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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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Material Handling Systems Integrators: Order Fulfillment Design Criteria for Modern Distribution Centers
Material Handling Systems Integrators: Order Fulfillment Design Criteria for Modern Distribution Centers
Designing an effective order fulfillment operation is one of the most critical responsibilities for today’s material handling systems integrators. Whether supporting retail, wholesale, or e-commerce distribution in healthcare, life science, home improvement, sporting goods, footwear, or any other sector, the right system design directly impacts throughput, accuracy, labor efficiency, and customer responsiveness.
However, successful fulfillment isn’t just about selecting the latest technology. It requires a strategic approach to custom material handling system integration—one that aligns operational data, order profiles, and long-term business goals with the right combination of processes and automation.
In this blog, we’ll outline the key design criteria that the DCS team uses to develop scalable, high-performance automated material handling solutions.
Why Order Fulfillment Design Matters
Order fulfillment is where customer expectations meet operational execution. Speed, accuracy, and flexibility are no longer differentiators—they’re requirements.
For that reason, material handling systems integrators must design systems that can:
- Handle fluctuating order volumes.
- Support multiple order profiles (eaches, cases, pallets).
- Maintain high levels of accuracy.
- Scale with business growth.
- Adapt to changing customer demands.
Achieving this requires more than equipment selection. It requires a holistic approach to custom material handling system integration.
Key Picking Methodologies in Fulfillment Design
A core component of any fulfillment strategy is selecting the right picking methodology. The optimal approach depends on order volume, stock keeping unit (SKU) characteristics, and service requirements.
Common picking strategies include:
Discrete Order Picking
Picking one order at a time provides high accuracy but may limit efficiency in higher-volume environments.
Batch Picking
Grouping multiple orders together improves productivity, especially in e-commerce operations with smaller order sizes.
Wave Picking
Orders are released in waves based on shipping schedules, labor availability, or carrier cut-off times.
Hybrid Approaches
Many facilities combine multiple picking strategies to balance speed and flexibility.
Experienced material handling systems integrators like DCS evaluate these methodologies as part of a broader system design to ensure alignment with operational goals.
The Data Behind Effective System Design
No automated material handling solution should be designed without a deep understanding of the operation it supports. At the core of every successful custom material handling system integration project is data. Specifically, how products move, how orders are structured, and how the business is expected to evolve over time.
Effective system design begins with a detailed analysis of SKU profile data, including item size, weight, velocity, and storage requirements. This is paired with inbound receiving patterns—such as volumes, frequency, and handling methods—as well as historical order data that reveals order size, frequency, and variability. Inventory snapshots also play a critical role, helping define storage needs, slotting strategies, and inventory turns across the operation.
Beyond core operational data, there are additional factors that must be considered. These include special handling requirements for fragile, hazardous, or high-value items, as well as any temperature or environmental controls that may impact system design. Security requirements, future growth projections, and anticipated changes in the business model are equally important, as they influence how flexible and scalable the system needs to be.
Taken together, this data enables material handling systems integrators—like the DCS team—to design solutions that are not only efficient in the short term, but adaptable and resilient as operational demands continue to change.
Designing for Flexibility and Growth
One of the most common challenges in fulfillment operations is change. Order profiles shift, SKU counts grow, and customer expectations evolve.
That’s why all of DCS’s automated material handling solutions are designed with flexibility in mind. Our team leverages key design principles, including:
- Modular system architecture.
- Scalable throughput capabilities.
- Adaptable picking strategies.
- Integration with existing warehouse software systems.
By prioritizing flexibility, material handling systems integrators ensure that systems can evolve without requiring complete redesigns as business needs change.
The Role of Collaboration in System Integration
Technology and data are only part of the equation. The most successful projects are built on strong collaboration between the integrator and the client.
At DCS, this collaborative approach is central to how we deliver custom material handling system integration. Our team works closely with clients throughout the design process to ensure alignment at every stage. This includes frequent working sessions, both in-person and virtual.
Additionally, DCS continuously validates operational data and assumptions while working with our clients on iterative concept development. Transparent communication around tradeoffs and design decisions is also essential to ensuring projects stay on-track and on-budget.
This approach allows us to move quickly while maintaining accuracy. The result? Automated material handling solutions that are closely aligned with our clients’real-world operational needs.
Why Experience Matters in Material Handling Systems Integration
Not all system designs are created equal. The difference often comes down to experience.
As experienced material handling systems integrators, DCS understands how to translate operational data into practical system designs. Our team is also extremely adept at balancing capital investment with long-term operational costs. With our DATUM warehouse execution system (WES) software, DCS can integrate multiple technologies into a cohesive solution, as well as anticipate challenges and redirect resources before they impact your operation’s performance.
This expertise is critical when designing fulfillment systems that must operate reliably under real-world conditions.
Building the Right Fulfillment Solution
Ultimately, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to order fulfillment. The right solution depends on your operation, your customers, and your long-term business strategy.
By combining data-driven analysis, proven methodologies, and collaborative design, DCS can develop custom material handling system integration strategies that deliver measurable results.
If you’re evaluating fulfillment strategies or planning a new distribution center, our team can help you design a solution that balances efficiency, flexibility, and long-term growth. Ready to explore how a scalable, high-performance automated material handling solutions tailored to your unique operation can improve your operations? Connect with DCS to start the conversation.