This is a fourth edition of a work first published in 1983. It contains the same number of chapters as the third edition, published in 1990. However, it has a substantial amount of new material. Major changes in warehousing in the last seven years have caused appropriate changes in the content of this text. Nearly three decades have passed since our first published writing about warehousing. The goal of our early writing was to develop a better understanding between the third-party warehouse operator and the user of these services. Today the emphasis has changed to a work that provides the tools that every warehouse manager needs. This book intends to be a comprehensive handbook consisting of everything we know that would help the manager of warehouses. Much of the information is based upon materials previously used in Warehousing Forum, our monthly subscription newsletter. While the work is designed primarily as a handbook for manag­ ers, it also serves as a guide for students. It is based upon my experience, both as a warehousing manager and executive, and later as a management advisor. The work is designed as a management reference for anyone involved in operating, using, constructing, or trading in industrial warehouses.