Warehouse distribution only

[WilliamMGary]

In my current game I use Warehouses to distribute 98% of all goods its the BEST way to grow your company. If you need to bring on more capacity you just expand the warehouse space (or dedicate a product to an entire warehouse). You fire up a new factory and simply connect it to the warehouse and your stores/customers immediately (almost) start to benefit from it.

One of the BEST things about ti is if you are whole selling OIL and the OIL well gets exhausted, you simply close the OIL well start a new one, connect it to the warehouse and all your customers are still there waiting for the new supply. Having them buy directly from the Oil Well, when it gets exhausted results in a temporary (and in some cases perm lost) of AI customers.

Warehouses provides a logistical advantage over the AI and enhances the experience of managing a vast enterprise. I have warehouses that are able to service all 7 markets (4 stores each) like its nothing.

If you haven't tried a warehouse only distribution method you should.

[Arcnor]

What sort of layout do you typically use? I usually use warehouses to distribute or as supply chain management but I can't seem to settle on the most efficient layout.

[WilliamMGary]

What sort of layout do you typically use? I usually use warehouses to distribute or as supply chain management but I can't seem to settle on the most efficient layout.

So when I start I stock 3 products per warehouse each with two input units. Their purchase units buy from the same single factory as demand increases and that one factory is no longer able to handle demand I move to two factories having each purchase unit buy from their own factory.

If the product is a HIT then I give it its own dedicated warehouse with 6 input units and three outputs. This gives you the ability to have up to 6 factories supplying product for distribution.

Some products don't reach the dedicated warehouse level for those I give them 4 purchase units and 2 output units.

These have worked very well when working with 7 cities. For 10 cities I think this can support 5 cities each, so you may need two hubs. I use the warehouses for everything, because its easy to plug and play from a supply prospective. If one Milk farm doesn't support supply I can build another farm and add it to the supply chain.

I do unit up the supply chain so if the demand is out stripping supply, if the warehouse output utilization is 100% I train the warehouse and do a check of the factory. If the factory is meeting its demand to the warehouse I don't train it until it needs to. It's a constant balancing act.

[Arcnor]

So you never use the storage feature?

I sometimes will if I'm buying a semi product or raw material from the imports so I have a supply if the item stops being sold. I will also do this at times to deal with crop growing cycles so I have a consistent supply of materials.

[WilliamMGary]

Nah I don't use storage units I like the inventory to turn over quickly so that when a higher quality product comes out its in the stores within 1-2 months time.

I have used storage units for chemical materials because I needed a large reserve because one of my companies was consuming so much. So the chemical material storage feed a chemical material distribution warehouse so it added costs but it allowed the company to have the supply it needs. I could also see this being used for timber because there's never enough timber in the game.

For crops in the farm I do everything as a Corp Raising and the middle unit as sale and have it feed the warehouse. If we're running out of corps then that's a supply issue, if we have crop left over then demand is low so I let the farm in a sense be the "storage" for the corps. If I need more I'll setup a new farm add it to the supply chain and if we're still somehow running out then I will give it, its dedicated warehouse and that should be sufficient.

[Finn80]

Are there any differences, other than capacity, between using a small warehouse or a large warehouse? I'm beginning to use them as you've stated a distrubtion method, so im simply shuffling goods in and out of them.....but trying to make best use of limited capital. So i'm thinking of going small.....even if going small means using "dedicated" warehouses?

[azxcvbnm321]

I think the input and output units can handle more capacity in a large warehouse. I only use large warehouses so I've never tried the smaller one. I only need warehouses after I've built quite a few leather farms, for example, and by that time capital is much easier to come by, enough that I don't worry about the costs between a medium and large warehouse.

I also have used warehouses to suck up raw materials from ports and other suppliers. Yes there is a lack of buyable timber because you are penalized so much after buying a few timber farms that it costs too much to buy another one. I use the warehouse to smooth over supply for my factories. Unlike the examples, I do have storage units, but not many, one or two is enough because I'm using so much of the supply (high turnover) anyway.

[WilliamMGary]

You should try without storage units and see if you loose anything by that.