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Abstract
Excerpts from the report Introduction: Management of a modern warehouse or wholesale food distribution center is complex. Scores of employees and large investments in plant, equipment, and inventory are involved. Merchandise is handled in ever greater quantities and varieties. Knowledge of the physical operations in the warehouse and of ways of evaluating and controlling these operations is necessary to the manager as a means of maintaining and improving efficiency. Evaluation and control require a system of records that provide accurate and timely information about warehouse operations. This report explains (1) measures which are useful for controlling warehouse operations and some methods for obtaining the information on which they are based; and (2) ways in which warehouse management can make use of these measures to improve operations and hold down warehousing costs. The report is based on studies among leading wholesale food distributors in many States. The studies included discussions and observations of the firms’ development and use of measures of labor productivity and performance, and measures of the efficiency with which they were using their equipment and warehousing facilities.