Ingram Book Group
“We’ve had an excellent experience with Randy Wolcott, who has successfully managed the acquisition and disposition of over 2,200,000 square feet of space for us.”
– Jerry Seabourne, Chief Logistics Officer
The Challenge
Ingram Book Group hired us to advise and implement a strategy to consolidate their nationwide distribution center facilities and create a new super distribution center. Ingram was faced with renegotiating multiple contracts on their existing facilities and deciding which facilities to close. Furthermore, finding a site for the new distribution center and coordinating the logistical efforts of the consolidation presented a challenge in minimizing costs and executing the plan according to schedule.
Our Strategy
With multiple tasks involved in this project, we outlined and then implemented a strategy that included the following tasks: established objectives, developed a timeline for execution, evaluated the value and liability of facilities within the distribution network, analyzed real estate costs for each exit market and acquisition market, negotiated cost saving incentives with state and local governments for the establishment of the new distribution center, determined lowest cost facility alternatives in target area by researching more than 40 potential sties, assessed local labor markets, and designed the layout of the new distribution center.
Results
We successfully developed a new 665,000 square foot distribution center on 42 acres along the I-81 Corridor in Pennsylvania. An immediate savings to Ingram came in the form of a $4,700,000 state and local government incentive package with we assisted in negotiating. We successfully mitigated the leases on the existing distribution centers, eliminating more than 1,000,000 square feet of lease space from Ingram’s supply chain. Furthermore, by reducing total occupancy cost and improving transportation routes with the new location, Ingram realizes millions of dollars in annual savings.