Bonded warehouse (Part 3) History

 

Mason Transfer and Grain Co., bonded warehouse on the South Texas Border. Taken by Robert Runyon  sometime between 1900-1920.

Previous to the establishment of bonded warehouses in  England the payment of duties on imported goods had to be made at the time of importation, or a bond with security for future payment given to the revenue authorities. The inconveniences of this system were many:

• it was not always possible for the importer to find sureties, and he had often to make an immediate sale of the goods, in order to raise the duty, frequently selling when the market was depressed and prices low;
• the duty, having to be paid in a lump sum, raised the price of the goods by the amount of the interest on the capital required to pay the duty;
• competition was stifled from the fact that large capital was required for the importation of the more heavily taxed articles;

To obviate these difficulties and to put a check upon frauds on the revenue, Sir  Robert Walpole proposed in his "excise scheme" of 1733, the system of warehousing for tobacco and wine. The proposal was unpopular, and it was not till 1803 that the system was actually adopted. By an act of that year imported goods were to be placed in warehouses approved by the customs authorities, and importers were to give bonds for payment of duties when the goods were removed.

Bonded warehouse (Part 2)

Bonded warehouses are warehouses in which dutiable goods may be stored without paying the duties on such goods. For importers, there are a number of advantages to using bonded warehouses which make them a popular storage option in many ports all over the world. Different governments have different laws about how such warehouses can be administered and who can use or operate a bonded warehouse.

Also known as a customs warehouse, a bonded warehouse acts  like a no man's land where goods can be deposited without an importer or an agent needing to pay duties on them. If the importer decides to sell the goods for re-export, duties will not be incurred. Likewise, if the goods are destroyed, the obligation to pay duties will also be resolved. If the imported goods are released for sale, however, customs duties will come due.

Importers appreciate the flexibility of bonded warehouses, as if they can't get a good price for goods domestically or can't sell them at all, they can sell them for re-export without having to worry about the duties which might already have been paid. Paying duties on arrival can also be expensive, and using a bonded warehouse allows importers to access funds from the sale to pay the duties, rather than having to pay duties in advance. Customs officials also use bonded warehouses to store impounded or confiscated goods while working out what is going to happen to the goods, thereby ensuring that people don't pay duties on goods they cannot use.

Some bonded warehouses are operated by the government. Others are run by third parties which contract out their warehouse space, and in some cases they may take on the responsibility for paying duties, while in other instances, the importer or agent who arranges for the storage is responsible. Import/export companies may maintain their own bonded warehouses for the convenience of themselves and their clients, especially if they do a great deal of business

Individuals who want to open bonded warehouses generally need to file applications with Customs in the nations where they intend to operate warehouses. The application process can be complex and lengthy, and some people choose to contract it out to a lawyer who is experienced in such issues. In addition to meeting Customs requirements, bonded warehouse operators may also need to meet requirements set by the port where they operate, including providing evidence of insurance, installation of security systems, and measures to prevent loss due to fire or contamination

Bonded warehouse (Part 1)

A bonded warehouse is a warehouse in which, duty on goods stored within need not be paid until the goods are removed from the warehouse.  A bonded warehouse is referred to by Malaysian Customs as a ‘Gudang Berlesen Awam’ or Licenced General Warehouse.

A bonded warehouse is therefore a duty free zone, akin to a port.  It is usually fenced and has high security.  The warehouse operator normally gives a ‘bond’ or more usually nowadays a bank guarantee (instead of a cash deposit in the old days) to customs to guarantee that there will be no loss of revenue to customs should any of the goods stored within be inadvertently released from the bonded area.  In Malaysia, a license from customs is required before a public bonded warehouse can begin operations.

What are the benefits of storing in a bonded warehouse?

1. By storing goods in a bonded warehouse, traders can enjoy substantial cost savings through the deferment of payment of tax if the goods are not immediately required when they arrive in the destination port.

2. Duty need not be paid on imported goods which are intended for re -export.

3. Duty need not be paid on goods which are produced in a Free Industrial Zone pending export if they are stored in a bonded warehouse.

Warehouse Management System (WMS)

                                                                  Warehouse Management System

WMS  is a key part of the supply chain and primarily aims to control the movement and storage of materials within a warehouse and process the associated transactions, including shipping, receiving, put away and picking. The systems also direct and optimize stock put away based on real-time information about the status of bin utilization.

WMS  often utilize Auto ID Data Capture (AIDC) technology, such as barcode scanners, mobile computers, wireless LANs and potentially Radio-frequency identification (RFID) to efficiently monitor the flow of products. Once data has been collected, there is either a batch synchronization with, or a real-time wireless transmission to a central database. The database can then provide useful reports about the status of goods in the warehouse.

The objective of a WMS  is to provide a set of computerized procedures to handle the receipt of stock and returns into a warehouse facility, model and manage the logical representation of the physical storage facilities (e.g. racking etc), manage the stock within the facility and enable a seamless link to order processing and logistics management in order to pick, pack and ship product out of the facility.

Warehouse management systems can be a  stand alone systems, or modules of an ERP system or supply chain execution suite.

The primary purpose of a WMS is to control the movement and storage of materials within a warehouse – you might even describe it as the legs at the end-of-the line which automates the store, traffic and shipping management.

In its simplest form, the WMS can data track products during the production process and act as an interpreter and message buffer between existing ERP and WMS systems. Warehouse Management is not just managing within the boundaries of a warehouse today, it is much wider and goes beyond the physical boundaries. Inventory management ,inventory planning, cost management, IT applications & communication technology to be used are all related to warehouse management. The container storage, loading and unloading are also covered by warehouse management today.Warehouse management today is part of SCM and demand management. Even production management is to a great extent dependent on warehouse management. Efficient warehouse management gives a cutting edge to a retail chain distribution company. Warehouse management does not just start with receipt of material but it actually starts with actual initial planning when container design is made for a product. Warehouse design and process design within the warehouse (e.g. Wave Picking) is also part of warehouse management. Warehouse management is part of Logistics and SCM.

Warehouse Management monitors the progress of products through the warehouse. It involves the physical warehouse infrastructure, tracking systems, and communication between product stations.

Warehouse management deals with receipt, storage and movement of goods, normally finished goods, to intermediate storage locations or to final customer. In the multi-echelon model for distribution, there are levels of warehouses, starting with the Central Warehouse(s), regional warehouses serviced by the central warehouses and retail warehouses serviced by the regional warehouses and so on. The objective of warehouse management is to help in optimal cost of timely order fulfillment by managing the resources economically.

Warehouse management = "Management of storage of products and services rendered on the products within the four walls of a warehouse"

Article extracted from Wikipedia

10 tips for selecting a voice picking vendor

Voice Picking is one of the most scalable order fulfilment solutions on the market and can be configured for virtually any application in your distribution centre.

Below are 10 useful tips to consider when selecting a Voice Picking vendor.

1. Analyse your needs. Voice Picking is best used for applications with large number of SKUs located throughout the distribution centre, that require few reaches per unit of travel

2. Ensure your Voice Picking vendor understands warehouse and distribution centre operations. Your potential vendors need to be familiar with these types of operations, not just the hardware and/or software they’re offering. Be sure they know what your associates do on a daily basis and understand the efficiencies you are trying to create.

3. Don’t buy more than you need. No vendor should require that you change your current shipping, receiving, and warehousing processes. Don’t make these alterations unless they improve operational efficiency and productivity.

4. Explain the uniqueness of your warehouse operation. Not all picking, packing, and receiving operations are the same, so the vendor must be able to accommodate your warehouse or distribution centre. For example, is your warehouse climate-controlled? Are items shelved, containerized, or palletized? Do you provide cross-docking services, and will the Voice Picking equipment work in these areas? The vendor needs to consider these factors when planning your solution.

5. Take stock of mobile computing devices. If you are happy with your current hardware, ask if the vendor will allow you to keep and utilize it. Be sure you can still leverage your existing vendor relationships.

6. Consider the ease of integration with existing systems. How well the Voice Picking solution will integrate with your warehouse control system, warehouse management system, and other solutions? What if one of those systems changes? Make sure you can easily integrate systems now and in the future and are not limited by custom integration software.

7. Ask for references. As with any service provider, find out how the vendor treats its customers and handles problems.

8. Investigate the company’s financial stability. Make sure the vendor will be able to meet your warehouse needs now as well as in the future. Ask about profitability, current and prospective customers, future plans, and customer service.

9. Look for excellent voice-recognition technology. Choose a vendor that offers high-quality solutions, and make sure the technology can filter out background noise. The voice engine must be able to “hear” and distinguish the speaker’s voice over all other noise.

10. Don’t let language become a hurdle. You can select speaker-dependent solutions and get core vocabularies in a variety of languages. If your workers comprise multiple ethnicity and speak several languages, make sure the Voice Picking solution will understand what they say.

By Lloyed Lobo, director of business development, AL Systems

April 13, 2011

Pick By Voice system

Pick by voice offers conventional order picking methods such as paper lists  or wireless terminals. Instead of communicating visually through paper or computer monitors, pick by voice relies on voice instructions through headphones and a microphone

By freeing the operator’s hands to handle the stock items, pick by voice ensures an ergonomic and efficient pick sequences. Thus the order picker can focus entirely on retrieving the required items

No  more manual keying of data or time-consuming scanning of stock locations. Instead, the instructions to and responses from the picker are entirely by voice. Delays caused by the picker having to stop retrieving items in order to enter data into a device are a thing of the past. The operation is streamlined and productivity increases.

A voice application does not stand on its own. A voice application needs to interface with anoth­er system that feeds it the order information. This system can be a WMS, an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, or another application that creates a pick list and transmits it to the voice system.

The main advantage is the real-time response of the voice inter­face to the WMS. Thus, while picking, the picker can immediately feedback ‘out of stock’, a replenishment operator can get the task to restock the location and the picker is able to return to have his order completed

PTL system

 

When stocks reached warehouse, warehouse officer will look for location to store the stocks (pallet, carton, loose packing).Pallet and carton sizes can be stacked (single or multi-layer) on racks or floors.

For loose is advisable to use put to light (PTL) system or pick to light (PTL) system for easy identification

Each Pick-to-Light display module contains a two digit LED display, a tri-colour indicator light, and three push buttons - one for count up, one for count down and one for pick/put complete. The display unit consists of a high impact, moulded polycarbonate bezel, which snaps onto the wire-way channel. A laminated, tactile push button pad with the three buttons is permanently bonded to a recess in the bezel. A cut out in the bezel matches a clear window in the tactile module for the two-digit LED display. The LED and colour indicator light is attached to the controller printed circuit board, which in turn is attached to the bezel. In the event of a display malfunction, the entire bezel assembly is quickly unsnapped from the channel and replaced.

The advantages of this system when an order need to be picked, the host will send signal to the PTL  worker will look for the location that flash light, once done he will press another button(to show job done). The host will continue to display if uncompleted jobs. This ensures a complete list of job done paperless