From the outside, a warehouse and a fulfillment center look very similar: they are usually substantial buildings with several overhead doors and shipping docks. This allows trucks to easily pull in for loading or unloading pallets of goods, enabling efficient pickups and deliveries.
Both types of buildings hold inventory for a wide range of businesses, though this may be where the similarities end. Each type of building provides very different services for its customers, even though the one thing going in and out is packaged products. Most packages are shipped in corrugated boxes and may have been sent by a secondary packaging provider directly to a warehouse or fulfillment center.
What Is a Typical Warehouse?
The primary purpose of a warehouse is to store goods for a specified period of time, either short-term or long-term. Warehouses can provide a cost-effective method for companies to store excess material and can free up capacity for manufacturers to continue to produce more goods. Depending on the type of business and production requirements, a warehouse may allow businesses to expand, rather than operating with limited space, thus limiting production and sales.
Warehouses are typically laid out for efficient storage with rows of stacked shelves holding organized boxes, containers, or storage bins. An automated inventory system, such as one that allows scanning barcodes, can help companies maintain a real-time, accurate count of all goods stored in the warehouse at any given moment. Storing goods on pallets and using forklifts to organize materials is an efficient way to manage products in a warehouse.
What Is a Typical Fulfillment Center?
A fulfillment center is quite different than a warehouse in that it is typically bustling with activity, moving packaged goods from inventory to shipping and on to their next destination. Many fulfillment centers use complex machinery and equipment, such as programmed conveyor belts and automated scanning systems, to route packages to the correct shipping destination. The next time you order something from Amazon, and it arrives on your doorstep the following day, it was most likely shipped from the closest fulfillment center.
E-commerce companies and subscription services may use fulfillment centers to deliver their products to consumers as quickly as possible, which is the primary goal of these centers. In some cases, packages may even be routed from a warehouse to a fulfillment center and then on to the end user. Businesses that sell direct to consumers through e-commerce use a fulfillment center to efficiently pick their products from inventory and ship them according to online sales orders.
Who Packages the Goods for Warehouses and Fulfillment Centers?
One thing both types of buildings have in common is that the main commodity is always packages. Whatever item is being stored or picked for fulfillment, better be packaged properly so it does not come apart at the seams when moved around in a warehouse or rolled down a conveyor belt. Businesses that utilize warehouses and fulfillment centers must have a reliable packaging service to keep their products moving to meet deadlines.
Some businesses handle packaging in-house, while others have realized the benefits of outsourcing to contract packaging companies.
PPS Is a Leading Contract Packaging Company
Peoria Production Solutions, PPS, is a recognized leader among contract packaging companies providing high-quality packaging services for warehouses and fulfillment centers. PPS offers high-quality secondary packaging solutions, including flexible packaging, gift set packaging, variety packaging, and kitting and assembly. We differ from other secondary packaging providers in that our primary focus is on providing jobs to our highly skilled staff with alternative abilities rather than on profits.
PPS is blessed with a dedicated team of highly skilled individuals who love to come to work every day and go above and beyond to meet and exceed customer expectations. We utilize modern, automated equipment in our state-of-the-art facility with the capacity to dedicate customized packaging workstations to meet specific requirements. Contact us to learn how to improve your warehouse or fulfillment center operations with cost-efficient secondary packaging solutions that meet your delivery schedules and your budget.