Distributed Omnichannel Warehousing

When one warehouse cannot support every channel's expectations

As brands scale into retail, marketplaces, and D2C, the limits of a single warehouse show up fast. Amazon MFN wants speed. Shopify customers expect fast delivery. Retailers demand rigid delivery windows. Marketplaces surge without warning. Trying to feed all of that from one building turns every peak into a scramble. Distributed omnichannel warehousing steps in to solve the problem by spreading inventory intelligently across multiple facilities.

Search behavior shows how often teams hit this wall. Operators look up phrases like add more warehouse locations, distribute stock to reduce delivery times, and fix delays across channels. They are not looking for theory. They are searching for a way to keep growth from turning into a bottleneck.

How a single facility chokes a multi-channel brand

When all inventory sits in one warehouse, every channel fights the physics of distance. West Coast D2C customers wait longer than they want. Marketplace orders cut too close to SLA deadlines. Retail partners in other regions see freight bills climb. Inventory moves are slower, replenishment cycles drag, and no system can make a cross-country shipment behave like a local one.

Maureen Milligan sees how this shows up in the data frustrations brands bring to G10. She said, "Most of the customers who come to us from another 3PL, their challenges have always been access to their data, order accuracy and efficiency, and basically just meeting the committed requirements." A single site makes those requirements harder to meet across every channel.

Distributed warehousing begins with one operational brain

Distributed omnichannel warehousing only works when multiple locations behave like one. That means every site runs on the same warehouse management system, shares the same real-time inventory record, and follows the same operational rules. Instead of building several small, disconnected warehouses, the brand operates one distributed network.

Connor Perkins described the experience from the customer perspective. He said, "Our clients get best-in-class visibility and transparency. They can see their daily orders, they can see KPIs, and they can see historical transactions." Distributed networks only work when customers can see their entire operation as one system, not a patchwork of locations.

The WMS unifies multiple buildings into one operation

A distributed network collapses instantly if the WMS cannot support it. Each facility must know exactly what inventory it holds, what is committed, and what is safe to sell. Transfers between sites must update instantly. The WMS must route orders to the right warehouse based on location, channel priority, and stock levels.

Bryan Wright, architect of the WMS G10 uses, described why accuracy matters. "A bad WMS system will not track inventory 100 percent as it should." In a distributed model, even small inaccuracies turn into big misallocations. Bryan also explained how the WMS was built with retailer-level complexity from day one. "We can create the Walmart-specific shipping label, send them Walmart-specific EDI transaction, pick it in a specific way for Walmart." That complexity means any site in the network can handle both B2B and D2C without reinventing workflows.

Robotics standardize workflows across facilities

It is one thing to run multiple warehouses. It is another to run them consistently. Without consistent workflows, distributed networks behave like separate operations. That is where robotics help align how work happens inside every building.

Holly Woods described the Zebra robots G10 uses. "The robot is round, it looks like an industrial Roomba," she said. Those robots follow optimized pick routes that keep movements predictable, efficient, and uniform. When multiple buildings use the same robotic workflows, scaling the network becomes far less chaotic.

Distributed networks speed every channel at once

Once inventory is spread intelligently across multiple facilities, the brand stops juggling conflicting priorities. Retailers get faster replenishment. Marketplaces hit delivery windows without stress. D2C customers see shorter transit times. The same pool of inventory serves more customers more quickly because it is physically closer to them.

Joel Malmquist explained how this plays out in real operations. "We are the ones shipping the orders for these brands," he said, describing how tracking flows back into Shopify and other systems in real time. Distributed fulfillment means D2C orders ship from the nearest site, while retail and marketplace orders route intelligently to capacity.

Distributed warehousing handles spikes without breaking

The real value of distributed omnichannel warehousing appears during peak volume. A viral moment, a retailer promotion, or a marketplace surge can crush a single facility. A distributed network absorbs those spikes by spreading work across locations and staffing.

Joel offered a strong stress test example. A client asked if G10 could handle a case where "Target drops 10 POs and gives us 48 hours to turn it around." Joel’s answer: "Yes we can." That confidence comes from multiple facilities supported by a unified system capable of shifting inventory, labor, and workflows across the network.

Distributed networks reduce freight waste

Shipping everything from one location guarantees wasted money. Distributed networks shrink zone distances, reduce shipping costs, and improve delivery speed without sacrificing margin. Retailers receive freight from the nearest site. D2C parcels travel shorter paths. Marketplaces hit SLA targets organically rather than through rushed shipments.

Customer service improves when everything is unified

When multiple warehouses operate like one, customer service does not have to guess where an order is, which facility picked it, or why a delay occurred. They see one system with unified tracking, inventory, and order status.

Joel emphasized this clarity. "Every single account at G10 has a direct point of contact," he said. That person can view activity across locations in one system and communicate clearly without contradictory information.

Distributed warehousing supports new channels without chaos

As brands add Amazon, Walmart Marketplace, wholesale accounts, or retail programs, distributed warehousing absorbs that complexity instead of amplifying it. New channels plug into the network rather than becoming isolated projects.

Jen Myers sees this often. She said, "Someone might be a Shopify brand, so they are only selling D2C, and their path to growth might be to start selling on Amazon next." Distributed networks allow that expansion without overwhelming a single facility.

A builder mindset behind distributed growth

Distributed omnichannel warehousing reflects a founder’s instinct not to cap growth. These brands expect complexity, expect expansion, and expect more channels. They want infrastructure ready to handle the ambition they already have.

Mark Becker captured that mindset clearly: "At the end of the day, all we are is builders. The two of us love to build." Distributed networks give builders room to scale without fear that physical limitations will slow the business down.

Next steps toward distributed omnichannel warehousing

If your single facility is buckling under multi-channel demand, slow carrier zones, or retailer deadlines, the issue is not volume. It is structure. Distributed omnichannel warehousing transforms multiple buildings into one coherent system—one inventory truth, one WMS, one network capable of supporting any channel you add next.

With that foundation in place, growth feels less like a gamble and more like a plan. Your team stops firefighting. Your customers stop waiting. And your channels finally operate from the same, scalable engine.