Warehousing offers many advantages to the business community.
Whether it is industry or trade, it provides a number of benefits which are listed below:
(i) Protection and Preservation of goods: Warehouses provide necessary facilities to the businessmen for storing their goods when they are not required for sale. It provides protection to the stocks, ensures their safety and prevents wastage. It minimises losses from breakage, deterioration in quality, spoilage etc.
(ii) Regular flow of goods: Many commodities like rice, wheat etc. are produced during a particular season but are consumed throughout the year. Warehousing ensures regular supply of such seasonal commodities throughout the year.
(iii) Continuity in production: Warehouse enables the manufacturers to carry on production continuously.It helps in providing seasonal raw material without any break, for production of finished goods.
(iv) Convenient location: Warehouses are generally located at convenient places near road, rail or waterways to facilitate movement of goods.
(v) Easy handling: Modern warehouses are generally fitted with mechanical appliances to handle the goods. Heavy and bulky goods can be loaded and unloaded by using modern machines, which reduce the cost of handling such goods.
(vi) Useful for small businessmen: Construction of their own warehouse requires heavy capital investment, which small businessmen cannot afford. In this situation, by paying a nominal amount as rent, they can preserve their raw materials as well as finished products in public warehouses.
(vii) Creation of employment: Warehouses create employment opportunities both for skilled and unskilled workers in every part of the country. It is a source of income for the people, to improve their standards of living.
(viii) Facilitates sale of goods: Various steps necessary for sale of goods such as inspection of goods by the prospective buyers, grading, branding, packaging and labelling can be carried on by the warehouses.
(ix) Availability of finance: Loans can be easily raised from banks and other financial institutions against the security of the warehouse keeper's warrant. In some cases warehouses also provide advance to the depositors of goods on keeping the goods as security.
(x) Reduces risk of loss: Goods in warehouses are well guarded and preserved. The warehouses can economically employ security staff to avoid theft, use insecticides for preservation and provide cold storage facilities for perishable items.