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What is a warehouse?

What is a warehouse?

Why do we need warehouses, what roles do they play in today’s supply chain and what happens inside them?

In the video above we take a look inside the Boots pharmaceutical warehouse and follow the process through from receipt to despatch. Look out for the amount of automation used – it is the product that is moving not the people. Also note the importance of the bar code as it determines where the item needs to go in the warehouse.

Boots UK Limited, trading as Boots, is a pharmacy chain in the United Kingdom and Ireland, with outlets in most high streets, shopping centres and airport terminals.

In the article (accessed via the link below), which is an extract from the book Warehouse Management the author, Gwynne Richards explains what the role of a warehouse is in today’s fast moving logistics environment.

Discuss these points after you have read the article and watched the above video about how work within a warehouse is now automated for Boots UK Limited.

Talking point

  • After reading the attached article (link below) on what a warehouse is and why we need them, share your thoughts on warehouses and where you think their future lies.
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Supply Chains in Practice: How Things Get to You

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