What is the difference between distribution center and warehouse?

This is very important  question in warehouse Management System. This both answer is the same, But we act in different way.  

a.  Main stockist or Main Distributer Centre.  

For example  Medician are always received by main Stockiest and than Distribute to all sub distributer as per their consumsion. 

B.  Main warehouse is utilized for huge stock storage system.  So the material will not be issued immediately and the formalities will take time to accept by the client & QA/QC as per the procurement sample approved by the client...

Distribution center is the place where all official work,meetings and business correspondence is done and the warehouse is the place where physical stock is stored,despatch,received and transferred as per requirement of the distribution center.

distribution center from where distribution happens - warehouse where storage takes place

wharehouse - Long term storage. distribution center- For distribution.

Think of a warehouse as a collection of shelf locations where inventory is stored. There may be a warehouse inventory system that knows what is stored, and how many of each item is stored, it really is a bunch of storage locations. A distribution system may or may not be in a warehouse. The distribution system takes in orders, schedules those orders, identifies where the inventory is, gives orders to a warehouse what to pick, in what order, and collect it or pack it for shipment. The distribution system then fulfills the customer orders from whatever inventory locations needed, regardless of where they are. In fact, some of the needed inventory locations may even be consignment locations inside the customer's location(s.) The distribution system generally does invoicing and purchasing of new inventory as well, scheduling receiving of new inventory. The distribution system also collects payments from customers, and pays suppliers on receipt of new merchandise. When the new inventory arrives at the warehouse, the warehouse system stores it away, and sends receiving information to the distribution system.

A warehouse is especially designed to accommodate long-term storage of goods which may include raw materials, packing materials, spare parts, components, or finished goods associated with agriculture, manufacturing, or commerce. A distribution center, like a warehouse, is a principal part as well as the order processing element, of the entire order fulfillment process. Distribution centers are usually thought of as being demand driven. Distribution centers are set up to distribute goods, with a shorter storage time (about a week or so). Products and supplies in distribution centers constantly move from being received, used to fill orders and shipped out as new products arrive.

Physically - not so much. They each have four walls, a roof and floors, dock space and truck doors. And, from the outside the structures might even look quite similar. But as the following definition (from a glossary of terms by K. B. Ackerman called “Words of Warehousing”) makes clear, what happens inside those four walls is really quite different. That glossary defines a distribution center as a "facility from which wholesale and retail orders are filled”, adding that "the term is used to describe a high-velocity operation as opposed to a static storage warehouse."

 

While you could argue that DCs evolved from warehousing and share much of the same DNA, a look at the primary functions of a true distribution center should make the difference quite clear:

 

(The following bullet points were taken from an article written by Clifford F. Lynch of C.F. Lynch & Associates.)

• A distribution center offers value-added services: Rather than simply offering static storage, DCs provide a myriad of services for clients, whether those customers are external or internal company departments and functions. A well-organized and managed distribution center will provide such services as transportation, cross-docking, order-fulfillment, labeling and packaging along with whatever services are necessary to complete the order cycle, including order processing, order preparation, shipping, receiving, transportation, returned goods processing and performance measurement.
• A distribution center is customer focused: While a warehouse is focused on the most efficient cost effective methods of storing products within its walls, a distribution center's sole mission is to provide outstanding service to its customers.
• A distribution center is technology-driven: The distribution center of today must have in place state-of-the-art order processing, transportation management and warehouse management systems if it is to receive, scan bar codes, locate and store product efficiently, pick/pack and process orders, and plan loads.
• A distribution center is relationship-centric: Whether its clients are outside companies or other intra-company units, a distribution center must remain focused on its customers' requirements. A distribution center is the principal link between suppliers and customers, and its management must be conversant not only with the customers' needs but also with the most efficient and cost-effective methods of meeting those needs. By contrast, a storage warehouse is so inwardly focused, in most cases, that there is very little understanding of what customer service really means.

Given all of the above, the distinction between Warehouse and Distribution Center is great. Today’s DCs have evolved into crucial hubs in supply chain networks. They're moving goods to market more effectively than ever before and taking on value-added functions that they can perform more efficiently than any other link in the supply chain.

Warehouses may be designed on Concept of Strategic Storage.

Distribution Centres  may  be designed on ease of dis aggregation.

I fully agree with the answers been added by EXPERTS..............Thanks.

Agree with above mention answer =====================

Hello Team,

A distribution center for a set of products is a warehouse or other specialized building, often with refrigeration or air conditioning, which is stocked with products (goods) to be redistributed to retailers, to wholesalers, or directly to consumers. A distribution center is a principal part, the order processing element, of the entire order fulfillment process. Distribution centers are usually thought of as being demand driven. A distribution center can also be called a warehouse, a DC, a fulfillment center, a cross-dock facility, a bulk break center, and a package handling center. The name by which the distribution center is known is commonly based on the purpose of the operation. For example, a "retail distribution center" normally distributes goods to retail stores, an "order fulfillment center" commonly distributes goods directly to consumers, and a cross-dock facility stores little or no product but distributes goods to other destinations.

Distribution centers are the foundation of a supply network, as they allow a single location to stock a vast number of products. Some organizations operate both retail distribution and direct-to-consumer out of a single facility, sharing space, equipment, labor resources, and inventory as applicable.

A typical retail distribution network operates with centers set up throughout a commercial market, with each center serving a number of stores. Large distribution centers for companies such as Wal-Mart serve 50–125 stores. Suppliers ship truckloads of products to the distribution center, which stores the product until needed by the retail location and ships the proper quantity.

Since a large retailer might sell tens of thousands of products from thousands of vendors, it would be impossibly inefficient to ship each product directly from each vendor to each store. Many retailers own and run their own distribution networks, while smaller retailers may outsource this function to dedicated logistics firms that coordinate the distribution of products for a number of companies. A distribution center can be co-located at a logistics center.

Regards,

 

Saiyid