Storage Systems and Policies

Abstract

A storage system is an engineered system with the function to store materials, in other words to hold materials until they are needed. These materials come in an enormous variety from consumer products such as TVs in local distribution centers, emergency drug doses for battling a biological attack on a city, vertical storage silos for grain, to the strategic reserve of main battle tanks parked in the dessert. Storage systems are an essential component of virtually every supply chain. While most storage systems are stationary, some are moveable such as the truck of a repair man that holds a ready inventory of service parts, a bunker ship that resupplies a navy fleet, an intercity long-haul truck, or an ocean-going intermodal container ship. Irrespective of the type of material, the geographical location of the storage system, or the size of the storage system, storage systems have three main processes: put-away, holding, and retrieval. The first process put materials into storage; the second process holds the materials in a stationary position inside the storage system, and the third process removes materials from storage and is often also called order picking.