Case Study

Your Distribution Centers (DCs) are critical supply chain management assets. However, they can also become inefficient when holding too much inventory, or also a costly and time-consuming touchpoint in your supply chain. This becomes a particular issue for goods with short lifecycles such as seasonal, fashion, fragile, and promotional products.

At Century, we strive to provide our customers with greater distribution efficiencies by reducing lead time as well as unnecessary and costly demurrage and detention charges. Our Direct to Store Pick & Pack programs provide our customers with the ability to bypass their DCs and deliver to their stores straight from import processing. We offer extensive Value-Added Services (VAS) at origin at competitive rates, enabling you to build direct-to-store loads efficiently without further congesting DCs that may already be full.

Why endure time-consuming, higher costs of VAS at destinations DCs in the US, EU or Canada when you could perform the same services more cost effectively at origin?

Key advantages of DC Bypass Programs include:

Increased supply chain efficiency – VAS can be performed when cargo is already at the origin CFS and waiting for container loading and delivery to port. Fewer touch points in your supply chain means overall shorter lead times and reduced risk of product damage.

Shortened delivery times – Bypassing your DC can significantly reduce distance travelled by your products and save one to two weeks of total processing time. Quicker delivery times can increase customer loyalty and confidence towards your supply chain.

Reduced costs – Performing VAS such as picking, packing, kitting, and labelling at origin rather than destination offers cost-effective labor solutions. Carrying out these services in origin countries with lower labor costs allows for a more economical supply chain in comparison to performing these duties at your destination DCs. Century can also offer extensive space for origin storage at competitive rates far lower than storage at your DCs. Further costs can be saved in relation to freight transportation, handling and processing fees and carrier fees.

Sustainability – Cargo consolidated to maximize container utilization combined with the reduction in distance travelled by bypassing DCs will reduce emissions and your carbon footprint.

Powered by VIZIV for full visibility, documentation, milestone management and inventory control, Century’s DC Bypass programs have been very successful for our VIP customers, especially for seasonal merchandise like Easter, Halloween, and Christmas!

Interested in our DC Bypass and Pick & Pack solutions to expedite seasonal cargo or avoid pressure on DC inventory? Get in touch with your Century Account Manager or a Sales Representative today and see how we can keep your supply chain a step ahead.