Editing Distribution center (section)

{{Short description|Building stocked with goods for delivery}}
{{Use American English|date=March 2021}}
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{{Business logistics}}
[[Image:Distribution centre (J Sainsbury's).jpg|thumb|[[Sainsbury's]] distribution centre in Waltham Point, [[Hertfordshire]], [[United Kingdom]].]]

A '''distribution center''' for a set of [[Product (business)|products]] is a [[warehouse]] or other specialized [[building]], often with [[refrigeration]] or [[air conditioning]], which is stocked with products ([[good (economics)|goods]]) to be redistributed to [[retailing|retailers]], to [[wholesale]]rs, or directly to consumers. A distribution center is a principal part, the [[order processing]] element, of the entire [[order fulfillment]] process. Distribution centers are usually thought of as being [[demand chain management|demand driven]]. A distribution center can also be called a '''warehouse''', a '''DC''', a '''fulfillment center''', a '''cross-dock facility''', a '''bulk break center''', and a '''package handling center'''. The name by which the distribution center is known is commonly based on the purpose of the operation. For example, a "retail distribution center" normally distributes goods to retail stores, an "order fulfillment center" commonly distributes goods directly to consumers, and a cross-dock facility stores little or no product but distributes goods to other destinations.

Distribution centers are the foundation of a [[supply network]], as they allow a single location to stock a vast number of products. Some organizations operate both retail distribution and direct-to-consumer out of a single facility, sharing space, equipment, labor resources, and inventory as applicable.

A typical retail distribution network operates with centers set up throughout a commercial market, with each center serving a number of stores. Large distribution centers for companies such as [[Walmart]] serve 50–125 stores. Suppliers ship truckloads of products to the distribution center, which stores the product until needed by the retail location and ships the proper quantity.

Since a large retailer might sell tens of thousands of products from thousands of vendors, it would be impossibly inefficient to ship each product directly from each vendor to each store. Many retailers own and run their own distribution networks, while smaller retailers may outsource this function to dedicated [[logistics]] firms that coordinate the distribution of products for a number of companies. A distribution center can be [[colocation (business)|co-located]] at a [[Third-party logistics|logistics center]].