ABSTRACT
Although one should strive to achieve JIT, perfect implementation of such a system is not possible. Material requirement-planning techniques could be used to reduce inventory and still meet a specific production schedule. Still, manufacturers will always have some storage requirement, however small. The need to store raw materials, partially finished products, and finished goods must then be answered by storage and warehousing. The term storage is generally, but not always, associated with raw material and in-process goods, while warehousing refers to the storing of finished goods. A company might have one or more storage and/or warehouse facilities. In some cases, both storage and warehousing share the same building; in others, the storage might be located near the production facilities and the warehouses might be built separately to serve as distribution centers. Within a plant, however, the terms storage and warehousing are frequently used interchangeably to mean either facility.
