Welcome to this episode of The New Warehouse Podcast, where we welcome guest Darryl Nelson, Principal and Practice Lead at Supply Chain Alliance. With a background rooted in hands-on operational leadership, Darryl shares what makes operational consultants valuable in today’s complex warehousing environment. The conversation highlights key warehousing challenges for 2025, how proactive assessments and turnaround projects work, and why real-world experience matters when engaging a consulting partner. With over 30 years of experience and more than 600 successful projects, Darryl explains how to leverage operational consulting to unlock performance, resilience, and long-term value.
Navigating Complexity in Warehousing Operations
Today’s warehouse leaders face a wave of overlapping pressures, including rising rents, labor shortages, cybersecurity risks, trade volatility, and evolving omnichannel demands. According to Darryl, the issue isn’t just one major challenge—“It’s the sheer number of challenges that make operating a DC or warehouse complex today.” Many facilities are lean by design, making it challenging to handle strategic initiatives while managing daily order volume.
Darryl explains that engaging a consultant offers more than expertise. It brings bandwidth, external perspective, and benchmarked insights. “We’ve stood in the shoes of our clients,” he says. The Supply Chain Alliance builds project teams composed of former industry practitioners who bring technical expertise and a deep understanding of business constraints. This experience allows them to design realistic, results-driven solutions rather than academic ones. “There’s really nothing academic about it—we focus on actionable and measurable results.”
How Operational Consulting Assessments Unlock Hidden Value
A third-party operational assessment can provide fresh insight for companies that are too busy to pause and reassess operations. These engagements help warehouse leaders establish a baseline, uncover constraints, and identify actionable opportunities. “We help paint a picture for what that operation could look like in the future,” Darryl explains.
Each assessment includes stakeholder interviews, on-site observation, CAD and SOP reviews, data analysis, and ultimately a gap analysis. Next, key leaders help shape the roadmap during a collaborative workshop. Some recommendations are immediate, while others are part of a long-term roadmap for continuous improvement. “These are proactive initiatives, sponsored by senior leadership, not a response to a crisis.”
That said, Supply Chain Alliance also supports urgent operational turnarounds, particularly when mergers or mismanaged launches disrupt performance. In one project, Darryl’s team improved productivity by nearly 100%. It cut per-order costs by 25% within 12 weeks by redesigning picking and packing workflows, reslotting inventory, implementing lean principles, and rebalancing labor strategies.
When and How to Engage an Operational Consultant
Darryl offers a clear framework for when companies should reach out: (1) when they lack internal expertise, (2) when they can’t meet timelines due to limited bandwidth, or (3) when they want an unbiased performance evaluation. “Just invite them into a conversation. That’s all it takes to get started.”
Engagements can be as simple as a one-day workshop or extend into long-term partnerships. What matters is that the support matches the value of the project. Supply Chain Alliance is known for its agile model, deploying 2-3 person teams with a mix of strategic and analytical skills tailored to each client’s needs.
Ultimately, the value comes from their combination of experience and empathy. “We communicate in language that’s shared. We’ve held those roles, we’ve been in those positions.” That shared understanding builds trust, improves change management, and leads to more lasting outcomes. In Darryl’s words, “The combination of minds is the most powerful thing in these situations.”
Key Takeaways
- Warehousing is more complex than ever. Operators face various issues, from tech investments to trade shifts.
- The Supply Chain Alliance provides targeted operational consulting support to advance high-priority initiatives.
- Assessments establish baselines and help visualize future-state improvements.
- One client doubled productivity and reduced the cost per order by 25% in 12 weeks.
- Consultants with industry backgrounds provide pragmatic and actionable guidance.
