Within the retail industry, it’s impossible to look at the quality of material handling processes without looking at delivery to retail outlets. Nearly three-fourths of the total costs of direct store delivery (DSD) rest with warehouse, order assembly, and delivery to retail customers. The remaining 30 percent of costs come from demand and supply planning, manufacturing, order generation, dispatch planning, and transportation.

Warehouse SKUs have quadrupled during the last 15 years, which has exacerbated the complexity of organizing and ensuring the accuracy of loading and delivery of product.

And of course, on top of all of this is the importance of safety and maintaining a healthy workforce that is too often plagued by injuries. An aging workforce with great experience and knowledge is being lost due to the inability to endure the physical activity required for DSD delivery. Fuel costs and increasing fleets have also contributed to this complex quality equation.

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