What is the difference between inventory and warehousing?

Inventory is a control which establishes optimum levels of stocking of materials and equipment for a particular process. It establishes a record keeping system to record the location, present quantity, and minimum and maximum stocking level of each item held in inventory. When a minimum stocking level is reached, the item is reordered; the maximum stocking level determines how many units are ordered. The process of ordering materials is usually a function of a separate department called Purchasing. Inventory control is necessary in retail sales, wholesale sales, in manufacturing, and construction, where such materials are time critical and need to be available at the moment of request. Warehousing is a control which manages and maintains the storage area for the inventory. It assures that storage space is available for each item of inventory, that there is a mechanisim in place for efficiently transporting stored materials into and out of the warehouse or storage area, and that there is an identified space for each stored item. Managing Inventory Levels It has been established that the role of inventory management is to ensure that stock is available to meet the needs of the beneficiaries as and when required. Inventory represents a large cost to the humanitarian supply chain. This is made up of the cost of the inventory itself, plus the cost of transporting the goods, cost of managing the goods (labor, fumigation, repackaging, etc) and keeping the goods in warehouses. The inventory manager's job is to make inventory available at the lowest possible cost. In order to achieve this, the inventory manager must ensure a balance between supply and demand by establishing minimum holding stocks to cover lead-times. To achieve this, the inventory manager must constantly liaise with the programs to keep abreast of changing needs and priorities. The warehouse must always have sufficient stocks to cover the lead-time for replacement stocks to avoid stock-outs.