Competency

In this project, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following

competency:

 Assess aspects of a distribution center facility for their

potential to optimize efficiency

Scenario
You have recently been hired by AmeriWidgets, which is looking to
optimize efficiency in its distribution center facility. The company
has recently expanded its number of stores in the region and has
acquired a new 95,000-square-foot distribution center. Although its
processes have worked in the past, the company has noticed a
decline in efficiency during recent months and has asked you to
conduct an analysis and provide a recommendation to improve
efficiency.

The decline in efficiency has led to a decline in customer

satisfaction, as evidenced by the customer complaint line and
customer feedback cards included with every delivery. This is a big
concern. Management realizes the efficiency issue must be
addressed immediately in order to maintain customer satisfaction
and the company’s stake in the market.

Sarah, the manager of the new distribution center manager, has

gathered her team to help improve warehouse efficiencies and
address customer satisfaction issues. She has asked her shipping
manager, Dan, to address the recent decline in orders shipped—
down to 10,500 per day from 12,000 per day. With a growth in
distribution, management had increased expectations to ship
15,000 orders per day. The decline is concerning because the
capacity of the organization should have increased with the
additional distribution center added to the supply line. In addition,
the current delivery success rate is 87%, which is a 7.5% decrease
during the past six months. AmeriWidgets strives to reach a 97%
success rate.
Sarah has identified additional concerns within the distribution
center and asked her inventory manager, Jim, to review internal
warehouse practices to see if worker productivity, warehouse
capacity, and inventory accuracy are operating at peak efficiencies.
Currently, Jim manages a team of 30 employees focused on
inventory. Jim has noted in previous meetings that deliveries to the
distribution center have increased from 8,500 pieces a day to
11,000 without additional personnel being hired. In addition, Jim has
informed Sarah that a new product assembly area offered by the
company has decreased the available space within the walls of the
distribution center. Finally, Jim has noted that without additional
personnel hired at the center, the cycle counts performed monthly
to help maintain inventory accuracy will naturally be affected by the
increased daily deliveries and shipments.

Directions
Distribution center facility improvement recommendations
report: You are tasked with evaluating the information provided,
determining whether corrections can be made, and making
recommendations for improvements using to the following criteria:

 Assess the distribution center’s current performance to

determine areas of improvement. Include the following in your
response:
o What changes occured in the number of deliveries
shipped and the delivery success rate, and why is this
information significant?
o What additional performance measures and information
could be considered to assess the efficiency of delivery
processes?
o Based on the information in the scenario, what are the
key takeaways to be considered for potential
optimizations in efficiency?

 Recommend an approach for optimizing AmeriWidget’s

delivery success rate, explaining how the recommended
 approach should result in an increased delivery success rate.
Include the following in your response:
o What technology and processes are commonly used in
distribution centers to optimize delivery success rates?

 Recommend a strategy for meeting the goal of 15,000 orders

shipped per day, explaining how the recommended strategy
will support AmeriWidgets in meeting its goal. Include the
following in your response:
o Specifically, which aspects of the distribution center
facility would be most crucial in meeting the goal?
o What types of technology resources could support the
distribution center in meeting its goal?
o How could the use of simultaneous shipments support the
distribution center in meeting its goal?
o How could employee resources and an employee
interface support the distribution center in meeting its
goal?

 Recommend an approach to accommodate the increased

volume of deliveries received, explaining how the
recommended approach would be beneficial. Include the
following in your response:
o What types of technology resources are commonly used
to manage the volume of deliveries? Would a similar
technology resource benefit AmeriWidget?
o What employee interfaces are commonly used in
distribution centers, and how would they support the
distribution center in accommodating the increased
volume of deliveries?

 Recommend a strategy for optimizing the management or

maintenance of inventory within the distribution center.
Explain how the strategy will facilitate efficient inventory
management using details from the scenario. Include the
following in your response.
o How can utilization of space support effective inventory
management in a distribution center?
o What technology resources are commonly used to
effectively manage or maintain inventory?
 o What process efficiencies are commonly used to
effectively manage or maintain inventory?

What to Submit
Every project has a deliverable or deliverables, which are the files
that must be submitted before your project can be assessed. For
this project, you must submit the following:

Distribution Center Facility Improvement Recommendations

Report
Provide a professional recommendations report for AmeriWidgets
that is 750–1,000 words long and addresses all criteria listed.

Supporting Materials
The following resource(s) may help support your work on the
project:

Citation Help
Need help citing your sources? Use the CfA Citation Guide and
Citation Maker.

AmeriWidgets Distribution Centre Facility Improvement Recommendations

Report

Executive Summary

AmeriWidgets expanded and built a 95,000-square-foot distribution facility to

improve throughput and customer satisfaction. Recent indicators reveal a drop in order

shipments and delivery success. This research analyses the distribution centre's operational
issues and suggests ways to meet and surpass performance goals, boosting customer

satisfaction and corporate success.

Assessment of Current Performance

According to the current review, daily and successful deliveries at AmeriWidgets'

distribution facility have decreased. The factory now ships 10,500 orders daily instead of

12,000. With recent expansion, the company planned to increase daily shipments to 15,000.

The drop worries me. The decline in performance despite a larger facility shows operational

inefficiencies and personnel and system stress. This manufacturing deficit hinders delivery

and may create order fulfilment bottlenecks, hurting customer service. Delivery success

dropped 7.5% from 94.5% to 87% in six months. It directly affects customer satisfaction and

brand reputation, making it vital. The data suggests that AmeriWidgets, which aspires to

achieve 97% success, is losing customer loyalty and operational performance. Low success

rates suggest accuracy, inventory monitoring, or last-mile logistical challenges that cause

customer complaints and revenue loss. This slump harms the company's finances and

reputation and must be handled.

 AmeriWidgets should assess distribution centre efficiency by measuring order

accuracy, cycle time, and warehouse picking/packing speed. Fulfilment quality depends on

order accuracy—the percentage of orders sent error-free. From order placement to delivery,

order cycle time reveals how long products take in the distribution centre (Helm et al., 2024).

Monitoring picking and packing speeds may help identify bottlenecks in labour-intensive

locations, especially if staff numbers have not increased despite daily delivery increases.

Alongside operational data, consider labour productivity (orders per employee per shift),
inventory turnover, and space consumption. This will reveal whether personnel and facility

layout are being used effectively. Complaint logs and delivery satisfaction ratings may

identify customer issues. These data points, plus real-time analytics or warehouse

management software (WMS), would enable AmeriWidgets to identify inefficiencies, make

data-driven decisions, and optimize delivery.

AmeriWidgets must study numerous key case findings to improve distribution centre

efficiency. First, increasing daily delivery from 8,500 to 11,000 goods without extra labour

may have exhausted current workers, decreasing processing and order flow. After adding a

product assembly plant, warehouse space may have been reduced, generating congestion and

workflow inefficiencies. These traits suggest reviewing space allocation, staffing, and process

design to satisfy current and future demand. Another lesson is how decreased delivery success

and shipment numbers affect customer satisfaction. From 94.5% to 87%, delivery success and

daily shipments declined, suggesting inventory accuracy, order fulfilment, and maybe final-

mile logistical difficulties. Delays in cycle counts, critical for inventory management, indicate

that the centre's operations cannot handle its volume. AmeriWidgets needs labour help,

process automation, and advanced tracking technology to increase the distribution chain's

accuracy, efficiency, and reliability.

Recommendations for Delivery Success Rate Optimisation

AmeriWidgets needs a sophisticated WMS with barcode scanning and real-time

tracking to boost delivery performance. Managing inventory, order picking, and fulfilment

using a WMS lowers errors. To reduce incorrect shipments, barcode scanning monitors things

throughout the facility (Jose et al., 2022). Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) improves
supply chain tracking accuracy and visibility. These technologies ensure the proper items are

selected, packed, and sent, boosting delivery accuracy and punctuality. Zone or batch

selection may improve order speed and accuracy. Quality inspection before shipment may

catch issues early and reduce erroneous deliveries. AmeriWidgets lets clients track real-time

delivery progress with automated notifications, enhancing trust. These technological and

procedural improvements will reduce fulfilment failures, delivery times, and customer

satisfaction, boosting the company's delivery success rate to 97%.

Strategy for Achieving 15,000 Orders Shipped per Day

AmeriWidgets must optimize distribution centre space, procedure, and labour to

distribute 15,000 orders daily. Since the new assembly area limits usable space, the

warehouse must be reorganized for efficiency. Vertical storage, ABC classification, and

receiving-to-shipping simplification reduce transit time and congestion. Automating sorting

and packing may increase throughput. With these physical and operational changes, the

distribution centre can handle more orders and reach the 15,000-order daily goal.

To meet its 15,000-order-per-day distribution centre goal, AmeriWidgets needs to

invest in automated conveyor systems, warehouse robots, and a better Warehouse

Management System. Plant automation, such as conveyors and sortation systems, may speed

up item transit and decrease human handling and delays. Autonomous mobile robots (AMRs)

can choose and move things, helping staff complete requests more quickly and correctly

(Cognominal et al., 2021). Modern WMSs use these technologies for real-time data, inventory

visibility, and task optimization. These technologies improve productivity, remove human

mistakes, and enable large distribution volumes.

 Processing, packaging, and delivering several orders simultaneously helps

AmeriWidgets meet its goal and eliminate bottlenecks. Shipping to many locations

simultaneously allows the distribution centre to employ better staff and equipment, such as

packing stations and loading docks, to accelerate processing. This approach offers supply

schedule flexibility, allowing the facility to meet peak demand. Concurrent shipments are a

clever method to reach 15,000 orders daily without adding staff or space.

Employee tools and a user-friendly interface help AmeriWidgets meet shipping goals

by boosting staff productivity and communication. Mobile devices or portable scanners and

an easy warehouse management system provide workers with real-time order, task, and

inventory data, avoiding errors and downtime (Madamidola et al., 2024). Training and

scheduling systems optimize labour allocation during peak hours, while performance

monitoring motivates workers with clear goals and feedback. By providing efficient

equipment and clear communication channels, the distribution centre can reach the goal of

15,000 daily shipments more accurately, quickly, and efficiently.

Accommodating Increased Delivery Volume

To increase delivery, AmeriWidgets should adopt automated receiving and EDI.

Barcode or RFID scanning by automatic reception systems reduces data entry errors and

speeds check-in. EDI lets suppliers and distribution hubs share real-time cargo arrivals,

improving scheduling. These solutions would speed input, decrease delays, and assure

accurate inventory updates to help AmeriWidgets meet rising delivery volumes.

 Modern distribution centres incorporate barcode scanners, iPads, and warehouse

management system-connected wearables. These interfaces provide workers with quick

access to inbound delivery product location, quantity, and quality inspection data (Raposo,

2024). These technologies let personnel quickly examine shipments, update inventory, and

report mistakes. This accelerates processing and prevents misunderstandings and obsolete

information, enabling the centre to handle increased delivery volumes.

Easy dashboards and task management tools can prioritize essential shipments and

balance incoming workers' shifts. These interfaces promote worker collaboration and provide

managers real-time access to incoming activities, enabling delivery surge adjustments. These

staff interfaces enable AmeriWidgets to handle increased delivery amounts with excellent

productivity and accuracy, enhancing efficiency and customer satisfaction.

Inventory Management Optimization

Inventory management at distribution centres uses space economy to improve storage

capacity and reduce congestion and handling time. The new product assembly area at

AmeriWidgets requires strategic space design to decrease the space. Vertical storage, like

pallet racking or mezzanines, may increase storage density without expanding the structure.

ABC analysis organizes inventory by demand and turnover rates, keeping high-velocity items

in easy-to-reach regions and accelerating order fulfilment. Space optimization minimizes

clutter and bottlenecks and improves inventory movement, allowing more accurate cycle

counts and faster processing, which are crucial as delivery numbers climb.
 Distributors use WMS, barcode scanning, and RFID. Avoid stockouts and overstock

by managing stock movements, giving real-time inventory information, and automating

replenishment notifications. RFID and barcode scanning speed up and improve product

identification during receipt, storage, and shipment, minimizing mistakes and boosting data

accuracy. ERP-integrated inventory management increases buying, forecasting, and reporting.

These solutions improve inventory accuracy, cycle counting efficiency, and decision-making

as AmeriWidgets handles more deliveries and shipments.

Cycle counting, just-in-time (JIT) inventory, and standardized receipt and put-away

are typical inventory management methods. Because of its enormous volume and small crew,

AmeriWidgets needs cycle counting for accuracy without disturbing operations. Demand-

based inventory replenishment reduces JIT inventory management storage costs and space.

Standardized receiving and put-away processes check, label, and store incoming products

promptly, decreasing mistakes and boosting warehouse throughput. Process improvements

enhance AmeriWidgets' operational objectives by increasing inventory turnover, accuracy,

and resource use.

Conclusion

Finally, rapid expansion beyond infrastructure, people, and technology confronts

AmeriWidgets. Inefficiencies are identified and rectified to increase delivery success rates,

daily shipping goals, inbound item handling, and inventory management. AmeriWidgets may

improve operational efficiency, staff productivity, and error reduction by integrating new

technology, streamlining processes, and optimizing space. Improved customer satisfaction

will boost the company's growth and market advantage.

 References

Cognominal, M., Patronymic, K., & Wańkowicz, A. (2021). Evolving field of autonomous

mobile robotics: Technological advances and applications. Fusion of Multidisciplinary

Research, An International Journal, 2(2), 189-200.

Helm, M., Malikova, A., & Kembro, J. (2024). Rooting out the root causes of order fulfilment

errors: a multiple case study. International Journal of Production Research, 62(11),

3853-3871.

Jose, G. J., PrasannaVenkatesan, S., & Kumanan, S. (2022). Real-time asset tracking in field

services using barcode system: a case study. International Journal of Services

Operations and Informatics, 12(1), 40-57.

Madamidola, O. A., Daramola, O. A., Akintola, K. G., & Adeboje, O. T. (2024). A Review of

existing inventory management systems. International Journal of Research in

Engineering and Science (IJRES), 12(9), 40-50.

Raposo, D. (2024). Advances in Design, Music and Arts III: 9th International Meeting of

Research in Music, Arts and Design, EIMAD 2024, June 27-29, 2024, Castelo

Branco, Portugal- Volume 2. Springer Nature.