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.
Reshoring and Distribution Center Automation: What It Really Means for Supply Chains
Reshoring and Distribution Center Automation: What It Really Means for Supply Chains
Over the past several years, the conversation around reshoring supply chains has intensified. Companies across multiple industries are reevaluating where products are manufactured, assembled, and distributed in order to balance cost, resilience, and service levels.
However, reshoring is often misunderstood. It does not mean that global supply chains are disappearing or that every company is moving operations back to the United States. Instead, many organizations are adopting more diversified supply chain strategies that include regional production, nearshoring, and selective reshoring.
As these changes unfold, distribution center automation is becoming an important tool that helps companies operate efficiently regardless of where products are produced.
What Is Reshoring in the Supply Chain?
Reshoring refers to bringing manufacturing or supply chain activities back to a company’s domestic market after previously relocating them overseas. In practice, reshoring can take several forms:
- Moving certain manufacturing operations back to the United States.
- Establishing regional production and/or distribution closer to key markets.
- Expanding domestic distribution and fulfillment capacity.
- Redesigning supply chains to reduce dependency on a single global region.
For many organizations, reshoring is part of a broader strategy to improve supply chain flexibility while maintaining global sourcing where it still makes economic sense.
Why Companies Are Rethinking Global Supply Chains
Several events over the past decade have exposed vulnerabilities in long, globally distributed supply chains. Among them:
- In 2021, the blockage of the Suez Canal by the Ever Given container ship temporarily halted one of the world’s busiest trade routes, disrupting global freight movement.
- Port congestion at major U.S. gateways created long delays for imported goods.
- Geopolitical tensions and tariff uncertainty have added complexity to international sourcing decisions.
These disruptions highlighted how quickly supply chain delays can cascade across industries. As a result, many companies are evaluating ways to improve supply chain resilience.
That evaluation sometimes leads to reshoring supply chain activities. More commonly, however, it results in a hybrid model that blends global sourcing with stronger regional operations.
The Role of Distribution Centers in Reshoring Strategies
Even when manufacturing remains global, distribution networks often evolve to support faster delivery and greater flexibility. Many companies are expanding domestic fulfillment capacity in order to:
- Reduce delivery times to customers.
- Improve inventory visibility.
- Increase responsiveness to demand changes.
- Maintain safety stock closer to end markets.
This shift places greater importance on efficient distribution center operations. As order volumes grow and labor availability becomes more constrained, organizations increasingly turn to distribution center automation to support their evolving logistics networks.
>>> CASE STUDY: Read how DCS helped Meyn Americas achieve its goals for improved sustainability and faster customer service with the construction of a new spare parts distribution center serving North and South American customers.
How Distribution Center Automation Supports Supply Chain Flexibility
Automation does not drive reshoring on its own. However, it can play a significant role in helping companies operate distribution facilities more efficiently as supply chains evolve.
Modern automated material handling systems can help distribution centers:
Improve Throughput and Efficiency
Automation technologies such as conveyors, sortation systems, and goods-to-person solutions can increase the speed and accuracy of order processing. This helps facilities manage higher order volumes without relying entirely on manual processes.
Address Labor Challenges
Warehouse labor availability has become an ongoing challenge in many regions. Automation can help facilities operate more consistently by reducing reliance on labor-intensive processes while allowing employees to focus on higher-value tasks.
Optimize Facility Space
Industrial real estate remains expensive in many markets. Automation technologies such as high-density storage systems, advanced sortation, and optimized conveyor layouts allow companies to increase throughput without dramatically expanding their physical footprint.
Improve Operational Visibility
Modern warehouse software platforms—including warehouse execution systems (WES)—provide real-time data on inventory movement, order flow, and operational performance.
These systems help organizations respond quickly to fluctuations in demand while maintaining accurate control over their operations.
Designing Automation for Changing Supply Chains
One of the most important considerations when implementing distribution center automation is designing scalable, flexible systems that can adapt as business conditions change.
Supply chains are dynamic. Product mixes evolve, order volumes fluctuate, and new sales channels emerge. For these reasons, many organizations prioritize automation strategies that emphasize modular system design, scalable software, and integration across multiple technologies.
An experienced system integrator can help design solutions that support current operational needs while remaining adaptable for future growth.
Working with an Experienced Automation Partner
Implementing distribution center automation is a complex process that involves engineering design, software integration, equipment installation, and operational optimization.
Working with an experienced automation partner can help ensure that new systems align with broader supply chain goals—whether those goals involve reshoring, network expansion, or increased fulfillment speed.
Designed Conveyor Systems (DCS) has more than four decades of experience helping organizations design and implement custom material handling solutions for distribution, manufacturing, and parcel operations.
Preparing Your Distribution Network for the Future
Reshoring is only one part of a much larger transformation taking place in global supply chains. Companies are increasingly focused on building networks that balance cost efficiency with resilience and responsiveness.
For many organizations, that means investing in distribution center automation that improves operational performance while allowing facilities to adapt as supply chains continue to evolve.
Whether your organization is expanding domestic fulfillment capacity, redesigning a logistics network, or upgrading existing warehouse operations, the right automation strategy can help support long-term supply chain performance.
Interested in exploring automation options for your distribution operation? Connect with the DCS team to discuss how custom automation solutions can support your facility’s performance goals.