Distribution Center Operations Built for Wholesale Reality

Distribution center operations are the quiet engine behind every wholesale brand that ships clean orders and stays in a retailer's good graces. When operations run well, nobody notices. When they run poorly, retailers send warnings, orders back up, and your team spends too much time refreshing tracking pages and whispering unkind words at your 3PL. Search trends show operators looking up why are my DC operations so slow or how do I fix warehouse bottlenecks, usually after something has already fallen apart.

If you have ever felt like your distribution center was improvising instead of operating, you understand why this topic matters.

Why distribution centers struggle with wholesale complexity

Wholesale introduces choreography that D2C-only operations never encounter. Retailers expect perfect pallets, precise ASN data, consistent carton prep, and timely appointments. A distribution center built for speed but not discipline will eventually collide with a routing guide shaped like a brick wall.

Joel Malmquist, VP of Customer Experience at G10, explained the stakes. "If you do not do it right, you get those massive chargebacks." In wholesale, operations are graded constantly.

Where DC operations usually break down

Most DC breakdowns begin with mismatched systems and processes. If a warehouse tracks inventory loosely, picks inconsistently, or stages pallets late, the entire workflow suffers. One delay becomes two. Two delays become a missed retailer appointment. And then the chargebacks begin.

Connor Perkins, Director of Fulfillment at G10, sees the pattern clearly. "One of the pain points our clients have experienced with previous 3PLs is inventory accuracy. Maybe their previous 3PL was not great at picking the orders accurately. So they were losing money by shipping wrong items or wrong quantities of items." Poor operations start with poor inventory control.

Why D2C-first models fail inside wholesale DCs

D2C warehouses optimize for speed. Wholesale requires precision. Those two goals are not identical. A DC designed for small parcels and tote picking will struggle with pallet builds, retailer labeling rules, ASN sequencing, and dock scheduling. When a D2C-first 3PL tries to stretch into wholesale, operations crack under the weight of requirements they were never built to support.

Bryan Wright, CTO and COO of G10, explained the difference. "A bad WMS will not track inventory 100 percent. A good WMS tracks inventory through the warehouse at every point you touch it." Wholesale DC operations depend on that kind of visibility.

The communication delays that stall DC output

Even the best processes crumble when clients cannot get timely answers. Many 3PLs run their customer service through ticket queues where every reply comes from a different person. While the client waits for a simple clarification, the warehouse keeps moving, building pallets based on partial information.

Joel described the contrast. "At some 3PLs you get thrown into a ticketed queue, and you get different people replying every time. It can take days, if not weeks, to get a resolution." Operations do not survive that kind of lag.

G10 avoids this bottleneck. "You call one person. That is it. And things get done," Joel said.

What clean distribution center operations look like

A well-functioning DC feels predictable. Receiving is scan-based and structured. Inventory moves through logical zones. Picks follow retailer-specific workflows. Pallets are built in compliance with routing guides. ASNs transmit accurately. Carriers arrive to staged freight. Appointments lock in smoothly. Nothing is improvised. Everything follows a system.

Connor emphasized the importance of setup. "When we onboard a client who sells into places like Amazon or Walmart, the process changes depending on where they are selling. We work through all of their routing guide requirements and make sure the warehouse is ready before the first order ever drops."

How DC operations hold up under pressure

Real distribution center performance is revealed when something goes wrong: late inbounds, oversized retailer orders, or sudden spikes in D2C demand. That is when weak operations crumble and strong operations accelerate.

Joel recalled a moment when a Target shipment arrived late from the ports. "Our supervisor, warehouse manager, and several employees worked the entire day into the night, then came back at 5 a.m. to make sure we had the routing completed." Smooth DC operations made the turnaround possible.

He shared another moment during a viral surge. "The client asked, Can you help us? And we said, Yeah, we gotcha. Then we sent a truck to the carrier at midnight." Distribution centers are judged by how they perform during chaos.

The bottom line for wholesale brands

Distribution center operations are the backbone of wholesale success. When they are disciplined, accurate, and responsive, your brand grows smoothly. When they are sloppy, slow, or disorganized, retailers push back hard.

If you want distribution center operations that protect your retailers, your margins, and your sanity, reach out to G10. You will get organized processes, direct communication, and wholesale-first execution every day of the week.