You Might Have a Bad Warehouse If… It Must Get Married to Survive

Yes you read it correctly. This particular installment is not so much about a bad practice as it is a really bizarre occurrence that happened right here at a Seattle warehouse last week.

The SeattlePI.com reported that Babylonia Aivaz married a 107-year-old warehouse at 10th Ave and Union St. on Jan. 29. Her intentions were honorable, if a bit wacky: She used the wedding to protest the demolition of the building in order to make way for the construction of an apartment building. By her way of thinking, marrying the building would save the warehouse from the wrecking ball and the gentrification of the neighborhood.

 

About 30 people attended the strange affair, which Aivaz said was a gay marriage because the building is a woman. This probably is more illustrative of the state of Babylonia’s mind than the sexual orientation of the warehouse, not that there’s anything wrong with a female warehouse! I mean, how many 107-year-old male warehouses are still standing?

The quips from all over poured in. One was that despite the couple’s differences at least the marriage has a solid foundation. And the Daily Mail said not to expect much on the wedding night.

But it would be a great space for the reception!

Coming up with a best practice to cover this situation isn’t easy. Or possible, really. Sometimes you just have to take a deep breath and laugh along with that old beloved warehouse.

I really love your feedback - and love your contributions to share those bad warehouse stories to help educate the profession on what NOT to do, and maybe what to do if you’re not doing it.

If you've got an example of a bad warehouse practice, send me your story and photo(s) to [email protected]. If I feature your example in one of my blogs, WERC will send you a free copy of the WERC Warehousing & Fulfillment Process Benchmark & Best Practices Guide (a $160 value).

Your submission can be anonymous if you like so you don't get your boss or company in trouble! I'll be collecting examples all year and the winner will receive a free WERC Warehouse Certification Assessment by Supply Chain Visions, a $10,000 value. The runner up will win a free conference registration to the WERC conference (a $1,375 value).”