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With the rapid advancement of the Internet, more and more consumers don’t go to the real store. Instead, they shop online due to the diversity of commodities. The change in consumer behavior affects the way how distribution centers work. Before, the distribution centers sent goods and products to the real store. But now, they send those directly to consumers. In order to face this dramatic change, distribution center must upgrade their services to work closely with both supplier and consumers.
This study is based on a distribution center of a bookstore chain. Originally, it was a retailer DC responsible for all its stores, but in 2006, the bookstore chain expanded its business to E-Commerce Distribution Center (ECDC). With the increase of online business, problems began to rise: the distribution center was packed and its delivery was out of efficiency. To solve the problem, the study here adapts EIQ theory, which was brought up by Suzuki - the director of the graduate school of logistic in Japan. By analyzing the features of ECDC and comparing the operations of general distribution centers, the study here is supposed to find out the weakness in the system of general distribution center so as to improve the problems mentioned above.
Speaking to the problem of crammed space in distribution center, after we make use of PCB method, we find the use rate of pallets only up to 28.59%. In other words, we don’t make good use of the pallets. In order not to waste space in distribution center, we have to calculate the minimum amount of pallets and manage the minimum space for pallets if necessary. Switch non-use pallets for moving shelves. When to use which one? First, calculate the amount of goods. If the books are more than 50, it will be proper to put them on pallets. Then, where the pallets will be put and the best proposal will be given.
As to non-efficiency of delivery, we make use of EN and EK analysis to decide whether we choose the traditional way – each time the system picks up for each order, or the modern way – each time the system picks up for 12 orders. Next, we compare ways to pick up goods: picking up goods according to their priorities, picking up goods in different storage sections in one car and also collecting goods from different storage sections within the same order. We get the conclusion that picking up goods in different storage sections in one car is more suitable for ECDC. | en_US |