Over the past ten
years or so, few segments of the U.S. Packaging industry
have expanded as rapidly as an area commonly referred to
as "Fulfillment Packaging", "Pick-and-Pack" or
"Distribution Centre" operations.
These operations
feature customer convenience (order any time), access
(order from anywhere), variety (order anything), service
(combining all the above) and economies (for the
consumer and the vendor).
The below figure
graphically illustrates the essential function of a
Distribution Centre in these types of operations. The
Centre receives products from diverse sources and ships
orders of various combinations of these products to any
number of customers and/or destinations. Both the
Supplier and the Customer sides can be far ranging in
location, often encompassing global concerns and
opportunities.
