Distribution Center VS Warehouse: Make the Right Choice

Logistics implies not only transporting items from one place to another. It’s of prime importance to provide proper storage conditions for your goods and products. Not every business owner has both financial and physical opportunities to buy and maintain the proper functioning of his own warehouse. Moreover, for the greater part of modern retail businesses, it isn’t even profitable and necessary. It’s more convenient to rent the room.

Nowadays entrepreneurs may choose between a distribution center and a warehouse. Although these two options have much in common they are different. Let’s figure out which one is more appropriate for your business.

Common Features

The main goal of both warehouses and distribution centers is to store goods. Both variants may be of different sizes. It’s possible to select a solution for large corporations and small online stores. Both variations have the following common features:

• They are convenient.

You rent as much area as you require;

• They are reliable.

You don’t need to worry that your cargo will be spoiled because of bad storage conditions. Both option simply the creation of proper storage conditions;

• They are profitable.

These days, it’s more profitable to rent a storage area than to buy one.

Distinct Traits

If you are interested not only in the storage option but want to fulfill your orders just from the warehouse, then you need a distribution center. It offers a wide range of services you may explore. The most popular of the mare the following:

• The managers of the nubs receive and store your items.

It doesn’t matter that they just upload boxes and place them in one corner of the building. They work with efficient inventory management systems. You always know how many articles are stored in this or that hub and when it’s time to resupply;

• Packaging.

It’s not a good idea to ignore the packaging of your products unless you want to experience losses or damages. The specialists of the centers pick up the most appropriate packing materials depending on the peculiarity of your cargo. They pack and load freight on their own;

• Loading.

The firms have all the necessary equipment in order to make the process of downloading and uploading the cargo as easy and convenient as possible;

• Dealing with returns.

The experts of the centers can control and handle parcels which are returned from customers.

There is one more important thing to be mentioned about. Warehouses do not work with external clients. In other words, a distribution center is a more complex warehouse that provides various options to make your logistics trouble-free and comfortable.

If you cooperate with a freight forwarder, experts are ready to help you to make the right choice for your business. They have all the needed skills and knowledge to compute which option meets your needs and expectations. Moreover, logistics brokers have a wide range of contacts all around the globe. They are able to pick a proper storage variant wherever you need it.

So, if you are a beginner who doesn’t deal with great volumes of products and goods and just need a reliable store to store items during a definite period of time, a warehouse is everything you need. Yet, if you run a huge corporation that has to deliver dozens of orders every day, it’s better to cooperate with a distribution center.