Facility Relocation and Warehousing - Essay Example

The production department relies on consumer preferences when producing goods. Workers On the other hand, companies hire workers from the population. Labor plays an important role in production, processing, assembly and distribution. Furthermore, labor wage rates influence the location decision.

Question Twelve

The facility location has a significant impact on transport costs. When a facility is located far away from the market, the transport costs incurred when transporting goods to the market are high. When the facility is close to the market, the cost is reduced. It is for this reason that companies want to find the optimal location which will save transport costs. Companies thus consider the costs involved before making facility location decisions.

Question Twenty

Facility relocation involves moving a facility to a different location. Facility closing means that that facility stops functioning completely. In the case of relocation, the company should be ready to cover the moving costs of workers who move to the new location and plan for transport expenses for workers who wish to travel to the new facility every day. When a facility is closed, the human resource department should explain to workers the reasons behind and if possible hire some to other facility locations. 

Chapter 10

Question One

In a supply chain, warehousing helps in distribution efficiency and marketing. Warehouses are included in the supply chain because they are used for receiving new inventory, storing inventory, packaging, and shipping to customers. Modern warehousing has more roles other than stocking inventory especially economic and service benefits. These include offering value-added services such as additional processing in addition to storage and delivery of products.

Question Three

The purpose of warehouses and distribution centers is to store goods before they are transported to the consumer. The emphasis is on maximizing the space available for storage. However, the emphasis of distribution centers is the fast movement of goods through the facility over a given period of time. A cross-docking facility does not store goods for a long time since they are shipped on the same day or overnight. 

Question Nine

A spacious warehouse will have unused capacity is a cost. The large distances will affect both labor and mechanization since workers and machines will travel far distances in the warehouse. This way, small space reduces unused capacity costs, as well as labor and mechanization costs. On the other hand, a warehouse with a small space can cause damage to goods, especially when using fork lists.  This way, tradeoffs should be an important consideration when making design decisions.

Question Eighteen

People, facilities and processes are the main components of a warehouse. Improving warehousing security involves training the workers on security, choosing secure locations for warehouses and improving operations so that they are more secure. If these three processes are not involved, warehousing security will be a big problem.