PRO Group Member Distributors Attend Distribution Center Workshop

Home improvement industry distributors toured the Bradley Caldwell (BCI) distribution center and discussed ways to improve the efficiency of warehouse operations during the Distribution Center Workshop in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, on April 23. Twenty-three executives attended the workshop event, which included a facility tour as well as presentations on loss prevention, voice pick, and trucking fleet management. The tour of BCI included stops at seven operational departments within the distribution center: mezzanine, internal logistics, shipping, receiving, maintenance, inventory planning and external logistics. Supervisors from each of the seven departments presented the logistical intricacies of each area. BCI CEO Jim Bradley provided an overview of BCI’s fulfillment and shipping operations. BCI stocks over 21,000 products in eight distinct categories: pet, equine & livestock; pest control; lawn & garden and pond; barn & veterinary supplies; tools & fencing; home & lifestyle; and wild bird & wildlife. The company routinely pulls over 120,000 lines and ships in excess of 1,000 orders weekly to accounts in 16 states with their fleet of company trucks. BCI’s fleet ran over 4.2 million miles in 2013. “I attend the Distribution Center Workshop to learn what new procedures and technologies my peers have implemented to improve efficiencies in their distribution centers,” said Doyle Wallace, CEO of Wallace Hardware Company in Morristown, Tennessee. “The event is also great for building a personal rapport with other logistics executives.”