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Storage and Material
Handling Systems The choice of Storage and Material Handling Systems is crucial as it can impact efficiency and response time in a warehouse says Padmini Pagadala.
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he term Material Handling Equipment (MHE) or Systems is often used somewhat loosely to refer to three types of assets in a warehouse: storage equipment, vehicles and mechanization. Storage methods are often based on the cubic feet of a given item that may be stored in a given location of that storage method or mode. For items that require a great deal of physical space there are pallet storage methods. For items that require a few cartons to be stored in the warehouse there are different case storage methods. For very small items that do not require a full case on hand (e.g. jewelry), there are piece or very small part storage methods. Finally, for unusually shaped parts
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February 2012 | www.logisticsweek.com
such as pipes, carpets or cables, there are storage methods that are specially designed for just those items, but since these are somewhat industry specific, we will confine the discussion to the more generic pallet, case, and piece storage methods. The choice of a storage method is important. It can impact the labor efficiency and response time of a warehouse and even more importantly for Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the size of the warehouse. But in India labor is inexpensive relative to the cost of material handling equipment, so the central issue around the choice of a storage method usually is the amount of land you will need to store your produce in one particular storage method versus another.
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