Material Handling Equipment and Warehousing

Develop a focused understanding of warehousing and equipment of material handling with CPDCourses.com. This 10-hour online course examines how warehouse activities and material handling fit into the wider logistics strategy, with additional focus on the aims of warehousing and the role of packaging.

Designed as a focused CPD course, it provides an accessible way to explore this area without committing immediately to a longer programme. You can also browse our complete course catalogue or compare our wider range of Supply Chain Management courses.

Warehousing is more than simply keeping goods in storage. Materials need to be received, moved, organised, protected and prepared for the next stage of the supply chain.

Material handling is closely connected with these activities.

This focused course introduces the relationship between warehousing, logistics and material handling. You will examine how warehouse activities fit into logistics strategy, consider the main aims of warehousing, explore material handling as an operational function and look at the role of packaging.

The course is particularly relevant if you want to understand the fundamentals of warehouse operations and material movement as part of broader logistics and supply chain activity.

What Is Material Handling?

Material handling concerns the movement, storage and control of materials or goods as they pass through an operational environment.

Within a warehouse, materials may need to move through several stages, such as:

What Is Equipment of Material Handling?

Material-handling equipment is the equipment used to support the movement, positioning, storage or handling of goods and materials.

Depending on the operation, material handling may involve different equipment and systems. Common examples in warehouse and industrial environments can include:

• Hand trucks and trolleys
• Pallet-handling equipment
• Lift trucks
• Conveyors
• Hoisting equipment
• Storage and retrieval systems
• Automated handling systems

The equipment appropriate to a particular workplace depends on the materials being handled, movement requirements, storage arrangements and operational environment.

This course focuses on the broader principles of materials handling within warehousing and logistics rather than providing technical operator training for individual machines.

Types of Material Handling

Material handling can take different forms depending on what needs to be moved, where it needs to go and how the operation is organised.

At a broad level, handling activities may involve:

Manual Handling

Goods or materials are moved primarily through human effort, sometimes with simple handling aids.

Mechanised Handling

Equipment assists with activities that would otherwise require substantial manual effort.

Automated Handling

Technology and automated systems perform or coordinate certain movement, storage or retrieval activities.

The right approach depends on operational requirements.

An organisation may also use a combination of manual, mechanised and automated methods rather than relying entirely on one type.

Material Handling and the Logistics Strategy

The first approved topic in this course is Fitting into the Logistics Strategy.

Warehousing and material handling form part of a wider logistics system. Decisions made inside a warehouse can affect activities elsewhere in that system.

Logistics may involve the coordinated movement and storage of goods from one stage to another. Warehousing provides locations where goods can be held, organised and prepared, while material handling supports movement within these environments.

A simplified flow might look like:

Activities Within a Warehouse

Activities within a Warehouse is the second approved course topic.

Warehouses can perform a range of activities depending on their purpose and the goods being handled.

Typical warehouse activity may involve:

• Receiving goods
• Checking deliveries
• Moving materials
• Allocating storage locations
• Storing inventory
• Retrieving goods
• Preparing orders
• Packaging
• Dispatching goods

Each activity connects with others.

For example, inefficient movement during receiving can affect storage, while poorly organised storage can make later retrieval more difficult.

Understanding these relationships provides useful context for studying material handling.

Aims and Objectives of Warehousing

The third approved topic is Aims of Warehousing.

Warehouses exist for different commercial and operational reasons, but their fundamental purpose is to provide controlled storage and support the flow of goods.

Depending on the operation, warehousing may help an organisation:

• Hold inventory until required
• Organise goods systematically
• Support distribution
• Protect stored products
• Coordinate supply and demand
• Prepare products for onward movement
• Support order fulfilment

The aims and objectives of warehousing should be considered alongside wider supply chain requirements.

Holding more inventory is not automatically better. Equally, minimising stock without considering demand can create availability problems.

Warehousing therefore involves balancing storage requirements with operational needs.

Materials Handling

Materials Handling is the fourth course topic and the central subject of the course.

Inside a warehouse, goods rarely remain in one place from arrival to dispatch.

They may need to be:

• Unloaded
• Inspected
• Transferred
• Positioned
• Stored
• Retrieved
• Repositioned
• Packed
• Prepared for dispatch

The way these movements are organised affects the overall warehouse process.

Material-handling decisions need to account for the characteristics of the goods, available space, frequency of movement and the wider operational system.

Matching Handling Methods to the Operation

There is no single material-handling method suitable for every warehouse.

A handling approach that works well for one product or facility may be unsuitable for another.

Relevant considerations can include:

• Material characteristics
• Size and weight
• Frequency of movement
• Distance travelled
• Storage arrangement
• Available space
• Volume of goods
• Workflow requirements
• Existing warehouse systems

Understanding these variables helps explain why material handling should be planned as part of the overall warehouse operation.

Material Flow Through a Warehouse

Material flow describes how goods move through the facility.

Unnecessary movement can make warehouse processes more complicated.

Consider a simple example.

If incoming goods are received at one end of a facility but repeatedly moved backwards and forwards before reaching storage, additional handling is created. If frequently requested stock is positioned far from the relevant picking or dispatch area, repeated movement may also be required.

Material flow therefore needs to be considered alongside storage and warehouse activities.

The objective is to understand how individual movements contribute to the complete process.

Material Handling and Inventory

Material handling and inventory management are closely connected, but they are different disciplines.

Material handling concerns how materials and goods are moved, positioned and handled.

Inventory management concerns how stock is planned, controlled and monitored.

In practice, the two interact.

Goods need to be handled when they enter storage, when their location changes and when they are retrieved for the next stage of the supply chain.

If inventory control is a particular development priority, our focused Inventory Management for Manufacturing course examines stock types, economic order quantity, safety stock and stock-control considerations.

Packaging

The fifth and final course topic is Packaging.

Packaging has an important relationship with warehousing, material handling and distribution because goods often need protection while they are stored or moved.

Depending on the product and supply chain, packaging may help:

• Contain goods
• Protect products during handling
• Support storage
• Facilitate movement
• Organise units
• Prepare goods for distribution

Packaging decisions can also affect the way products are handled.

For example, the dimensions, weight and physical characteristics of a packaged item can influence how it is stored and moved.

This makes packaging relevant to the wider material-handling process rather than simply a presentation consideration.

Warehousing, Material Handling and Packaging

These three activities are closely related.

Warehousing provides the environment and processes for holding goods.

Material handling supports movement and positioning within that environment.

Packaging can help contain and protect goods while they are stored and moved.

Looking at these areas together provides a more useful operational perspective than treating each as completely separate.

This relationship is one of the reasons the course places material handling within the broader context of warehouse and logistics activity.

Who Is This Course For?

This focused course may be useful for:

• Supply chain personnel
• Warehouse personnel
• Logistics staff
• Managers and supervisors
• Team leaders
• People involved in stock movement or storage
• Learners exploring warehouse operations
• Professionals using CPD to refresh relevant knowledge
• Anyone interested in the fundamentals of warehousing and material handling

No prior knowledge is required, making the course accessible if you are new to the subject.

If you already work in logistics or supply chain operations, it may also provide a structured opportunity to revisit fundamental principles as part of your professional development.

Knowledge You Can Develop

Through the course, you can strengthen your understanding of:

• The purpose of warehouses
• Warehouse activities
• Logistics strategy
• Warehousing objectives
• Material handling
• Material flow
• The relationship between storage and handling
• Packaging in warehouse operations

The course does not provide operator certification for forklifts, cranes or other specialist equipment and should not be treated as a substitute for workplace-specific equipment or safety training.

Online Study

The course is delivered online and has a stated duration of 10 hours.

The focused format may suit learners who want to examine a specific area of Supply Chain Management before deciding whether to undertake broader study.

You can explore the wider Supply Chain Management CPD pathway if you want to compare professional-development topics across logistics, procurement, inventory, transportation and related supply chain functions.