Building a distribution center aims at reaching key markets, hiring a suitable workforce, and maximizing profitability while minimizing operational costs. The choice of location poses a further challenge considering infrastructure, labor costs, community and site features and proximity to suppliers and customers. Lululemon Athletica is an athletic apparel company whose objectives are culture-based in the endeavor to elevate the universe from mediocrity to excellence. It helps people to set personal, career and health-based goals. The eastern Iowa industrial park presents an ideal location for establishing a distribution center.
Iowa City offers an unparalleled mix of arts and culture with numerous shopping, and educational opportunities. According to the City of Iowa City (2018), the city received accolades for health. This accolade is beneficial to Lululemon’s health-based goals. The town's location in the Central Time Zone allows same-day communication with the Canadian and Mexico coasts. This proximity reduces transportation costs since the distance between the new distribution center and customers is minimal. Further, it has railroad linkages that are set to improve in the future. Owing to the city’s educational opportunities, it offers the potential for a skilled workforce for the company.
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The careful selection of a site location with ideal features minimizes advance development costs. The site needs to be reasonably flat with less environmental challenges. For instance, setting up a rocky or wetland area is expensive and time-consuming. Further, some ecological issues may take longer to study and resolve. The site also needs access to water, power, and sewer facilities. The receipt and transfer of data require a place with fiber optics. New technologies run through fiber optics which facilitate setting up automatic inventory systems such as accounting and management software. This software facilitates the ordering of items from the distribution center when purchased from a store.
References
City of Iowa. (2018). Industrial park at 420 th street. Retrieved from https://www.icgov.org/industrialpark
