Material handling (MH) and warehousing (WH) is regarding the movement and flow of material within the warehouse and manufacturing plant. Tershine et. al. (1977) argued that the process ofMH should be controlled properly. Otherwise, it will lead to damage and delay of product, customerdissatisfaction, and idle employees. MH/WH becomes a value-added in the manufacturing life cycle.However, the cost of MH/WH should be minimized to acceptable level. From Theodore (1984), theestimated MH/WH cost ranges from 20 to 35% of product cost in general. Apple (1972) arguedthat the cost could be about 25 to 35% of production cost. Magad et al. (1995) concluded that isdepending upon the nature of industry and type of facility, MH/WH may even account for 10 to 80%of total cost. The function of MH/WH is unique and its role is significant because it contributes amajor portion in manufacturing cost. 

Hesen, et. al. (2001) pointed out that although MH is a non-productive component, it could support lots of value added activities in a production system. From the study of Lee (2001), efficient MH/WH can reduce the total cost by 30-75% and manufacturing system operation cost by 15-30%. MH/WH provides both tangible and intangible benefits such as the improvement of the use ofmanufacturing equipment and reduction of material flows. MH/WH becomes significant than before.

The functions of material handling (MH) and warehousing (WH) in modem manufacturing or service facilities can contribute value to the products directly to customers.In courier or express service industries such as UPS http://www.ups.com, Fedex http://www.fedex.com or any express mailing or forwarding (Kerry Logistics, http://www.kerrylogistics.com)and e-retailing companies (Amazon http://www.amazon.com/, e-Bay http://www.ebay.com/, ParknShophttp://www.parknshop.com), the customers demand on-time delivery of goods to the right destination. Time is very crucial to these service industries. In order to achieve the objective, an effective MH/WH systems enables the effective and efficient performance the logistics or supply chain.

In agile manufacturing, just-in-time (JIT) philosophy and quick response manufacturing concepts have been highlighted and to review the MH/WH system recently. It is very significant for a manufacturing system to respond quickly and appropriately to customer demands. MH/WH pays a significant role in the logistics and supply chain management (Barilia http://www.barilla.com/, United Colors of Benettonhttp://www.benetton.com/)