Earlier this year Genlyte, a Signify business, announced it would open a network of distribution centers around the country to make the company “easier to do business with” by having regional stock, enabling them to ship quicker to their distributors.

Now they’ve opened their fourth distribution center, this time in Dallas.

Given this RDC’s coverage area it has euphemistically been called a SESCO RDC as it pretty much mirrors SESCO’s territory.

Regardless, it is good for Southeast and Southwest distributors.

Genlyte Opens RDC in Irving (Dallas), Texas

According to Genlyte’s press release:

Genlyte Solutions, a Signify business, today announced that it has opened a new warehouse in the metro Dallas area (Irving, Texas) to accelerate order fulfillment across the South Central and Southeastern United States (US).

Now shipping, the facility is focused on supporting next-day delivery for eligible Stock Ready LED luminaires and lamps to professional customers in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas. Same-day will-call pickup is also available for customers local to the North Texas region.

“The new Irving, Texas warehouse reflects our commitment to delivering a great customer experience,” said Christy Tilton, President, Genlyte Solutions, a Signify business. “Customers in the South Central and Southeast regions will have fast and more consistent access to the high-quality lighting solutions they depend on for their projects.”

“We are excited to see Genlyte expand its distribution center footprint and invest in speed-to-market enhancements. This warehouse will no doubt improve our North Texas, South Central and Southeast clients’ access to core brands like Lightolier, Day-Brite and Philips,” said John Palk, President and CEO, SESCO Lighting. “We are committed to growing together with Genlyte.”

Genlyte’s US distribution center network also includes facilities in Mountain Top, Pennsylvania; Elk Grove Village, Illinois; and Bloomington, California.

Thoughts

• Having local inventory will improve delivery times. Unfortunately, at the same time, it reinforces a distributor’s thought process of “why should I stock more when material is a day or two away?” But, if a local RDC wins the order … that’s all that counts.
• During Signify’s Capital Markets Day, Signify shared that they view Genlyte needs a “turnaround.” This is another “brick in the wall” (to use a Pink Floyd term) in building that roadmap to be easier to do business and to win on availability, delivery, and overall service.
• An off the wall idea … given the RDC’s delivery footprint and SESCO’s overlap, and if Genlyte has extra warehouse space, it would be interesting to have multiple SESCO represented brands in the same warehouse. Lines selected wouldn’t compete with Genlyte, it would be more efficient for distributors, could help both parties increase sales Genlyte could “sublease” the space to a few other manufacturers and act as a rep warehouse / 3PL to those manufacturers … and generate revenue from warehousing. There are few, if any, other places in the country where this concept could, theoretically, work.