Integrating Supply Chain Strategy with Real Estate Advisory for Optimal Business Growth

Since TaylorMade's distribution and customisation facility leases were about to expire, the company decided it was appropriate to evaluate its distribution network.

Established in 1979, TaylorMade Golf is a renowned producer of top-notch golf gear, such as clubs, balls, and bags, in addition to clothing and additional accessories. With its main office located in Carlsbad, California, TaylorMade operates a network of facilities for product warehousing, customization, and distribution for the wholesale and direct-to-consumer sectors in the United States and Canada. The business has a distribution presence in Tijuana, Mexico, as well as in Indiana, South Carolina, and California.

Although the company had started internal initiatives to enhance the functioning of its main distribution center in Indiana, it was aware that the facility's current capacity was not suitable for the company's anticipated future expansion. Similar to every other distribution-focused company, TaylorMade encountered the labor issues that were common in the sector.

TaylorMade thought it was appropriate to evaluate its distribution network because some of its facility leases were about to expire. The strategic goals encompassed building a "future state" network to facilitate North American fulfillment, facilitating the company's ability to meet its five-year plan while addressing urgent fulfillment requirements, and developing an adaptable platform that facilitates the expansion of multiple varied product offerings while providing an impeccable customer experience.

In order to objectively investigate the cost and service implications of alternative distribution network operating models incorporating various facility counts, locations, sizes, and types—such as distribution by product category—the corporation sought to conduct a network optimization analysis. TaylorMade enlisted the help of JLL's Supply Chain Consulting group to assess and suggest the best future state network strategy and, if necessary, provide real estate execution services to the TaylorMade team, as part of its search for a consulting firm to support the initiative.

JLL assembled a group of subject matter specialists from several fields, such as labor analytics, supply chain, brokerage, and real estate advice, to help TaylorMade with the entire process of developing its distribution network—from strategy to execution. JLL carried out the supply chain network study using a tried-and-true method.

gathering of data and creation of baselines. TaylorMade received a structured data request from JLL detailing the data required for the project. To further grasp TaylorMade's business goals, the project team met with a variety of functional experts from across the organization, including those in sales and marketing, transportation, distribution operations, and finance.

Analysis of scenarios and an operating model. JLL analyzed the cost/service performance of several "what if" scenarios by analyzing them using advanced modeling methods in comparison to the baseline present condition. This was achieved by keeping in close contact with TaylorMade's supply chain management to exchange updates and establish a shared course of action.

High-level implementation planning and recommendations. At the project's conclusion, JLL met with TaylorMade for an executive-level working session to go over the findings and suggestions. This helped to clarify the various operating situations and talk about a high-level implementation strategy.

In close collaboration with TaylorMade's distribution team, JLL carried out a network strategy engagement in which it evaluated different operating scenarios using analytics and supply-chain optimization modeling methodologies. JLL assessed the effects of centralized versus decentralized distribution with varying numbers of facilities after reviewing the regional distribution of TaylorMade's product categories. Taking into consideration service, cost, and capital considerations, the JLL team collaboratively worked with TaylorMade leadership to evaluate the trade-offs between cost and service of several network operating models. Furthermore, JLL found potential for incremental improvements that might ease capacity constraints and save operational expenses.

According to Joe Vincent, vice president of operations at TaylorMade Golf, "TaylorMade engaged JLL to objectively explore the cost and service implications of alternative distribution models to better serve our customers at the lowest delivered cost." "JLL is special in that they offer real estate-related execution services in addition to supply chain consulting, which saved us time and money."