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Shipping Warehouse – The Complete FAQ Guide

Finding a suitable warehouse is always a very crucial factor for your shipment.

Without proper handling or storage, your products can be damaged.

We provide the best warehouse shipping service in China.

We also hear many questions from our customers regularly.

So, we have prepared a complete FAQ guide on shipping warehouse service.

Table of contents

1. What Is Warehouse Shipping?

2. What Features Should A Modern Warehouse Have?

3. How Do Warehouse And Shipping Services Improve Their Service?

4. What Are The Types Of A Warehouse?

5. What Is An Ideal Warehouse?

6. What Are Warehousing Activities?

7. How To Choose A Warehouse?

8. What Should I Consider Short-Term And Long-Term Storage Warehouses?

9. What Is Cargo Warehouse Shipping?

10. Who Provides The Best Warehouse Shipping Service In China?

 

1. What Is Warehouse Shipping?

Warehouse and shipping both are equally important.

In the shipping process, you have to store your goods in good condition.

You need a safe and secure warehouse shipping and receiving process to keep your goods safe from natural impact, destruction, and damage for various reasons.

Every business needs safe and sound storage before the products reach customers.

A warehouse is a building and a combination of various infrastructures to keep your products in good condition.

A Warehouse should have the facilities for receiving products, storing or stacking them properly.

Moreover, it must have an excellent facility to pick up the goods for final delivery.

More often, a freight forwarding shipment requires a wirehouse to store the goods. International shipping routes stay busy all the time.

That’s why a freight forwarder warehouse is essential.

Warehouse shipping and receiving services should maintain all the facilities you need along with warehouse shipping supplies.

 

2. What Features Should A Modern Warehouse Have?

A shipping warehouse is crucial in the shipping process, but what features should a modern warehouse have? Let’s discuss the matter in brief.

Appropriate Storage Availability

Having frozen, chill, and ambient storage facilities according to the products are mandatory for any warehouse.

Some customers can demand all three facilities under one roof.

So, for proper warehousing, a shipping warehouse should come with these three facilities.

Accessible Communication with Ports and Markets

A warehouse should have easy access to markets and ports.

You can use a warehouse for both import and export purposes.

Therefore, a warehouse must have excellent road communication for warehouse shipping and receiving.

Security and Safety

Safety and security is an optimum priority of a shipping warehouse.

Modern warehouse shipping and receiving services are equipped with well-trained security officials and staff.

Moreover, a modern shipping warehouse must have motion sensors, CCTV cameras with a live monitoring station.

Most shipping and receiving companies use temperature sensors for storage areas with fire-fighting equipment.

And, every warehouse should have proper warehouse shipping supplies for packing and unpacking goods.

Before hiring a shipping warehouse, you should consider these things carefully.

Experienced and Skilled Staff

Warehouse shipping and receiving is not that easy process as it seems from the outside.

Therefore, shipping and receiving companies must have well trained and experience workforce with all the necessary warehouse shipping supplies.

Modern Technology

Warehouse shipping and receiving services use modern technology for successful logistics and warehousing.

The use of current and efficient technology is paramount for the warehouse and shipping process.

Every warehouse should have modern machines and equipment for receiving and storing goods in a proper manner.

Also, a shipping warehouse must use efficient software for smooth operation.

Cross-docking Facilities

This is another essential feature of a modern warehouse.

The shipping warehouse must have a cross-docking facility for quick and smooth transportation.

Cross-docking is the process of receiving and delivering a shipment without storing it in the warehouse.

Cross-docking is a prevalent feature, and many customers use this for quick delivery of the products.

From the warehouse’s point of view, it saves time and storage space.

Moreover, a cross-docking facility reduces the warehouse and shipping costs significantly.

Using a Warehouse Management System (WMS)

Warehouse and shipping services use special software called Warehouse Management System to manage the whole system.

A WMS application maintains receiving, stacking, and pickup procedure.

Also, the system optimizes the storage and warehouse shipping supplies and inventory.

As a leading freight forwarder warehouse company in China, Hart Logistics, we have our in-house development team and work with the finest WMS software in the market for secured and smooth shipment of your goods from China.

Using ERP System

Using an ERP system is mandatory for logistics, warehouse, and shipping services.

An Enterprise resource planning or ERP software comes with various modules such as customer management, inventory management, accounting, project management, employee management.

In short, An ERP is a combination of multiple software to maintain the whole office.

Emergency Backup

A shipping warehouse must have an emergency backup for any emergency, including machinery or equipment failure, power cut, or any other emergencies for natural and technical reasons.

Know more about warehouse

 

3. How Do Warehouse And Shipping Services Improve Their Service?

Shipping and receiving companies maintain their warehouses with various storage and security protocols. Here are some must-have features that a warehouse use:

Order Tracking Software

A warehouse uses various software systems to provide safe and secured warehousing. Among the order, tracking is the most important one.

Without a proper order tracking system, a warehouse can not receive and track orders from their client, and the whole process breaks down.

For smooth customer service, every warehouse should have an intelligent order tracking system.

Smart Inventory Control System

Many businesses use an inventory count system, but a warehouse must have an inventory control system.

To run and manage a proper warehouse inventory control system is crucial. An inventory control system helps the warehouse to receive, store and maintain the process efficiently.

It is challenging for large shipping and receiving companies to deploy an intelligent warehouse inventory system, but for smooth customer service, it is mandatory.

Quick And Efficient Pick, Pack, And Ship Process

Pick, Pack, and Ship means getting products from inventory quickly, packaging them well and delivering for shipping.

This process is a combination of efficient software and a skilled workforce.

Exceptionally few freight forwarder warehouses can provide this support effortlessly.

Use Proper Machine and Equipment

A shipping warehouse should be equipped with appropriate and efficient equipment for a smooth storage process and delivery.

Moreover, all the necessary warehouse shipping supplies are also mandatory to operate a warehouse shipping service properly.

Proper Design

A warehouse is not just a building but also a combination of many things.

For example, a warehouse should have a height easier for loading and unloading goods from trucks.

If the height is not appropriate additional workforce will be needed to complete the loading and unloading process.

Before hiring a shipping warehouse, you should see it physically or ask an expert.

Hart Logistics is one of China’s best shipping and receiving companies, with dedicated warehouses in China and other countries.

We designed our warehouses with proper engineering guidelines and have installed high-tech technology for smooth and quick services.

 

4. What Are The Types Of A Warehouse?

You might have to use the warehouse multiple times in the shipping process.

Therefore, you should have a detailed knowledge of the types of warehouses.

●      Public Warehouses

Government warehouses are called public warehouses. Government builds public warehouses and leases them to private sectors.

You can rent a public warehouse from the Government for private use.

If you are a small business owner and have goods to store, a public warehouse is an excellent choice.

However, we will not recommend public warehouses for large enterprises or sophisticated or valuable products because they are not technically advanced like shipping warehouses.

●      Private Warehouses

As the name suggests, a private warehouse is a privately owned warehouse by distributors, wholesalers, or manufacturers.

Many online marketplaces, retailers also use their own warehouses.

You can also hire a private warehouse for your business from warehouse and shipping companies.

●      Bonded Warehouses

A bonded warehouse stores imported goods before the owner pays the customs duty and other charges.

The customs department issues a bond to the buyer for using their bonded warehouse. You don’t have to pay for using a bonded warehouse.

Bonded warehouses are built to store the goods for a short period of time and do not contain all the necessary technology or facilities that a freight warehouse does.

So, do not leave your shipment in a bonded warehouse for a more extended period.

However, if you are bringing restricted items, you can store your goods in a bonded warehouse until you can prepare all the necessary documents to release your goods.

●      Smart Warehouses

The most modern warehouses are also called ‘smart warehouses.’ In an intelligent warehouse, the fulfillment and storage procedure are fully automated.

Many smart warehouses integrate Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems into their system.

The AI system processes the official document and performs various tasks like transporting, weighing, packing, unpacking and storing goods.

Top online organizations like Alibaba or Amazon use smart warehouses for making the order fulfillment process smooth, quick, and human error-free.

Amazon warehouse

●      Consolidated Warehouses

A consolidated warehouse is a shared warehouse for shippers.

A consolidated warehouse takes small shipments from various suppliers.

Then they prepare those small shipments into larger shipments for delivery to their location.

Many freight forwarder warehouses belong to this category.

The important thing is that they group the shipments considering the geographical location.

Small businesses and small e-commerce companies use a consolidated warehouse to ship their products.

These types of warehouses do not cost more.

But, you should not use these warehouses for large amounts of products or for a long time as they don’t have high-tech storage features or appropriate security options.

●      Cooperative Warehouses

You may have guessed the type of this warehouse, and cooperative organizations use cooperative warehouses.

For example, farmers use cooperative warehouses to store their crops so that they can sell those later.

A cooperative warehouse is not a commercial warehouse and is built to support a group of people.

●      Government Warehouses

Government builds and runs these warehouses directly.

You can see government warehouses in many places like in seaports, rail stations.

You can rent space in a government warehouse and use it at an affordable price.

But as the Government owns it, you have to pay the rent on time. Otherwise, the authority won’t let you take your goods.

In the worst-case scenario, the Government ceases products to recover the rental charge.

Government warehouses do not come with the facilities a warehouse shipping and receiving company can provide.

Still, they are handy for a small and medium business owner for long-term storage.

●      Distribution Centers

A distribution center is not a typical warehouse but is built to meet specific requirements.

A distribution center stores goods for a short time and distributes them within the supply chain quickly.

A distribution center does not possess all the necessary features that a warehouse should have.

Therefore, you can not use it as a long-term storage facility.

 

5. What Is An Ideal Warehouse?

A warehouse receives stores and delivers goods as per the customers’ requirements.

Also, warehouses play a very crucial role in the shipping process.

Warehouse and shipping are equally important when you are shipping from China or any other country.

A warehouse shipping and receiving agency installs all the necessary hardware and software for smooth operations.

An ideal warehouse should have the following:

• A warehouse should have accessible transport facilities with markets and ports. Therefore a wirehouse should be near seaports, airports, railway stations. Moreover, a warehouse must be on or near a highway for accessible truck transport facilities.
• An ideal warehouse must have efficient tools to load and unload. It should use proper technology and machines to achieve that. A sound system not only reduces the risk of damaging goods but also reduces handling costs.
• An ideal warehouse has sufficient space inside the building to store the goods in an appropriate manner.
• An ideal warehouse can store and preserve perishable goods such as vegetables, fruits, butter, dairy products, meat, poultry, etc.
• Rain, wind, sunlight, wind, moisture, dust various natural calamities can damage or destroy goods. Therefore, a warehouse should take proper protection to save your goods from such natural encounters.
• An ideal warehouse must have sufficient parking spaces. It should be capable of dealing with loading and unloading facilities once at a time.
• An ideal warehouse should be equipped with proper security measures to protect your goods from theft or robbing.
• An anti-earthquake design is mandatory for a warehouse. Moreover, it should be equipped with fire-fighting equipment.

 

6. What Are Warehousing Activities?

Typically a warehouse activity includes receiving, put receiving, put away, storage, packing, and shipping.

A Shipping warehouse manages all the activities efficiently so that you can store and take your sellable products with ease.

Warehouse activities are as follows:

Receiving

Receiving is the first and most important activity of any warehouse shipping and receiving agency.

Before receiving the warehouse and receiving services have to verify that they are receiving the right product and the correct quantity.

Moreover, the warehouse management has to ensure that they have received the product in proper condition to avoid any future conflict with the customer.

Put-Away

This is the process of moving your goods from the receiving area to the location to the freight forwarder warehouse.

This is a crucial step to increase the productivity of a warehouse.

To ensure a smoother service, warehouse and shipping agencies try to deliver fast put-away service.

Storing

The main activity of the warehouse shipping process is the storing process.

After bringing the goods to the storage area, they will put your product in the right place maintain proper storage protocols.

Picking

Picking is the process of collecting products with the proper quantity according to the customer’s requirement.

The efficiency of a shipping warehouse largely depends on the picking ability as it determines how fast you will receive your shipment.

Packing

Packing is another important activity of a warehouse and shipping process.

For international shipment, packing is vital because good packing saves your goods from being damaged or destroyed.

Another important thing is the packing should be light as weight plays a crucial role in shipping.

A freight forwarder warehouse must know how to pack firmly without increasing the weight too much.

Shipping

The final step of the warehouse receiving and shipping procedure is shipping.

After packing properly, a warehouse sends the shipment for the final journey.

A successful shipping activity ensures loading the goods in an orderly fashion for easy unloading.

Warehouse management system

7. How To Choose A Warehouse?

Many shipping and receiving agencies provide shipping warehouse service.

But before selecting a warehouse, you must consider the followings:

Storage Costs And Stock Keeping Units (SKUs)

The storage cost of a warehouse largely depends on the SKUs as different SKUs need another storage facility.

Suppose you are storing shirts, then you will need additional storage for different sizes.

So, before hiring a warehouse, it is wise to determine the SKUs of your product.

Seasonality

Seasonal products can affect your supply chain management and impact your warehousing procedure and price.

So, if you are dealing with seasonal products, make sure the supply and demand are in the right place.

Location

The location is crucial for a warehouse. We have described where a warehouse should be placed earlier.

You can save a significant amount of money for transport if the warehouse is close to the port and markets.

Best warehouse and shipping services build their warehouse in those locations so that you can transport your goods efficiently.

Warehouse Management Technology

A modern warehouse should use modern technology to operate its procedure.

From order receiving to track, from inventory management to delivery, every activity should have an integrated software system.

You should pick a warehouse and picking service that runs its activities with modern technology.

Security

The warehouse you are going to hire must be well secured with human resources and technology.

It would be best if you asked them whether they have CCTV and motion detector technology installed or not.

Moreover, they should have well-trained security persons with a live security station.

Value Added Service

Many warehouse shipping and receiving companies use value-added services like kitting and assembly.

If their value-added service stands the standard with other services, you can hire one.

 

8. What Should I Consider Short-Term And Long-Term Storage Warehouses?

There is no right or wrong in short-term and long-term storage.

It depends on your necessity. If you store anything for less than 3 months, that is considered short-term storage.

On the other hand, long-term storage is the process of storing goods for more than three months.

You can use long-term storage for long-lasting products such as books, clothes, etc.

But for perishable products, short-term warehousing is better.

However, you can use long-term storage for perishable goods if the warehouse you are hiring has the proper support.

If you are shipping seasonal products, you should not go for long-term storage.

Warehouse and shipping should be a fast process to bring your shipment from China or anywhere in the world.

So, if you are in search of a shipping warehouse, it is not ideal for storing products for a long time.

 

9. What Is Cargo Warehouse Shipping?

Warehouse stores your goods for a significant amount of time. Like this while, a cargo brings the product to your destination port; it also holds your products for a long time.

Sometimes sea freight takes as much as 90 days to reach the destination port.

Cargo warehouse shipping is the activity of storing your shipment in cargo for a more extended period orderly so that you can get your shipment in good condition.

 

9. How Much Do The Shipping Warehouse Cost?

A shipping warehouse cost depends on various factors.

It is a long process, and many activities are involved in completing the warehouse and shipping procedure.

To give you a fair idea, we have broken down the price that a warehouse shipping service might charge you for:

• Booking or Setup Cost
• Receiving and Intake Cost
• Storage Cost
• Order Fulfillment Cost
• Shipping Cost
• Kitting and Return Cost
• Account Management Cost

10. Who Provides The Best Warehouse Shipping Service In China?

China is the export leader of the world right now.

Therefore, you will find many agencies that provide warehouse and shipping services.

But many of them don’t offer up-to-the-mark support.

But in Hart Logistics, we deliver the best warehouse shipping service all over the world.

We have warehouses in China, and in many countries with all the facilities, a modern warehouse should have, which makes us the best warehouse shipping service in China.

We have an experienced warehouse team with highly efficient modern technology.

Our in-house software development team is working relentlessly so that you can get the track and get your product at the earliest possible time.

Moreover, we also provide customs clearance support with our shipping warehouse service.

Conclusion   

Warehouse shipping and receiving services need proper management and maintenance.

Before hiring warehouse and shipping services, you should look for the best possible options.

In Hart Logistics, we provide the best warehouse shipping service in China.

Do you have anything to store and Ship?

Just give us a message.