One of the most exciting events in a company's history is the opening of a new distribution center or expanding an existing facility. The design and layout of a new distribution center or facility expansion are crucial to establishing the most efficient use of space at the lowest possible operating cost. These projects involve significant capital investment, risk and coordination, and integration of suppliers and technologies. For these reasons, many firms turn to KOM International experience in distribution center design and implementation.

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KOM International has the proven experience of designing dozens of new distribution centers and facility expansions each year. Only KOM has the unbiased ability to compare alternative layouts and processes, materials handling systems and technologies to design a facility that is tailored to your specific business and customer needs. This is why many of today's largest and most complex distribution centers throughout North America have been designed and implemented by KOM International.

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Unlike other consulting firms, KOM International gets involved in all aspects of implementing a distribution center or facility expansion to ensure the success of the project.

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Distribution Center Design Services

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KOM International collaborates with your management team and suppliers to develop and evaluate:

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• Facility sizing, accommodating throughput, inventory volumes, and product varieties based on projected growth rates and evolving business needs.

• Material handling systems tailored to strike a balance between flexibility, cost-effective operations, and changing customer expectations and order profiles.

• Detailed AutoCAD facility layouts depicting alternative operational strategies.

• Comprehensive specifications for architecture, engineering, and construction services.

• Dock requisites.

• Master site planning.

• Business process reengineering.

• Productivity, workforce, and equipment prerequisites.

• Management of value-added services.

• Process and procedure flows.

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Benefits of KOM's Services

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Companies engage KOM to oversee projects in new distribution center design and facility expansion to realize the following advantages:

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• KOM offers unbiased and independent advice, uninvolved in construction or equipment sales, ensuring recommendations align with your company's best interests.

• Drawing upon over 61 years of experience, KOM collaborates with companies to develop new distribution centers grounded in innovative and proven design concepts.

• KOM orchestrates the specification, coordination, negotiation, and assessment of supplier proposals for building and materials handling equipment and technological solutions, often resulting in significant client savings.

• KOM devises detailed AutoCAD layouts outlining capital investment requirements for each material handling system and layout under consideration. Labor productivity and workforce requirements are established to pinpoint the most adaptable and economical distribution solution tailored for your company.

• KOM empowers companies to establish a competitive edge through logistics, assessing options prior to investing in solutions, thus minimizing costs and risks associated with such undertakings.

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Facility Sizing

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Facility sizing entails determining the dimensions (length, width, height) and configuration of a new distribution center or facility expansion. Ensuring space is maximally adaptable for future layout changes calls for specific column spacing. To optimize construction expenses, building height should be maximized. Dock and service area sizes and placements must be chosen with an eye for long-term flexibility. These and other critical decisions collectively shape the ultimate success and efficiency of the distribution operation.

Materials Handling Systems

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Materials Handling Systems

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Distribution centers can be conceived with conventional, mechanized (e.g., conveyors), or automated materials handling systems (MHS). The choice of MHS hinges on the type of operation being undertaken. Regardless of the operation's nature, there's an economical trade-off between depreciation and labor expenses, requiring evaluation before selecting a MHS.

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KOM has designed and executed distribution facilities spanning conventional to highly automated operations, utilizing systems such as conveyors, pick-to-lite, carousels, automated picking systems like A-frames, Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems (AS/RS), cranes, robotics, and automated palletizers.

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AutoCAD Facility Layouts

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A conceptual AutoCAD layout is a crucial initial step in visualizing the intended new distribution center or facility expansion. Leveraging your company's detailed operational data, KOM International crafts alternative layouts and materials handling systems that align with projected business and customer service demands.

Architecture, Engineering, and Construction

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Architecture, Engineering and Construction

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KOM International brings extensive experience to the table when it comes to crafting specifications for permitting, contractor bidding, and renovation work implementation. The scope of services encompasses:

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• Crafting and distributing comprehensive architectural and engineering specifications and Requests for Proposals for new facilities, facility expansions, or remodels. This covers:​

  • Concrete, measurements, metals

  • Thermal and moisture protection

  • Doors, windows

  • Finishes, specialties

  • Equipment (dock equipment, etc.)

  • Special construction (insulated panels, doors)

  • Mechanical (plumbing, fire protection, HVAC)

  • Electrical (power distribution, wiring, lighting)

  • Refrigeration (equipment, controls)

• Site preparation, drainage, paving, etc.

• Independently evaluating and negotiating submitted bid proposals to ensure compliance with specifications.

• Assisting in making an impartial selection of business partners to secure optimal quality, service, and pricing.

 

Dock Requirements

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The most common grievance among distribution managers is undersized docks. Inadequate dock sizes can significantly hinder labor productivity due to increased aisle congestion and inefficient merchandise access. Consequently, sizing and arranging the distribution center dock(s) stands as a vital determinant of any facility's triumph. Today, many companies designate dock depths of 100 feet or more to accommodate truckload unloading, product sorting, and rapid product withdrawal from the dock. This is particularly pertinent for distribution operations receiving imported container loads from overseas.

 

Master Site Planning

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A fundamental aspect of designing a new building entails positioning its structure on the site. KOM International devises master site plans that factor in traffic patterns, surrounding road networks, single or multi-dock facility configurations, water retention ponds, local zoning regulations, and other factors impacting site planning.

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Business Process Reengineering

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To design a new distribution center or facility expansion, conducting a business process reengineering pilot project could be invaluable. This ensures that the facility design seamlessly accommodates all requisite operations. This step gains prominence when creating a new facility that lacks predefined business processes.

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Carrying out a business process review prevents oversights that could be avoided before construction begins. For instance, specific operations like vendor returns, customer returns, cross-docking, and pre-staging of outbound orders might demand dedicated space within the facility—thus, early identification is crucial.

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Productivity, Workforce, and Equipment Requirements

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Designing a new distribution center or facility expansion necessitates outlining workforce and equipment needs for each operational shift. Moving into a state-of-the-art facility frequently results in distinct manpower needs compared to existing operations. In some cases, there might not even be an existing operation to benchmark labor productivity rates.

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Benefitting from extensive experience in operations labor productivity benchmarking and industrial labor engineering standards, KOM International swiftly determines realistic and attainable labor requirements for new and reset facilities. The outcome is a KOM International-designed distribution center that appropriately factors in requirements for battery charging stations, employee parking, office spaces, and more.

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Management of Value-Added Services

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In many companies, the role of the distribution center / warehouse has evolved to include more value-added services such as delayed manufacturing, product localization, work orders, kitting, special packaging, labeling, retail price ticketing, customer-specific product customization, etc. These services need to be designed into the operation to ensure that they are managed as efficiently as possible. Dedicated work areas may be required to perform the services and it is important to consider these aspects within the design plans of the facility.

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Process and Procedure Flows

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The design of any distribution facility requires an up front strategy that maps out process / procedure flows for each aspect of the operation. The most effective distribution facilities in operation today were designed after numerous options were evaluated to simulate the benefits of different process flows. For example, the use of labor saving techniques such as batch picking or cluster picking may influence the rack and aisle layout of a facility, especially if slow moving products are grouped together within a designated zone.

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KOM International conducts extensive analysis of sales order history, item activity history, purchase order history, inventory history and actual operating processes before determining proposed alternatives to be evaluated. The optimal logistics strategy can then be defined with our client before the new distribution center layout options are developed.

 

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