Warehousing History

Warehousing refers to the activities involving storage of goods on a large-scale in a systematic and orderly manner and making them available conveniently when needed. In other words, warehousing means holding or preserving goods in huge quantities from the time of their purchase or production till their actual use or sale. Warehousing is one of the important auxiliaries to trade. It creates time utility by bridging the time gap between production and consumption of goods.
According to the Warehousing development & regulation Act 2007 the "warehouse" means any premises (including any protected place) conforming to all the requirements including manpower specified by the Authority.1
A warehouse is a commercial building for storage of goods.

In early writing, man was described as having stored excess food and keeping animals for emergency surplus. As civilization developed, local warehouses were introduced. Merchandise was stored in connection with shipping, trading and manufacturing activities. When transportation expands from local to cross country, warehouse becomes more than a local storehouse.
Since the time that European explorers began creating shipping and trade routes between their continent and other countries. When major trade points developed during middle ages, warehouses was establish to handle the storage of shipped items. Warehouses established for storing these items, and in those days, were usually located at shipping ports. The first commercial warehouse was built in Venice, a centre of major trade routes of that time. Later, as railway tracks were built and began to facilitate greater amounts of cross-country travel, rail warehouses were also established. And, as transportation and urbanisation continued to progress, more depots were built in more convenient locations – areas that were closer to the intended use of the products being

Therefore, there is a need for proper storage or warehousing for these commodities, from where they can be supplied as and when required.
• Seasonal demand : There are certain goods, which are demanded seasonally, like woollen garments in winters or umbrellas in the rainy season. The production of these goods takes place throughout the year to meet the seasonal demand. So there is a need to store these goods in a warehouse to make them available at the time of need
• Large-scale production : In case of manufactured goods, now-a-days production takes place to meet the existing as well as future demand of the products. Manufacturers also produce goods in huge quantity to enjoy the benefits of large-scale production, which is more economical. So the finished products, which are produced on a large scale, need to be stored properly till they are cleared by sales.
• Quick supply : Both industrial as well as agricultural goods are produced at some specific places but consumed throughout the country. Therefore, it is essential to stock these goods near the place of consumption, so that without making any delay these goods are made available to the consumers at the time of their