy that has become more and more intertwined, warehouses have adapted as needed to become an integral part of the supply chain.

Today, automation dominates the industry, with machines programmed to take care of numerous core tasks in warehouses. Complex automation systems move, sort, and fulfill products. E-commerce dominates the industry, with real-time product tracking and AI also continuing to push the envelope of what’s possible. Check out our blog post on logistics and warehousing trends to read more on some of the ideas that are shaping the industry today.

JP Property Management specializes in customized warehousing for our clients’ needs. We understand the ebb and flow of business. We can also work with you to come up with a tailor-made solution for your products. Whether you need seasonal storage space, long term warehousing, or anything in between, we are happy to accommodate your needs. Interested in learning more? Give us a call at 502-550-7126 or visit our website today to learn more and request a quote!

Logistics and Warehousing Trends

The logistics industry is ever-changing in response to mercurial business, consumer, environmental, and other demands. There are several key areas that have the potential to experience accelerated change in the near future. Let’s take a look at some of these logistics and warehousing trends.

Faster Delivery Times: Last-Mile and Just-in-Time Delivery

Efficiency and productivity have always been important in logistics. But today, with many consumers prioritizing quick delivery of products, they are more important than ever. In fact, a 2019 survey report published by Capgemini Research Foundation found that 55% of consumers would choose a brand over a competitor brand based on faster delivery. We see this in action from huge companies like Amazon that can offer same day or next day delivery on purchases for little to no extra cost. With over half of consumers potentially choosing fast delivery as a determining factor for their purchases, last-mile delivery has become a key area of focus in the supply chain.

More efficient last-mile delivery means investing in efficient strategies that eliminate any unnecessary down time. Just-in-time delivery is one solution many companies are pursuing. With just-in-time delivery, goods arrive at warehouses just before they need to be shipped, reducing delivery times, carrying costs, and warehousing costs.

Robotics: Autonomous Mobile Robots and Drones

Robotics isn’t a brand new topic in logistics. However, relatively few companies have adopted widespread robotics across the supply chain. Autonomous Mobile Robots, or AMRs, are one such emerging technology that is an emerging warehousing trend. AMRs have smart navigation and mapping, and can move around warehouses and navigate barriers without the need for direct programming. They have the ability to carry boxes, pallets, and cartons. They can play a key role in reducing search time that human employees spend walking between products on shelves. For example, AMRs can carry boxes between shelves and deliver them to employees who then can assemble orders.

Robotics has an important role in transportation going forward as well. In dense urban areas where delivery is difficult, some companies have started utilizing drones for quick deliveries. Robotic solutions to transportation in the supply chain has plenty of opportunity for growth in the future, with potential savings of cost, time, and environmental impact.

Logistics and Warehousing Trends in Sustainability

The impact of supply chain processes on the health of the planet has received increased scrutiny as globalizing products continue to increase in quantity. Technologies that improve the sustainability of logistics are highly sought after. For instance, deliveries in dense urban areas are becoming more difficult as more and more delivery trucks are used. Additionally, freight cargo ships are facing tighter regulations on emissions. Legal, social, and political pressures will likely continue to push companies towards more green solutions to logistics. These solutions may include electric and hybrid delivery vehicles, cleaner fuel emissions in freight ships, and reducing the number of delivery vehicles in cities.

In a fast-changing world, adaptability has never been more important in warehousing. JP Property Management specializes in customized warehousing for our clients’ needs. We understand the ebb and flow of business and can work with you to come up with a tailor-made solution for your products. Whether you need seasonal storage space, long term warehousing, or anything in between, we are happy to accommodate your needs. Interested in learning more? Give us a call at 502-550-7126 or visit our website today to learn more and request a quote!

Warehousing Employment Growth – Five Things To Know

The warehousing industry has seen employment more than triple since 1990. While there have been a few dips during recessions, the entire industry has been steadily increasing. Just in the last 10 years, it has seen a significant increase in the rate of growth.

Let’s take a look at the details of the exciting employment growth the warehousing industry is experiencing.

1. Definition of Warehousing and Storage

First, let’s define warehousing. This industry includes businesses working with general merchandise, refrigerated goods, and other products. The businesses in this industry provide space to store goods. Along with space for storage, they secure the goods and implement management systems of their inventories. They may also provide logistics services like packaging, transportation, and ticketing as well.

2. Logistics Employment Growth

As overall industry growth continues to accelerate, there will no doubt be a great need for more employees to assist with logistics. More products means more product life cycles that need coordination and oversight. You can expect to see a steady stream of logistics-focused warehousing jobs to continue to open up across the country.

3. Some Job Types May Decline

Despite all of the growth in the industry, there are actually some positions that may be shrinking due to technological advances. For example, while more products and clients require more customer service, a lot of customer service functions may be able to become automated. This may offset growth in this area of warehousing employment and even lead to a slight decline in the next several years.

4. Managers Need Better Systems To Meet Demands

As employment picks up across the industry and seasonal increases become larger to meet market demands, managers in warehouse settings need easier and quicker tools to help them oversee growing numbers of workers and products. Many managers are thus looking for easier to use warehouse management systems. Quality user interfaces, powerful capabilities, and integrated applications all can help meet these needs. With the proper systems in place, management in warehouses will be better prepared for growing flows of goods and workers.

5. Wages Continue To Rise

Employment wages are worth looking at as well. From 2009 to 2019 in the United States, there has been a $3-4 average wage increase per hour for workers across the industry, with average earnings reaching about $21/hour by the end of 2019. For non-supervisor and production employees, wage increases have been slightly lower since 2009, just under $3 per hour or so. Current average wages  for these employees sit around $18.50 per hour.

Overall, it’s clear that employment, wages, and industry production have risen significantly over the past few decades. This trend is expected to continue for at least the next 10 years.

If you are thinking of changing your warehouse storage provider or are in need of new warehouse storage for your business, contact JP Property Management today. We would love to show you around our Louisville warehousing facility. We’re happy to give you more detailed pricing information and answer any questions you might have. Give us a call at 502-550-7126 today!

What Is Supply Chain Management?

Supply Chain Management (SCM) is a term you may have heard of before. It’s a complex idea that is often thought to only involve physical logistics. However, that is only part of what SCM includes. So what else does it involve? Here’s an overview of Supply Chain Management.

Supply Chain

To define Supply Chain Management, it’s important to understand what a supply chain is first. A supply chain is a basically a network of organizations involved in processes that get products to consumers.

Some of the groups in a supply chain include manufacturers, transportation companies, distributors, retailers, and vendors. There are a multitude of processes in a supply chain between these different stakeholders. Some of the processes involved are development, distribution, marketing, customer service, and finance. Within a given chain, there can be a flow of physical items and/or a flow of information. For instance, a chain between a manufacturer and a transportation company would include flows of manufactured items and a flow of information to coordinate pickup, delivery, and communication across the chain. Overall, supply chains are help businesses lower costs and produce goods faster.

Supply Chain Management

Supply Chain Management is important to ensure the processes established in a supply chain are as effective as possible. SCM involves efforts to manage the flows in supply chains across all aspects of industries from marketing to transportation. When done effectively, SCM helps companies gain an advantage in the market by helping lower costs, timelines, and errors.

The way this manifests is typically through a form of centralized management. A supply chain manager may coordinate logistics for all aspects of a supply chain in this way. They can oversee strategies, sources of goods, manufacturing, logistics, delivery, and return. They try to minimize costs and eliminate shortages and errors in the supply chain. When done well, this can help prevent recalls and shortages, and lead to overall profits increases due to better efficiency.

Warehousing Management

Here at JP Property Management, we manage supply chain processes related to warehousing and logistics in particular. Warehouse management systems (WMS) are an important way to do this kind of SCM. These warehouse-specific systems help track products and inventories through tools like customized software, scanning technology, label printers, and packing slip printers. Warehouse professionals use these tools are for precise tracking and a clear perspective on what products are where at what time. This ultimately helps businesses manage the flow of products (and the accompanying flow of information).

The exact kind of warehouse management system used by a business varies depending on needs. There are many different system packages and styles that serve specific functions. For example, some warehouse management systems are specialized for companies with multi-continent supply chains. Other systems are catered to specific industries like industrial components. Overall, regardless of the specific type, a WMS helps companies like JP Property Management conduct effective supply chain management.

If you are thinking of changing your warehouse storage provider or are in need of new warehouse storage for your business, contact JP Property Management today. We would love to show you around our Louisville warehousing facility. We’re happy to give you more detailed pricing information and answer any questions you might have. Give us a call at 502-550-7126 today!