Errors in Shipping

Contemporary manufacturing organizations have adopted just-in-time production philosophy for the last two decades in order to have the benefits of lean inventory at all levels. However, bulk of finished goods end up in warehouses before shipment to its final destination. This is especially true for commodities that require large distribution networks, or for components that are shipped for final assembly at customer site, or for products that are made in bulk but distributed through a wide network to the final consumers. Hence warehouses play an important role in the contemporary economy. However, they have their concerns as well. This case study investigates shipping errors in an existing warehouse from all perspectives, with an intent to improve productivity. It reports some interesting results. Care has to be ensured that they do occupy space economically, have state of the art storage and retrieval systems(ASRS). Care also has to be taken to ensure that they operate under reliable information system and weight management systems. If not, errors in shipping can become sufficient to warrant management attention.