Most of us have probably seen a warehouse before, staring at their general massiveness as we drive past them. Have you ever stopped to think, however, what could be inside that warehouse? Birmingham, AL is home to many thriving businesses that rely on warehouses to store their excess inventory. After all, the excessive stock is necessary for any business to avoid disruptions in production and sales. Read on to learn more about the items you’re most likely to find inside.
Raw Materials
Many manufacturing use warehouse facilities to store raw materials that will later be used in production. Keeping a supply of raw materials at hand means that the manufacturer can easily accommodate changes in production based on incoming orders. For example, if a giant order suddenly comes in, the manufacturer will not have to go out and get more raw materials – they will simply be waiting in the warehouse. Raw materials can include chemicals, minerals, or grains, as well as items like nuts, bolts and ball bearings.
MRO Inventory
MRO stands for Maintenance, repair and operation. Machinery in large facilities needs to be replaced and serviced quite often, so an inventory of space parts must be kept. Many Birmingham, AL warehouses store these spare parts so that a minimal amount of production time is lost, seeing as one broken element can shut down an entire production. This can include oils and lubricants, as well as other smaller replacement parts of various machines that are not part of the actual finished product.
Merchandise
Nothing angers consumers more than when a store sells out of their favorite product. This is why many storage facilities are full of excess products so that no one product is ever completely unavailable. Once these goods have been made and inspected, they can then quickly be transported to stores throughout the nation so that customer orders can be filled quickly. Warehouses are also often used for online orders, as the retailer can fill said orders directly from their stored inventory. Inventory control, or maintain the proper amounts of stockpiled products, is very important to making sure that business is never lost.
