Our distribution planning work helps a company route the right products to the right places (warehouses, stores, customers) at the right service level and the right cost. Between production or purchasing and the final sale, there is a flow to organize: what to send, where, when and in what quantity. Well planned, this flow avoids both out-of-stock stores and overflowing warehouses.
The problem it solves
Without distribution planning, replenishment happens piecemeal: stockouts are handled in a rush, trucks run half empty, and stock piles up where it does not sell. Cost-to-serve climbs without anyone really deciding it. It is the sum of a thousand uncoordinated local trade-offs.
The particular difficulty of distribution is that it plays out across many small daily trade-offs: wait to fill this truck or ship it now, replenish this location or hold off. In isolation, each looks reasonable; added up without a framework, they drift toward more transport, more stock and still uneven service. Our work is to replace this pile-up of local decisions with clear rules, consistent with the service level leadership has chosen. Once these rules are set, teams gain autonomy: they no longer have to reinvent the trade-off with every order, since it has already been settled upstream.
Our approach to distribution planning
We structure the distribution flow: needs per location, replenishment rules, and the trade-off between transport cost, service level and stock. The point is to make the cost/service compromise visible so you decide it instead of letting it happen. Under the Two-Layer Model (leadership decides the plan; operations execute it), this compromise belongs to the decision layer; the replenishment rules that apply it belong to the execution layer. To measure what distribution really costs, our article on cost-to-serve is a good starting point.
The deliverables
- A clear view of needs per distribution point.
- Replenishment rules consistent with the target service level.
- An explicit trade-off between transport cost, stock and service.
- KPIs to manage the flow (service, cost, inventory turns).
Who it is for
For companies that distribute to several locations (a store network, regional depots, multiple customers) and whose logistics costs are rising faster than their business. The service concerns leadership, which sets the service level, as much as logistics teams, which carry out the replenishments. It becomes particularly useful when the company opens new points of sale, expands its network or sees its transport costs rising with no clear explanation. In these situations, rethinking the distribution rules keeps the bad habits picked up during growth from becoming locked into the cost base. Once structured, it can keep paying off long after the engagement.
The first step
A free 45-minute session pinpoints where your distribution is losing service or money. No commitment.
Frequently asked questions
What is distribution planning?
It is the organization of product flows to distribution points (what to send, where, when and in what quantity) at the right service level and the right cost.
What is the central trade-off?
The trade-off between transport cost, stock and service level: making it explicit lets you decide it instead of letting it happen.
Who is this service for?
For companies that distribute to several locations and whose logistics costs are growing faster than their business.