What is the difference between inventory and warehousing?

Answer 1

Inventory is a control which establishes optimum levels of stocking of materials and equipment for a particular process. It establishes a record keeping system to record the location, present quantity, and minimum and maximum stocking level of each item held in inventory. When a minimum stocking level is reached, the item is reordered; the maximum stocking level determines how many units are ordered. The process of ordering materials is usually a function of a separate department called Purchasing. Inventory control is necessary in retail sales, wholesale sales, in manufacturing, and construction, where such materials are time critical and need to be available at the moment of request.

Warehousing is a control which manages and maintains the storage area for the inventory. It assures that storage space is available for each item of inventory, that there is a mechanisim in place for efficiently transporting stored materials into and out of the warehouse or storage area, and that there is an identified space for each stored item.