Driving Growth: How CARQUEST Accelerated Distribution Efficiency with a System Integrator
The Client: CARQUEST
CARQUEST is a major North American auto parts supplier serving nearly 60 distribution centers and more than 4,000 retail locations. Its value proposition depends on competitive pricing, broad parts availability, and next-day delivery performance across a large service territory.
As network demand expanded, CARQUEST needed a higher-efficiency distribution model that could improve speed, reduce cost, and support long-term growth.
The Challenge
- Dual-Facility Cost Drag: Operating two separate distribution centers increased overhead and reduced inventory consolidation efficiency.
- Extreme SKU Complexity: The central operation needed to support over 200,000 SKUs while maintaining high pick speed and low error rates.
- Next-Day Delivery Pressure: Serving a wide geography required fast, highly reliable special-order fulfillment.
- Manual and Paper-Based Friction: Legacy workflows constrained throughput and introduced avoidable data-entry and routing errors.
- System Coordination Complexity: CARQUEST needed conveyors, storage strategy, software controls, and human workflows to operate as one integrated platform.
The Solution
FloStor engineered and integrated a consolidated distribution design centered on intelligent conveyorized flow, scan-driven execution, and warehouse management system coordination. The project replaced two legacy facilities with a single purpose-built operation optimized for velocity and control.
The new model aligned inventory placement, order wave strategy, and automated routing logic to improve throughput while creating a stronger foundation for modular expansion.
Systems Used
- Consolidated 145,000 sq ft Distribution Center: Replaced two 180,000 sq ft combined legacy facilities with a denser, better-orchestrated fulfillment layout.
- Powered Conveyor and Sortation Backbone: Automated transport and destination routing moved totes/cartons to correct shipping lanes with reduced manual intervention.
- Wave-Based Processing Architecture: Order waves processed up to 20 destinations simultaneously to improve picking and packout flow balance.
- Tote License-Plate Tracking: Unique tote identifiers enabled reliable system-level routing and consolidation logic.
- WMS and Enterprise Integration: Warehouse controls synchronized with enterprise and POS systems for real-time inventory and order visibility.
- RF-Directed Paperless Picking: RF scanners guided pickers, validated picks instantly, and reduced manual transaction errors.
- HMI Diagnostics and Flow Control: Operator interfaces provided real-time status monitoring, troubleshooting, and control support across complex automation logic.
The Power of Integration in Action
FloStor’s integrator role unified equipment, software, and process design under one execution strategy. By coordinating supplier technologies through a single architecture, CARQUEST gained a more predictable flow model and reduced operational fragmentation.
This integrated approach enabled higher output in fewer labor hours while improving inventory velocity and positioning the operation for planned expansion.
“Our productivity is definitely up. We were pulling approximately 300,000 lines out of two locations in a 13 hour shift. We now pull over 400,000 lines out of our new DC in a 10 hour shift.” – Jim McMurtrey, VP & General Manager, Auto Parts Wholesale
The Results
CARQUEST converted a fragmented dual-site operation into a consolidated, higher-velocity distribution platform with stronger cost efficiency and service responsiveness. The new system improved line output, increased storage density, and reinforced next-day delivery capability.
With integrated controls and paperless execution, CARQUEST gained the operational discipline needed to manage very large SKU counts at scale.
Key Performance Gains
- Productivity Increase: Line pulls improved from approximately 300,000 lines in 13 hours to over 400,000 lines in 10 hours
- Facility Consolidation Efficiency: Two sites totaling 180,000 sq ft were consolidated into one 145,000 sq ft operation
- Storage Density Improvement: More inventory was stocked in about 30% less floor area versus prior combined footprint
- Designed Throughput Headroom: Conveyor/sortation system engineered for up to 12,000 totes/cartons per day
Why This Worked
This implementation succeeded because CARQUEST and FloStor treated distribution as an integrated control problem, not a standalone equipment project. Inventory strategy, routing logic, software, and labor execution were designed to reinforce one another.
- End-to-End System Integration: Physical handling and digital controls were synchronized to reduce handoff errors and flow interruptions.
- High-SKU Execution Discipline: RF-guided paperless workflows improved pick precision and transaction integrity at scale.
- Consolidation with Performance Gain: Facility consolidation lowered cost while improving service and output metrics.
- Scalable Architecture: Modular components and planned expansion zones created a long-term growth path without full redesign.
Related Services
- System Integration and Controls Engineering
- Distribution Center Consolidation Planning
- Conveyor and Sortation Workflow Design
- RF/WMS Fulfillment Modernization and Scalability Planning