Warehousing and distribution have evolved over the years with the help of smarter manufacturing processes and state of the art technology. In order to stay competitive in a tight economy, manufacturers look to contract with third party warehouse distributors to fulfill their orders. The manufacturer brings new products in, manufactures them, and ships them to the warehouses of the contract company, where the retail chain stores them for sale. In doing so, the manufacturer has a direct connection with each unit that comes through their door.
A warehouse distributor is directly responsible for moving these units from the factory to the warehouse and to store them until they are ready to be sold. Warehouse owners and operators must ensure that the trucks are cleaned and the loading dock is kept clean of used products, debris, and odors. Warehouse owners also need to ensure that the receiving areas of the truck are free of dirt and debris. While manufacturers do most of the shipping of finished goods, the warehousing companies are responsible for loading raw materials into the units and then delivering them to the customers. These companies also package and seal the packages that arrive at the customer's door.
Warehouse distributors are needed when there is excess inventory in a particular warehouse. The manufacturer sends empty boxes to the warehouse distributor so that they may add the empty space to the manufacturer's existing inventory. This helps the manufacturer to avoid additional cost by not having to rent or buy more storage space when they have an excess of inventory. Warehouse distributors receive payments directly from the manufacturers. Some warehouse distributors buy from the manufacturers and resell them to retailers, while others directly buy from the wholesalers. A few warehouse distributors hire their own in-house inventory clerks.
Some warehouse distributors are directly hired by the manufacturers and others work as independent contractors. Warehouse owners choose to work as an independent contractor because it allows them to set their own rates, control their own inventory and purchase supplies from suppliers. However, there are warehouse distributors who are sole proprietors and work solely as distributors. They work under a master distributors and they receive only the retail price for their items.http://www.im-creator.com/free/jjohnbilliou/about_me They earn all of the profit from the items sold by their wholesale partners.
The role of a warehouse distributor plays important roles in the supply chain process. The main tasks of a warehouse distributor include receiving shipments of goods, storing them, labeling and classifying them according to their classification, packaging them according to their contents and tagging them according to their destination. Warehouse distributors also help manufacturers with their shipment needs. Apart from this, warehouse distributors play an important role in warehousing. They purchase materials that manufacturers sell and re-market in small quantities to retailers and wholesalers.
