Types of Commercial Warehousing

warehousingCommercial warehouses help companies store goods in a centralized location so that products can be quickly and efficiently transported to their destinations. Centralized storage reduces the cost of transporting goods to various geographic markets and makes it efficient to process, package and ship orders. Depending on a business’s needs, it can opt for two types of warehousing facilities: Public or Contract.

What is the Differences Between Public and Contract Warehouses?

Public warehouses are owned and operated by a third party entity that receives, handles, distributes and stores products. Public warehouses generally provide short-term storage with a month-to-month cost basis. 

Public warehouse costs are generally a combination of storage fees (per pallet or actual square footage) and transaction fees (inbound and outbound shipments). Public warehouses are usually used to supplement space constraints of a private warehouse.

Contract warehouses are third party entities that receive, handle, distribute and store products on a contract basis. These warehouses provide specialized services in addition to allowing the lessee to store goods. Contract warehouses generally require a client to commit to a specific period of time (generally in years) for these services. Costs for contract warehouses may be transaction and storage based, fixed, cost plus, or any combination. In contract warehousing, the business relationship is intended to be on a more long term basis compared to that of a public warehouse.

Why Choose Hopkins for Warehousing Needs?

At Hopkins Distribution, options for potential clients are tailored  to meet and exceed any 3PL services to meet any client’s individual needs for west coast distribution. To find out more about the warehousing options that Hopkins has to offer contact us online for a free online quote or give us a call at 800-655-3644 today!