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Package Handling
DCS’s design and engineering team has more than 40 years of experience creating unique parcel handling systems for diverse customer applications. With installations including semi-automated handling in small city distribution centers and fully automated, integrated hubs with advanced conveyor and sorter equipment, DCS routinely thinks outside the box.
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E-Commerce and Multi-Channel Fulfillment
DCS designs and implements end-to-end warehouse automation solutions for e-commerce and multi-channel retailers that address numerous workflow challenges. This includes solutions for receiving, putaway, storage, replenishment, order fulfillment, picking, packing, sortation, and outbound shipping. Our custom integrated warehouse, distribution, and fulfillment systems draw from a deep pool of conventional, semi-automated, and automated material handling technologies.
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Various Distribution Applications
Whether an operation is considering the construction of a new distribution or fulfillment center, or a retrofit or expansion of an existing facility, it’s important to create a solution that fits the overarching supply chain strategy. DCS has four decades of experience designing and integrating comprehensive, end-to-end material handling solutions that meet a multitude of operational goals. Whether conventional, semi-automated, or fully automated, DCS can help your organization implement a custom solution that meets its goals while maximizing return on investment (ROI).
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Supply Chain Consulting
The DCS Supply Chain Consulting team offers a range of services to help your operations address the challenges it faces. Working in partnership with you, DCS consultants analyze your business data- existing workforce, workflow processes, inventory, order data, operations, and more- to determine a strategy that addresses your unique needs. Whether you need an operations assessment, process improvement recommendations, or distribution design services, DCS consultants will help guide you to the material handling system or operational solution that best meets your current and future needs, as well as your budget.
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Customer Support
Keeping your warehouse operations and material handling systems running smoothly and at the peak of productivity are the goals of DCS’ Customer Service Team. By partnering with DCS, your warehouse automation solution is supported from commissioning to end of life. You’ll receive comprehensive in-house training of your personnel, including specialized training of your designated internal system expert. Plus, DCS offers a complete package of spare parts and expert system troubleshooting support from qualified engineers dedicated to your installation.
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System Design & Integration
DCS offers a broad range of material handling equipment and automated system design, installation, and integration services for a multitude of projects. These include retrofits, expansions, upgrades, and more. While every project is unique, our system design and execution processes are the same, encompassing meticulous attention to detail, frequent communication, and a dedicated partnership with our clients.
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Life Science & Healthcare
Pharmaceutical, healthcare, and life science companies face mounting pressure from evolving regulatory requirements, rising fulfillment costs, and intensifying accuracy demands. In this environment, automation isn’t optional—it’s essential. Designed Conveyor Systems (DCS) helps distributors of these critical products stay compliant and competitive.
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Pet Food
Pet food distribution operations are anything but standard. From bulky kibble bags to delicate fish tanks, stock keeping unit (SKU) complexity and fulfillment pressure are always on the rise. Designed Conveyor Systems (DCS) partners with leading pet retailers to design and engineer automation, software, and material handling systems that keep operations agile, accurate, and ready for what’s next.
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Home Improvement
When your distribution center handles everything from hammers to hot tubs, operational complexity isn’t a challenge—it’s your daily reality. Home improvement retailers face intense pressure to meet rising consumer expectations across multiple channels—from in-store pickups to last-mile delivery. At Designed Conveyor Systems (DCS), we specialize in engineering material handling and automation solutions that help home improvement distribution centers keep pace, reduce cost, and drive accuracy at scale.
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Sporting Goods
Navigating the unique demands of the sporting goods retail industry requires a distribution strategy that’s both agile and precise. From handling seasonal surges to managing a diverse range of products—from bulky equipment to small accessories—your warehouse operations are the key to a seamless customer experience. Our expertise helps sporting goods retailers streamline their distribution warehouses, improving order accuracy, boosting productivity, and ensuring your team can efficiently move products from the receiving dock to the final customer, no matter the season.
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Footwear
In the fast-paced world of footwear retail requires a distribution strategy that can handle a vast array of styles, sizes, and seasonal trends with precision and speed. From managing a high volume of SKUs to ensuring accurate order fulfillment and returns processing, your distribution center is the engine that drives customer satisfaction and brand loyalty. Our expertise helps footwear retailers streamline their distribution centers, improving inventory management, accelerating order processing, and ensuring your team can efficiently move products from the receiving dock to the final customer, no matter the season.
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Wholesale & Industrial Distribution
Designed Conveyor Systems (DCS) partners with wholesale, industrial, and electronics distributors to design efficient, optimized fulfillment solutions. Every operation DCS designs streamlines end-to-end functional processes—from inbound receiving and putaway to picking, packing, and shipping. Designed Conveyor Systems (DCS) partners with wholesale, industrial, and electronics distributors to design efficient, optimized fulfillment solutions. Every operation DCS designs streamlines end-to-end functional processes—from inbound receiving and putaway to picking, packing, and shipping.
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About Us
Designed Conveyor Systems (DCS) has 40 years of experience serving major clients in multiple industries by providing material handling, full-scale warehouse operations, and conveyor design solutions that are custom crafted for their needs. DCS does not sell ready-made conveyor systems but builds relationships that empower collaboration to craft custom warehouse designs together. DCS utilizes consulting, engineering design, project management, installation services, and client support to ensure our customers can keep their promises to deliver on time.
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Projects
With more than 40 years of experience providing automated system design, installation, and integration services, DCS has created solutions for companies throughout the United States in a broad range of industries and markets. We’ve completed more than 1500 projects ranging from greenfield facilities with completely new systems to expansions and retrofits of existing operations.
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Upcoming Events
Designed Conveyor Systems values building strong relationships with our clients. Join us at our upcoming events to collaborate and discover how we can design a custom warehouse solution tailored to your unique needs.
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Footwear Retail Distribution

Footwear Retail Distribution

DCS Walks the Walk in Footwear Distribution

Footwear distribution presents unique logistical challenges. Operations must handle awkward packaging and manage high volumes of diverse stock keeping units (SKUs), all while balancing both store replenishment and direct-to-consumer demands. Whether optimizing a legacy site, engineering a new automated system, or acting as a strategic partner for phased retrofits, Designed Conveyor Systems (DCS) helps footwear manufacturers and retailers stay ahead of shifting consumer expectations and rising labor costs—without losing stride.

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Challenges Facing Footwear Retail Distribution

Conventional Material Handling
Packaging Constraints

Footwear frequently comes in hinged or two-piece boxes that are difficult to pick robotically. That limits the opportunity to make use of modern robotic picking automation without significant customization. Instead, DCS helps footwear distributors leverage optimized goods-to-person technologies to support picking these challenging items.

Team Formation
Labor Availability, Productivity, and Ergonomic Limitations

SKU count continues to climb as brands differentiate through size, color, feature, and activity-specific gear. Without real-time data and optimized slotting, facilities risk fulfillment delays and lost sales—especially when omnichannel operations converge with endless aisle shopping experiences. DCS can design and deploy a solution that effectively manages diverse inventory profiles and simplifies fulfillment workflows.

AMRs
SKU-Level Visibility Gaps

Footwear SKUs vary by size, color, style, and gender. This complex mix demands precise inventory control and real-time visibility. Without accurate, SKU-level data, the risk of mispicks and fulfillment errors increases dramatically. Leverage a solution from DCS that efficiently manages diverse inventory profiles and simplifies storage and picking processes.

Picking and Packing Technologies
Obsolete Legacy Systems

Many footwear DCs rely on legacy technologies and software that lack the agility and features needed to support modern workflows or advanced automation—unless costly upgrades are deployed. These limitations slow down operations, increase manual workarounds, and reduce scalability. DCS’ proprietary warehouse execution system (WES), DATUM, can extend current software, hardware, and controls functionality to improve your operation’s resilience

Conveyor & Sortation Systems
Aging Facilities and Outdated Network Strategies

With many footwear facilities well into their second decade of operation, retrofits, expansion, or reconfiguration may be required to keep pace with shifting order volumes and customer expectations. Further, companies may benefit from rethinking their operational footprint, such as adding new nodes or consolidating underutilized facilities. DCS can assess current facilities and their locations to help modernize your existing network, reducing costs and delivery times for higher customer satisfaction.

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How DCS Delivers for Footwear Retail

DATUM: Open Architecture WES

DATUM is DCS’ open architecture WES that integrates seamlessly with any warehouse management system (WMS) or enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. It expands operational visibility throughout all workflows—from receiving to shipping—and modernizes existing material handling hardware without fully replacing it. By decoupling your automation from proprietary OEM software, DATUM helps you avoid costly upgrades, reduce system rigidity, and future-proof your footwear distribution operation.

Facility Retrofits and Network Optimization

DCS’ consulting subsidiary, Waller Consulting, can provide data-driven analysis of your physical assets and distribution strategy. This assessment identifies opportunities for DCS-managed and executed retrofits, phased expansions, and consolidations that help footwear brands evolve and enhance both networks and operations.

Flexible Picking Systems for Boxed SKUs

DCS designs and implements systems tailored to handle footwear’s unique packaging profiles—from hinged lids to bulky boot boxes—by combining routing strategies, semi-automated picking solutions, and goods-to-person technologies. These approaches minimize pick errors and protect product integrity without requiring robotic picking.

Labor-Smart Engineering

Your DCS’ engineered solution will reduce physical strain, improve ergonomic safety, and boost pick rates through right-sized automation and task optimization. From conveyorized pick modules to ergonomic pack-out zones, your footwear DC will operate more efficiently with its current workforce.

Footwear Retail FAQs

Select an option

The cost of implementing automation at your footwear company can vary widely based on what technologies you choose. DCS has observed that ROI typically comes within 2-4 years, and sometimes as quickly as 12 months.

There are many automation solutions available to footwear retailers. DCS’s footwear distribution and fulfillment clients see great success with motorized transport conveyor systems, light-directed put walls, and automated sortation systems, including cross belt, tilt-tray, and bomb bay loop sorters. We also offer custom systems tailored to handle boxed SKUs.

DATUM, DCS’s proprietary warehouse execution system (WES), integrates seamlessly with your company’s legacy software, hardware, and automation systems, including commercial and custom WMS software. DATUM incorporates a flexible, secure API gateway and integration bridge, as well as multi-agent orchestration features to create a unified mix of people and automation. This transforms different systems and workflows into a coordinated, intelligent operation capable of delivering predictive throughput.

 

DCS can create a scalable, adaptable, and modernized automation plan for your footwear distribution operation. On the digital side, DCS can deploy a platform to manage diverse and evolving inventory profiles. On the physical side, we can design flexible conveyance solutions, storage methods, and handling processes that accommodate a broad range of product sizes, packaging types, and throughput volumes. Cloud-based software, flexible automated solutions such as autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), and dense storage solutions that maximize the cube of your warehouse are available to help you increase capacity without expanding your facility’s current footprint.

Retail warehouse operators can achieve basic automation equipment proficiency within one week. The knowledge base for managers is more expansive, so training typically takes several weeks. DCS offers both levels of system training with new installations, as well as refresher and advanced training through our ASURE MRO (maintenance, repair, and operations) program.

Connect with DCS

Whether you’re expanding, consolidating, or retrofitting, DCS helps footwear distributors take the next step. Reach out to discuss how we can update your operations while maximizing your existing assets.