its Woodstock campus in 2008 to comply
with Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design (LEED) standards.
Thanks to innovations in such areas as energy production and usage, lighting, construction materials, heating and cooling, water
conservation, and landscaping, the facility
and grounds in 2010 earned LEED Platinum
status, an achievement claimed by fewer
than 300 facilities worldwide. (See sidebar,
“OWC’s DC goes Platinum.”)
OWC is deeply committed to the environment, but it hasn’t sacrificed speed or efficiency in its distribution center in order to
achieve its green goals. Quite the opposite, in
fact: OWC’s focus on green principles is
helping it run a more efficient, cost-effective
operation.
“OLD SCHOOL” MEETS NEW DESIGN
Other World Computing sells a wide range
of data storage devices, solid-state drives,
and memory upgrade solutions (mostly
assembled and packaged in house); accessories for Macintosh computers; and accessories for iPads and iPhones. Most orders come from consumers and small businesses, but OWC also sells to selected
retailers and third-party vendors. More than 90 percent of
the orders filled at the Woodstock DC contain an item that
was packaged and/or assembled on site.
The Woodstock DC ships nearly half a million orders
annually. Most are small, and many consist of just one or
two items. OWC aims for same-day shipping and real-time
order fulfillment whenever possible, a goal it has achieved
for the vast majority of the assemblies and other products it
sells. Orders are batch-processed every 20 minutes, so
“there’s a very high likelihood that an order will be picked
and shipped within 40 to 50 minutes,” O’Connor says.
Customers frequently take advantage of OWC’s Priority
Expedited Service, which provides next-day, early morning
delivery to many markets for orders placed by 10: 30 p.m.
Central time. (OWC recently opened a second distribution
center in the Southwest to better serve customers in that
region and on the West Coast.)
