Warehouse Management Essay. Management Assignment.

Warehouse Management
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Warehouse Management
Primarily, Strategic Warehouse Management, Inc. (SWM) is a warehousing organization based in the United States that deals with warehouses' construction and management as well as monitoring their operations. The market development team supervised by Strategic Warehouse Management, Inc. (SWM) CEO has established that opening a warehouse in Australia could present the organization with an immense opportunity that would enable it to serve multiple businesses. In effect, the CEO intends to up a “non-resident company” in the proposed country. Additionally, the CEO has also added that the company could open warehouses in different cities and towns in the intended region. On the other hand, the company’s clients from Australia are also asking whether SWM could manage the flow of their products from the United States to Australia and vice versa. As a result, the CEO is contemplating of getting a preliminary framework to orchestrate a supply chain plan that would incorporate warehousing operations in nearly all the cities in Australia. Furthermore, he wants several facets included in the report.
Hence, this report will focus on the following items: development of the requirements needed for the design of the warehouse as well as providing an organizational structure that will help in the management of warehouses in Australia. Secondly, the report will propose and present feasible considerations for the management of employees; and the development of import and export procedures into and out of the United States, respectively. The report will also cover the potential supply chain risks and recommend possible mitigations for the company. It will also present conclusive research findings on the investigation conducted to determine critical issues and regulations related to the management of warehouses in Australia foreign entities. Furthermore, the report will present an analysis of the operations that SWM would manage directly as well as those that the organization will have to outsource and support the study with a concise explanation. It will also enlist the budgetary expectations that the company will need to consider and incur. Hence, this report will not only focus on everything that the CEO requested, but it will also include additional items that it deems suitable and essential for the success of SWM’s business in Australia.
Development requirements
During the developmental stages, which include designing the warehouse, it is vital to understand warehouses' functioning. In effect, there will need to collect and process the information on how the company will stock and maintain goods and other items in the facility. The data will also include information regarding how the facility will be restocking materials and commodities that customers will return (Emmett, 2005). Hence, this report recommends that the facility design should ensure that there is an extra room that will allow for easy and convenient movement of people and goods throughout the facility. Besides, this will go along way to reducing significant accidents to the workforce, visitors, and clients who may enter the warehouse and come in contact with the materials. According to Rouwenhorst et al., (2000), “Typically, a design runs from a functional description, through a technical specification, to equipment selection and determination of a layout” (p.515).
Additionally, the developmental stage will also factor in need for forklifts. Forklifts play an imperative role in warehouses by enabling convenient movement of materials and items from one location to the other within the facility as well as picking products that are needed to be prepared for transportation (Emmett, 2005). Concerning forklifts, the company will need to speculate about the cost of procuring the equipment. Still, we will also have to consider the equipment’s warranty, durability, and preventive and maintenance costs. We will also have to consider setting aside an apparent parking lot for the company’s employees as well as clients. Finding to establish safe parking and break areas is a critical aspect of designing and developing the proper functioning of a warehouse.
Workforce management
Parking is particularly essential, especially for a company that intends to maintain a constant flow of bulk products and operate on a vast workforce (Collins, 2003). Additionally, warehouses deal in perishable commodities, which demand timely and critical care. Therefore, the company would need to have a spacious parking lot to enable employees to drive themselves to avoid worrying about where to park their vehicles as this would eat into their reporting to their work (Emmett, 2005). Besides, parking is vital when designing a warehouse. It enables workers to park their cars within the premises instead of worrying about their vehicles being vandalized or being charged parking fees while carrying out their duties within the establishment. On the other hand, sustainable and safe lunch and break areas are temporary places where the company allows its workforce to relax and eat their meals, thus, reducing the hustle of worrying about the potential occurrence of accidents.
The terms managing and leading are often used interchangeably. Nonetheless, the two terms are different. According to John Kotter (2001), none of the two words is better than the other; instead, their concepts complement each other. Kotter suggests that managing entails coping with complexity. On the other hand, he claims that leadership is an art that involves dealing with changes. We recommend that SWM employs managerial employees to maintain an efficient flow of daily activities within the facility. We suggest that the staff should comprise a mix of employees from the U.S and Australian nationals to have an impartial team. The team should educate and train all staff members on ethics, sexual harassment, preventive maintenance, and safety (Forbes, 2008). Additionally, the company should also offer mentoring services to its employees if they request. Mentoring is vital because it does not only enable employees to nurture their career goals, but it also allows them to improve their job performance.
However, although staffing is more of an HR function than it is a managerial function, the two are intertwined (Australian Trade and Investment Commission, 2017). Therefore, the HR staff should oversee the company’s hiring of new employees, interviewing, recruiting, as well as liaising with top managers on strategic planning as well as being the link between employees and the firm’s management. Staffing should primarily be inherent to the firm. However, the possibility of outsourcing should not be overlooked (Forbes, 2008). The HR should embark on informing newly employed staff about the potential benefits and retirement plans. The company should delegate distinct titles to its employees because titles beget specific responsibilities that each employee needs to handle according to their level of education and experience.
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