Hello Class, We have reached (Module #5) Discussion Board #5 of the semester on Chapter 9: Warehousing and Chapter 10: Packaging and Handling. Chapter 9 focuses on warehousing and the strategy behind their locations which bring about economic and service benefits for a company. Warehouse operations deals with the handling and storage of products for companies. Warehouse ownership arrangements could be either private or public thus containing contracts and network deployment. A bulk of this chapter will explore the various warehouse decisions that must be made. These decisions are numerous and include the following: site selection, design, product-mix analysis, expansion, layout, sizing, warehouse management systems (WMS), yard management systems (YMS), accuracy and audits, security and safety/maintenance. Chapter 10 turns to the topic of packaging and handling. You will be reading about packaging perspectives and packaging for handling efficiency; for example, package design, unitization and communication. Handling of product can be very complex. Handling encompasses many areas such as basic considerations, mechanized systems, automated systems, information-directed systems and special handling considerations. After you read chapters 9 and 10 in the textbook, please answer the following questions: Why could a warehouse be described as a “necessary evil”? (Page 246, Study Question #2) What benefits do flexible unit-load materials have in contrast to rigid containers? (Page 266, Study Question #2) I look forward to a spirited discussion.