本科毕业论文（设计）外文翻译原文：WarehousemanagementWarehousemanagementisfrequentlytreatedasanoperationalissue,itsstrategicimportancelargelyoverlooked.Butaspriceandqualitybecomeindistinguishablefromonecompanytoanotheranddistributioncostbecomesasignificantpartofaproduct’svalue,theinvisiblehandoflogisticsbecomesakeycompetitiveadvantage,andwarehouseoptimizationbecomescriticaltothelogisticschainfromsuppliertocustomer.Onehomefurnituremanufacturerrecognizedthestrategicnecessityofmaintainingeasyaccesstoitsfinishedproductsandwasabletoturnitsstrategicbusinesspurposeintotheoperationaldetailsofawarehouseoptimizationprocess.Thisarticledescribestheoptimizationjourneyofthis50-year-oldcompanyofnearly1,000employees.SituationBecauseithadnocentraldistributioncenter,thisfurnituremanufacturerandimporterwasoperating13satellitewarehousesrangingfrom8,600squarefeetto100,000squarefeetwithina100-mileradius.Domesticallymanufacturedproductswerestoredattheproducingfacility’swarehouse.Intotal,eachwarehousewashandlingmorethan150incomingandoutgoingpiecesoffurnitureonadailybasis—bothdomesticallymanufacturedandimportedproductsfromsuppliersinAsiawereshippedtocustomers.Morethan100containerswerereceivedfromsuppliersthroughafreightforwarderusingmultipleoceancarriers.Whatwastheresultofallthisactivity?First,thecompanysufferedfromreducedthroughputduetosplit,partial,andwrongshipments.Shippingbecameamajorchallengeandalargepartofthecorporateoverhead.Aspecialtrafficdepartmentwascreatedtoconsolidateshipments,routetrucks,andschedulepickupsatdifferentlocations.Splitorpartialshipmentsthatwereunnecessaryandunrequestedoccurredfrequently.Second,operatingcostsroseduetothreefactors:•Handlingdamage.Unnecessaryproductmoveswerecreatingmajordamages,whichwerehavingasignificantimpactonthecompany’sfinancialsituation.Customerreturnsandallowanceshadreached10percentofnetsales.Alargenumberofpieceswereputonholdandcouldnotbeshippedduetointernallyinflicteddamage,delayingcustomerorderfulfillmentandincreasingrepaircosts.•Exceptioncharges.