Choosing to diversify inventory across multiple warehouses has a number of benefits, such as reduced shipping costs and faster delivery times. It also benefits carbon-neutral shipping by significantly reducing carbon emissions via shorter transit times and fewer vehicles required to fulfill shipments.
To put this into perspective, imagine a California-based customer who purchases products from a warehouse in New York. Whether through air or ground delivery, that 2,000-mile journey from the seller to the buyer will expend a great deal of fuel and produce more emissions than if the seller had a warehouse in the same state or region as the buyer.
Larger companies such as Walmart and Amazon have been able to expand in this way, and while it is certainly more challenging for smaller enterprises, options do exist, including renting warehouse space, rather than building or owning, and partnering with logistics companies in order to build a sustainable supply network.
