The Challenge

During the height of the pandemic, a major national big-box retailer faced severe congestion at U.S. ports. Large volumes of inbound containers were accumulating in costly storage yards, delaying inventory visibility and restricting product flow across their distribution network.

The retailer urgently needed to:

• Rapidly unload and process containers
• Receive the merchandise into their systems for visibility & inventory control
• Restore throughput across their supply chain under extreme time pressure

The Solution

Warefor was engaged to deliver an immediate, large-scale warehousing solution with minimal lead time.

Within two weeks, Warefor:

• Identified and secured a 373,000 sq. ft. warehouse on a short-term lease
• Fully cleaned, prepared, and operationalized the facility
• Began receiving inbound freight the day after the lease was executed

As inbound volumes continued to surge, Warefor expanded operations to manage two facilities simultaneously, totaling over 500,000 sq. ft. of active warehouse space operating at near-full capacity.

To ensure speed, accuracy, and transparency, Warefor implemented:

• Real-time transaction processing
• Photo-based operational reporting for real time quality control
• Proactive communication to ensure uninterrupted flow of containers, trucking, and inventory

The Results

A short-term engagement evolved into a 2.5-year operational partnership.

Warefor's execution drew recognition from senior leadership and operations teams, including multiple on-site visits to review best-practice warehouse processes. The operating model developed during this engagement was later referenced as a benchmark for other third-party logistics providers supporting similar initiatives.

When the retailer completed additional long-term storage capacity near the port, Warefor:

• Successfully wound down operations
• Emptied both facilities on schedule
• Delivered zero inventory discrepancies