Consolidating a nine site distribution footprint
A network that had grown by acquisition was carrying duplicate coverage in three regions. Optimization showed the footprint could contract without losing next day reach.
- Sites in recommended footprint
- 6Down from nine, with next day coverage maintained on the top volume decile
- Modeled network cost reduction
- 11 to 14%Range across the demand growth scenarios tested
- Population within two day reach
- No changeService coverage held flat while facility count fell
The situation
Nine distribution centers had accumulated through three acquisitions, each retaining its own service territory and inventory.
Freight cost per case was rising while two facilities ran below sixty percent utilization.
Leadership suspected consolidation was possible but could not defend a specific answer against the service risk argument.
What we did
- 1
Rebuilt eighteen months of shipment history into a calibrated baseline model that reconciled to the freight ledger within three percent.
- 2
Ran greenfield facility location to establish the theoretical optimum, then constrained it to real candidate sites and lease timing.
- 3
Built a cost against service frontier so leadership could see exactly what each day of transit reduction was costing.
- 4
Sequenced the recommended moves across six quarters around lease expirations and peak season blackout windows.
Other engagements
All work- Simulation
Sizing an automation investment before signing
A vendor proposal promised throughput that the demand profile never actually required, and understated the staffing needed on the days that mattered.
- Forecasting
Forecasting a long tail service parts catalog
Exponential smoothing was being applied uniformly to a catalog where most items moved a handful of times a year, producing confident forecasts of zero.
- Inventory
Releasing working capital without cutting service
Every echelon held a full safety buffer sized against the same demand variability, so the network was paying for the same protection three times.