Preferably located close to major transport links and situated in industrial area or its environs, warehouses are storage rooms or holding places where goods are kept in large quantity; they are also equipped to handle logistics of those goods and items contained in its holds for a set period of time.

Quite a number of Warehouses offer support when it comes to logistics, aiding transportation of products or goods by sea, air or road. Warehouses also help in the processing and re-packaging processes for goods or products that may need additional packaging or re-packing. Warehousing services are usually built not only for storage purposes, but to ensure goods stored in them are fully secured and protected all the way till it gets to the final consumer.

In a typical warehouse, inventory control and freight consideration services are offered to make record and transportation of goods easier. Warehousing management and services also entails proper documentation of records, preparation of variable cost account and also disbursement of products to their intended destination. Labelling, tagging and final packaging can also be carried out in the warehouse. In order for these warehousing services to work properly, there need to be consistency in the chain of supply.

Most warehousing companies offer custom made services to meet the needs and requirements of clients, while other companies source for logistic services and select a suitable partner to meet the demands of your business. Services like export processing, freight bill processing, industry updates and distribution planning and optimization.

Expert approach is required in consideration to transportation services with warehousing companies. Such services include cross-docking and fulfilment services. Electronic data Interchange (EDI) which assists quality assurance processes are offered by the warehousing companies.

Public warehousing rates depend on usage factor. Here you are charged based on the space you use. This is contrary to contract warehousing which costs lesser because the warehousing company and the owner bear the risk. In contract warehousing, the owner is required to pay for a space at a particular fee, and is charged at that price regardless of whether he uses it or not. For the fact that  the risks are shared by both parties (the company and the client), charges are significantly lower than in public warehousing system.

Some companies may provide damage prevention services and may have links to public and contract warehousing services.

Other Important benefits of warehousing include:

• Warehousing aids the storage of goods when supply exceeds demand, and also helps to facilitate release of goods when demand exceeds supply. This makes it an avenue to stabilize prices of goods.
• Because most warehouses are insured, business owners are sure of the safety of their goods. The risk of Theft, fire, and unwanted damages are not solely born by the owner.
• Goods can easily be accessed and inspected in warehouses; repackaging, rebranding and assembling can also be done in the warehouse.
• A receipt is usually awarded to the owner of goods stored in a warehouse. Warehousing receipts can be used to obtain loans and other credit facilities, if presented as a collateral or security for loan requirements.