It is not only manufacturing cost that now a days needs to be controlled but also material handling, storage and transportation cost which is estimated 30 to 70 % of the end product price of a product depending on the type of industries.

The best handling is no handling at all, but this can never be achieved as raw materials, finished products always to be received and dispatched.

All these vital functions of handling - storage and transportation add to overall cost of the products but add nothing to the value of the product.

The main purpose of material handling equipment and technique is to provide needed material at the right place and right time. This goal to be accomplished by maximizing space utilization and minimizing number of handling steps.

One must not look material handling and storage as an isolated activity, rather it should be viewed as a part of overall systems with all the material handling and storage activities related and grouped together as an overall system in the plant.