1. How large is the DC?

1 - under 50,000 sq. ft.
2 - 50-99,000 sq. ft.
3 - 100 - 299,000 sq. ft.
4 - 300-499,000 sq ft.
5 - 500-749,000 sq. ft
6 - 750-999,000 sq. ft.
7 - over 1 million sq. ft.

2. How many SKUs are under management in the DC?

1 - less than 300
2 - 300-999
3 - 1000-4999
4 - 5000-9999
5 - 10,000 - 29,999
6 - 30,000 - 59,9999
7 - over 60,000

3. What is the average facility throughput per day? (do your best to estimate an equivalent volume if you don't uses cases as a metric/unit of measure):

1 - under 1000 cases per day
2 - 1-4999 cases per day
3 - 5-9999 cases per day
4 - 10-19999 cases per day
5 - 20-39,999 cases per day
6 - 40-59,999 cases per day
7 - over 60,000 per day

Not clear whether to use average daily volumes or peak level volumes. Clearly though, the higher the DC volume, the greater the complexity.

This could give an unfair "advantage" to heavy full pallet shippers, or understate the relative complexity of heavy piece pick DCs, so we could add multipliers to compensate for that, or do some math that adds pallets, cases and eaches to come up with a compositie score.

4. What is your annual inventory turns rate?

1 - under 5
2 - 6-10
3 - 11-19.
4 - 20-29
5 - 30 or more

We have had some internal debate on this. One argument is that higher turnover actually leads to less complexity, but in the end we believe that all else being equal, more rapid turns indicates more complexity (throughput versus storage).

5. How complex is your mix of handling units? (difficult to define choices here - pick level appropriate for you based on the two end points):

1 - Mostly pallet in/pallet out (or other unit loads)
2 - Mostly pallet in/pallet out (or other unit loads) with some case handling
3 - Mostly pallet in/pallet out (or other unit loads) with some piece picking
4 - Mostly pallet in/pallet out (or other unit loads) with modest levels of case or piece picking
5 - Mostly pallet in/pallet out (or other unit loads) with modest levels of both case and piece picking
6 - Heavy piece and case volumes in picking and/or receiving (i.e., some case-level receiving)
7 - Heavy piece and case volumes in both picking and/or receiving (i.e., some case-level receiving), with some oddball handling units mixed in

This one is especially difficult to define, but we strongly believe that the greater the mix of handling units inbound and outbound, the more the complexity.

The most complex DCs are those that handling multiple units of measure in roughly equal levels; if you throw in some odd-ball handling units (e.g. feet, hard to handle product (e.g., toilets, nails that have to be weighed as they are added to a carton) that adds even more complexity.

A company like industrial distributor Fastenal would score at the highest level of this attribute, for example, as it handles pallets, cases, eaches and many oddball units (nails to lawn mowers).

6. How many workers in the DC?

1 - less than 20
2 - 20-49
3 - 50-99
4 - 100-199
5 - 200-499
6 - 500-699
7 - 700 or more

More workers clearly means more management complexity.

7. Hours of Operation:

1 - one shift, 5 days
2 - one shift, 7 days
3 - 2 shifts, 5 days
4 - 2 shifts, 7 days, or 3 shifts 5 days
5 - 24 x 7

Managing a 24 x 7 operation or close to it is clearly complex.

8. DC Layout and Constaints:

1 - Single rectangular building, generally adequete store and staging/dock capacity
2 - Single rectangular building, modestly constrained storage and staging/dock capacity
3 - Single rectangular building, heavily constrained storage and staging/dock capacity
4 - Multiple buildings operated as one DC
5 - Multiple buildings operated as one DC, constrained staging and dock space

Odd shaped DCs, multiple buildings in a single DC complex, and constrained storage and dock/staging pace add complexity to manage around those constaints.

9. Number of "Channels" being managed in the DC:

1 - A single primary sale channel
2 - A primary sales channel with a small/modest amount of fulfillment to other channels
3 - Multiple B2B channels with largely similar fulfillment requirements
4 - Multiple B2B channels with important differences in fulfillments requirements, and/or B2B plus modest levels of B2C.
5 - Multiple channels that includes B2B and signficant B2C/e-commerce

Many companies think you can't do e-commerce and traditional B2B fulfillment in the same building.

10. Inventory Management Requirements (difficult to make choice for each level - as appropriate, select level that makes the most sense between the two extremes):

1 - Little need to worry much about batch/lot codes, serialization, or expiration dates beyond basic FIFO principles
2 - Batch/lot codes, expiration dates, and/or serialization for a modest percent of total SKUs under management
3 - Batch/lot codes, expiration dates, and/or serialization primarily for tracking/recall integrity, but not much used operationally for allocation, etc.
4 - Must extensively capture selling unit serial numbers
5 - Management of batch/lot codes, expiration dates, and/or serialization is a critical and complex process for DC operations. Different customers have different requirements for date ranges, etc.

This is another one that is hard to define - open to suggestions, but the more operationally sensitive the DC is around lot/batcvh/date code requirements, complexity is generally increased, and certainly WMS support requirements are as well.

Same with heavy serial number management - especially if serial numbers need to be scanned during different processes (receiving, picking/loading, etc.).

11. Value-Added Service Levels in the DC:

1 - Little or no services required beyond basic fulfillment processes
2 - Modest levels of customer-specific compliance requirements for labeling, documentation, pallet building, etc.
3 - Low levels of kitting and/or light assembly/packaging operations in the DC
4 - Medium levels of kitting and/or light assembly/packaging operations in the DC
5 - Dozens or more of different customer-specific compliance requirements for labeling, documentation, pallet building, etc.
6 - Significant assembly-type operations in the DC
7 - Dozens or more of different customer-specific compliance requirements for labeling, documentation, pallet building, etc, plus significant assembly-type operations in the DC

High value-added services or support of "postponment" activities means a company is are doing a lot more in the DC beyond storage and order fulfillment.

Considered giving this an even higher weight and may do so in the end. Can be like having distribution and manufacturing in the same facility, at the extreme. Hershey has some 200,000 square feet of light assembly/packaging in its eastern DC, as an example.

12. Level of DC Automation:

1 - No DC Automation
2 - Light levels of automation, such a perhaps use of AS/RS
3 - Basic batch pick to belt type system with auto sortations or the equivalent
4 - Use of automation in two or more areas of the DC
5 - Automation in almost all areas of the DC

If our complexity calculator tool is being used to evaluate potential WMS needs, answer this question based on future plans, not current levels of automation.

Some might argue that deployment of automation can/should actually reduce DC complexity, not add to it, but we think on balance the more automated a facility is, the more total complexity is involved. Clearly requires more advanced WMS software support.

13. Returns Process Requirements:

1 - Little or no returns processing performed in this DC
2 -
3 - Medium levels of returns processing
4 -
5 - Heavy, consistent returns processing requirements

Another task to be managed that is a big deal for some facilities and almost nothing for others, such as those that have few returns or for which the returns are sent to specialized DCs/third parties.

14. Order Processing Complexrty:

1 - Almost all "discrete order picking" - in which one order picker has responsibility for a given customer order
2 - Picking for each order is often split among different zones/pickers, but there is little or no "batch" picking
3 - Some batch/wave/zone picking, but modest complexity in order consolidation requirements
4 - Significant bartch/wave picking with reasonably complex order consolidation but minimal wave overlap
5 - Complex batch/wave picking with wave overlap and with signifacant need for order consilidation across pick zones

So-called "discrete order picking," in which a single order picker has complete responsibility for a given customer order, is pretty simple to execute - but increasingly rare today in higher volume DCs.

The more order consolidation from multiple pick areas/zones is performed, and the more there is "wave overlap," the more complex the total process usually is.

15. Seasonality (degree to which volumes and more importantly changeover in active SKUs change during the year):

1 - Little seasonaility and very stable SKU base
2- Modest seasonality and SKU base changes less than 25% per year
3 - Seasonality is modest and SKU base changes more than 25% per year
4 - Multiple seasons per year but SKU base doesn't changs more than 50% per year
5 - Four or more "seasons" per year with more than 50% changeover in SKUs each season and overlap between seasons in terms of fulfilment

You could argue that SKU turnover should belong under inventory management, uut we believe it fits best under the Seasonaility attribute.

We could have made this one a "7" scale to get even more granular.on differences.

16. Number of Different B2B Customers:

1 - Under 50 or almost all "B2C"
2 - 50-99 customers
3 - 100-199 customers
4 - 200-499 customers
5 - 500 or more customers

The more customers and/or customer ship-to's, the harder the DC's job is.

The number of different B2C customers really isn't a complexity factor.

17. Number of Different Suppliers into the DC:

1 - Less than 20
2 - 20-99
3 - 100-999
4 - 1000 -9999
5 - 10,000 or more

Suppliers are distinct business entities; so, if this is a DC attached to a plant warehouse and that is the only "supplier," the answer would be one.

Walmart DCs have tens of thousands of suppliers, as an example.

18. Level of Transportation Management Complexity and Reasonsibility:

1 - Simple transportation requrements and/or central group does most planning and execution
2 - Medium levels of complexity and responsibilities.
3 - Several modes and DC does most planning and execution

Heavy transportation responsibility adds complexity.

Could increase this potential score for this - or leave transportation out of the calculation.