Food warehousing addresses the storage of food prior to being sold or distributed to the end user. Food warehousing is principally different from handling of non-food products. It is a process wherein eatables are stored as per requirement of long-term storage or short-term storage. The facility can be of any size, storing both short quantities and long term quantities of food items. Common form of food warehousing includes dry storage, refrigerated storage & frozen storage.
Food warehousing is a specialized field due to span of life attached to it. Therefore, it requires special expertise, experience & efforts in maintenance of such station. The storage & distribution can be extremely challenging the shorter self life of food. Some food products like cake, fruits, vegetables, milk, curd, cottage cheese, butter etc. have very short shelf life tentatively of 2-5 days only. Also, some food products require standard maintained temperature. If dairy or frozen products are kept in wrong temperature for a long period can spoilt the eatables. There is a pre-requisite requirement of 24X7 monitored surveillance with regular sanitation, cleaning, pest controlling, safe and healthy environment which meets regulatory compliances.
Importance of Food Warehousing:
Food warehousing enhances timely distribution and optimized distribution. With appropriate and decent food warehousing, businesses can mitigate food spoilage, pilferage, leakage & theft of goods. Efficient food warehousing helps to preserve the quality & nutritional value of the goods by eliminating harmful rodents & bacteria. A strategic location of food warehouse enhances maximum efficiency leading to customer delight by timely delivery & improved distribution system.
Long Term Food Warehousing Storage:
The long term food warehousing identifies storage of consumables of goods which require storage for couple of weeks. Several beverages & food manufacturers bank on Food Warehousing for dry products with long shelf life & goods sold in abundant quantities. Major stuff includes oils, sugar, grains, oats, millets, pasta, sugar, pulses etc. These dry food products can be easily stored in Cartons, bags, gunny sacks, Cans, bottles, barrels, pallets etc. Such dry food warehousing requires cleanliness, safety from pest, rodents along with security of stuff. The food storage for long term products can be high yielding & an integral part for a long term business strategy. Having an abundant storage can benefit in staying ahead of competition & arranging timely deliveries.
Short Term Food Warehousing Storage:
In Modern age, there is an imperative need for short term food warehousing storage. Perishable goods like fruits, vegetables, chocolates, cookies, dried fruits & nuts, smoked meat, milk & dairy products, instant food, Soft drinks, Soda, juices, chips, Ice Cream requires prompt, quick & just-in-time delivery strategy. The food warehousing requires high class cleanliness considering perishable nature of food products.
A well laid infrastructure can contribute to a systematic handling of products. However, if inventory & seasonal demand of goods are mismanaged, it can disrupt entire logistics supply chain. The supply chain acts as a backbone to the food warehousing as instant deliveries are an essential to this industry.