More and more production is being located in Eastern Europe and Asia while consumption in Western Europe is only going one way, and that is up. This development puts pressure on companies' distribution and warehouse management functions, and many companies are attempting to deal with this pressure by establishing fewer, but very large central warehouses covering wider areas. Managing these warehouses is a huge and complex challenge, so that the warehouses deliver the right levels of efficiency and service at the right cost. Therefore, there is an increasing need for tools for assessing and comparing the performance of warehouses.
That is not easy to do, says European warehouse expert Rene de Koster. "However, it is actually possible for the trained eye to uncover a mass of information and details about the warehouse's (performance), even with a quick tour around it."
Sourced: Manufacturing & Logistics IT, http://www.logisticsit.com