Many companies fail to embrace the importance of standardization in warehousing processes that often operate with a high degree of independence from one another, but not only does a centralized support structure ensure that service levels will meet standards, it also provides economies of scale for investment in an area that too often is expected to ‘just work’ but is provided insufficient resources to level up and insufficient investment for innovation that can deliver improved customer experiences and operating margins.
Our approach to warehousing and distribution performance optimization is largely based on a centralization, standardization, and optimization journey, while the objective is dependent on the client and current distribution environment, but at the end of the journey, we envision highly responsive, efficient, and agile distribution capabilities that can react to demand volatility or the major shifts required of M&A activity.
SCT offers a portfolio of services intended to evaluate and improve warehousing and processes, systems, automation, and organization structures, including:
SCT Advisory offers comprehensive warehouse management assessments that uncover hidden inefficiencies, bottlenecks, and untapped opportunities across yard management, receiving and storage strategies, workload balancing, order fulfillment, task management and interleaving, and employee engagement. We go beyond surface-level diagnostics to evaluate how well your processes, technologies, and organization align with your strategic goals and customer expectations.
Our approach combines deep operational experience with process expertise and a deep familiarity with how established and emerging technologies can impact performance to deliver an objective view of supply chain opportunities for your organization. We assess performance across key dimensions—service, cost, agility, and sustainability – benchmarking your operations against industry best practices and brainstorming with your leadership team to ensure all pain points are understood and the potential for impact to business outcomes is appreciated. From there, we prioritize the initiatives that will drive the greatest business value, supported by a clear understanding of implementation complexity, resource requirements, and return on investment potential.
Designing an effective distribution facility layout is critical to achieving reliable service levels while controlling operating costs. A well-planned layout aligns physical flow with order profiles, inventory velocity, and handling requirements so products move through the building with minimal delay or backtracking. Clear separation of inbound, storage, picking, packing, and outbound activities reduces congestion and bottlenecks, enabling faster order processing, more predictable cycle times, and improved on-time performance for customers.
An optimized layout also has a direct and lasting impact on labor costs. By minimizing travel distance, balancing workloads, and positioning high-velocity items close to points of use, the layout reduces labor hours per unit and improves productivity. Clear work zones and logical adjacencies simplify training, improve safety, and make staffing levels easier to plan and adjust as volumes change. Together, these benefits create a distribution operation that delivers consistent service while using labor more efficiently and scaling effectively over time.
Re-engineering warehouse processes and re-slotting inventory create a more deliberate, end-to-end flow that reduces unnecessary movement and labor effort. By redesigning receiving, putaway, picking, replenishment, and shipping processes together, work is sequenced more logically and handoffs are minimized. This improves throughput and predictability while reducing congestion, travel distance, and idle time. When inventory is re-slotted to align with demand velocity, order profiles, and handling characteristics, high-volume items are placed in the most accessible locations, enabling faster picks and smoother replenishment.
From a labor perspective, these changes directly lower cost by increasing productivity and reducing variability. Shorter travel paths, clearer work standards, and better task interleaving reduce touches per order and make labor requirements more stable and easier to plan. Re-slotting also supports safer, more ergonomic work by limiting excessive reaching or lifting, which can reduce fatigue and injury risk. Together, process re-engineering and intelligent slotting improve flow management, increase capacity without adding headcount or space, and create a warehouse operation that is both more cost-efficient and easier to scale as volumes change.
Introducing automation into distribution facilities can fundamentally improve performance by creating faster, more consistent, and more scalable operations. Automated systems such as conveyance, sortation, AS/RS, robotics, and goods-to-person solutions increase throughput by reducing manual handoffs and balancing work across the operation. By smoothing flow and minimizing bottlenecks, automation allows facilities to handle higher order volumes, tighter cut-off times, and seasonal peaks without a proportional increase in space or staffing.
Automation also has a significant impact on labor costs and availability. Repetitive, travel-intensive tasks are reduced or eliminated, allowing fewer associates to process more volume while shifting remaining roles toward higher-value oversight and exception handling. This lowers cost per unit, improves labor planning, and reduces exposure to labor shortages and turnover. From a quality perspective, automated identification, tracking, and control improve accuracy and consistency. Systems enforce standard processes, reduce human error, and provide real-time visibility into inventory and order status. The result is higher pick accuracy, fewer damages, improved traceability, and more reliable service levels for customers.
Effective labor management and strong employee relations are foundational to stable, cost-efficient, and high-quality operations. Clear performance standards, fair productivity expectations, and consistent coaching help employees understand what success looks like and how their work contributes to overall results. When workers feel supported and treated equitably, turnover declines, reducing the recurring costs of hiring, onboarding, and training. Lower turnover also preserves operational knowledge, which improves execution consistency and quality assurance by reducing errors, rework, and safety incidents. Strong employee relations further enable better communication and trust, making it easier to introduce process changes, reinforce quality standards, and maintain reliable service levels.
Advances in labor forecasting and workforce management tools strengthen these outcomes by aligning staffing more closely with actual workload while giving employees greater predictability and flexibility. Modern tools use demand signals, historical patterns, and real-time operational data to create more accurate forecasts and dynamic schedules that adapt to volume changes. This reduces both overstaffing and last-minute schedule changes that frustrate employees and drive disengagement. Many platforms also support shift bidding, preference-based scheduling, and earlier visibility into work schedules, which increases employees’ sense of control and work-life balance. Together, improved forecasting and more flexible scheduling processes lower labor spend, improve productivity, and foster higher employee satisfaction and engagement.
Leveraging experienced consultants in the selection of logistics services providers (LSPs) is critical to making informed, strategic decisions that go beyond cost alone. SCT brings structured methodologies to document detailed business requirements, ensuring that the RFP captures operational nuances, service expectations, and integration needs. By aligning pricing structures to the scope of services and expected performance, they help avoid hidden costs and create a basis for fair, transparent comparisons between providers.
Consultants also assess each candidate’s operational capabilities and technology readiness, including system integration, data visibility, and reporting capabilities, which are essential for real-time supply chain management and performance monitoring. Beyond technical fit, they evaluate cultural and organizational alignment, helping identify partners whose ways of working, communication style, and service philosophy complement the client’s business. Engaging consultants reduces risk, accelerates the selection process, and positions organizations to form strategic, long-term partnerships that drive efficiency, reliability, and continuous improvement in logistics operations.
