If your DC serves retail outlets, you're probably getting more requests for pre-assembled orders that cut down on the labor needed to stock store shelves. The question is, how do you do that without blowing your own budget?

It used to be that a distribution center's main concern was getting orders out the door as quickly and efficiently as possible. What happened after the truck left the dock was not its problem.

Not so anymore. In many retail companies today, the focus has shifted to improving efficiencies at the other end of the supply chain—that is, in activities like unloading and putaway that take place after the truck reaches the store. Read more