You can distinguish between fulfillment centers and warehouses by analyzing their operations. The main role of a warehouse is to simply store product or equipment or materials, whether for a short-term period or for a longer period. Common examples of when companies utilize straight warehousing space include:
- Storing excess inventory
- Storing goods during a warehouse transition
- Cross-docking goods to meet short-term transition periods along the supply chain
- Storing goods in a local market to meet geographic sales needs
- Seasonal storage
Fulfillment centers, on the other hand, do more than just store products and goods at their warehouse. In addition, they help retailers to ship their products to their customers worldwide. Today, most E-commerce giants rely on fulfillment centers to provide same-day delivery services.
It is important to note that fulfillment centers store inventory for the shortest time possible and deal directly with the customer, unlike warehouses, which can store products for extended periods without dealing with the customers directly.
