In today’s competitive business environment, a distribution center doesn’t just store products. At The Bernard Group, they are strategic command centers built for speed. Our integrated manufacturing and distribution operations are designed to move brands from decision to the floor faster, with fewer handoffs and greater control. By consolidating print production, retail fixture manufacturing, kitting, pre-packs, and distribution into a single system, we remove latency from execution and enable on-demand, floor-ready deployment through our comprehensive retail execution services.
“When execution is fragmented, speed breaks down,” says Matt Hanson, CEO of The Bernard Group. “By unifying production and distribution, we give brands the ability to act faster without sacrificing confidence.”
This is not storage. It is operational infrastructure built to make speed repeatable and execution reliable.
Key Takeaways:
- TBG’s strategic DC is designed for optimizing the supply chain, managing diverse materials, and expanding brand influence through professional retail execution services.
- The facility provides over 200,000 sq. ft. of intelligent, high-capacity infrastructure, including 15,000 pallet positions and oversized capabilities.
- TBG provides flexible, tailored logistics, solving real-world challenges. Success is proven by case studies: eliminating waste for Insomnia Cookies, ensuring consistency for Delta Airlines, and managing planograms/kitting for Kohler.
- A State-of-the-Art WMS ensures real-time visibility, surgical accuracy, and precision fulfillment, including complex kitting.
A High-Capacity Distribution Center Designed for Scale
Our flagship facility, located in Shakopee, MN, is the core of our operations, but our retail execution services extend across the nation. We offer the necessary infrastructure to manage substantial rollouts, seasonal surges, and long-term storage requirements with ease.
Massive Footprint and Versatile Storage
- 200,000+ Sq. Ft. of On-Demand Space: Our Shakopee facility, combined with our nationwide network, offers the footprint you need to scale.
- 15,000 Pallet Positions: We maintain extensive storage capacity, including offsite options, to ensure we never run out of room for your growth.
- 3,000 Dedicated Bin Locations: Perfect for smaller components, high-pick items, and organized inventory management.
- Oversized Capabilities: Unlike standard facilities, we specialize in oversized pallet storage (exceeding 48” x 40” x 54”), making us the ideal partner for large-scale displays and fixtures.
Why Consolidation Is the Fastest Path to Speed, Confidence, and Scale
Supply chain performance ultimately comes down to speed, particularly for our retail brand partners. Service levels, inventory efficiency, fulfillment velocity, and in-store readiness are all measures of how quickly an organization can move from decision to execution.
The challenge is that most execution ecosystems were not designed for speed. Brands rely on fragmented partner networks where print, fixtures, kitting, pre-packs, and deployment are managed across multiple vendors. Each handoff introduces delay. Each interface creates risk. Each silo reduces visibility. This is why we focus on streamlined retail execution services to bridge those gaps.
According to Jim Peterson, Director of Logistics at TBG, this friction shows up directly in performance. “When print, fixtures, and pre-packs are sourced separately, the system slows itself down. Lead times lengthen, forecast accuracy declines, and inventory buffers expand. Brands trying to deliver a unique experience pay for complexity in both time and margin.”
False Tradeoffs Created by Fragmentation
Leaders are often forced into decisions that feel unavoidable but are actually symptoms of fragmented execution models. Our partners were asking themselves, Do we wait for data or move with partial information? Do we produce inventory early to protect cost or hold to accommodate flexibility and stockouts? Do we ship bulk and store materials locally or accept slower response times?
“These are not leadership failures,” says Matt Hanson. “They are system failures. When execution is fragmented, our partners are forced to choose between speed and confidence. That tradeoff should not exist.”
Without a unified execution, partners struggle to respond to store-level variability, seasonal shifts, and demand signals that emerge late in the cycle. The result is excess inventory, missed launches, inconsistent store execution, and reduced confidence across the field.
Consolidation Changes the Equation
Consolidating with a partner that manufactures print, retail fixtures, and pre-packs within a single, integrated system fundamentally changes how retail execution services work.
Instead of forecasting months in advance and pushing bulk materials downstream, brands gain the ability to produce on demand. Print, fixtures, and kits are manufactured just in time, assembled with precision, and deployed in coordinated waves aligned to store readiness and real demand.
“Speed without coordination creates chaos,” says Buddy Kramber, Vice President, Operations. “What matters is connected execution. When one partner owns production, kitting, and deployment, decisions move faster because the system is aligned from the start.”
Our distribution center model reduces handoffs, shortens lead times, and improves accuracy. Changes can be made later in the cycle without cascading disruption. Location-specific configurations become feasible without driving exponential complexity.
On-Demand Manufacturing as Operational Infrastructure
On-demand manufacturing is not a tactical convenience. It is operational infrastructure.
When print, fixtures, and pre-packs are produced within a single environment, brands gain real visibility into cost, timing, and capacity. Inventory is held digitally rather than physically. Assets move through a governed system instead of ad hoc workflows.
This distribution center approach supports faster resets, more frequent refreshes, and tighter alignment between marketing intent and in-store reality. It also reduces waste by producing only what is needed, when it is needed.
“When certainty increases, performance follows,” Matt Hanson notes. “Service levels improve. Inventory becomes more efficient. Fulfillment accelerates. Just as importantly, teams stop operating in constant reaction mode.”
A Scalable Model for Sustainable Growth
Retail execution services at scale requires more than great creative and strong vendor management. It requires systems that make speed repeatable and confidence measurable.
By consolidating print, fixtures, and pre-packs with a single manufacturing partner, brands reduce complexity, protect margins, and gain the agility needed to respond to change. Sustainability improves as overproduction declines. Field confidence increases as execution becomes more consistent. Leadership gains clarity because decisions are supported by a connected system, not fragmented inputs.
“The future of retail execution services is not about reacting faster during disruption,” Buddy Kramber concludes. “It is about building systems where execution is reliable, adaptable, and designed for the pace of modern retail.”
That future is available now. It starts by simplifying the execution model and choosing partners built to manufacture, assemble, and deliver brand experiences on demand.
Solving Real-World Logistics Challenges
Every brand faces unique hurdles. Our consolidation and retail execution services are built to be flexible, allowing us to pivot based on the specific needs of our partners.
Insomnia Cookies: Eliminating Waste through Integration
Insomnia Cookies, a rapidly expanding national retail chain, was struggling with decentralized ordering processes that led to significant inventory waste. They needed a solution to provide continuous, quick updates for their in-store materials.
We solved this by implementing a fully integrated online MOD (marketing on demand). HQ has oversight and guardrails. The store managers have in-the-moment, local control: they order precisely what is required, and our system immediately processes, prints, and ships individual kits. This eliminates the costly “guesswork” and resulting waste.
Bite into the details of our Insomnia Cookies partnership.
Delta Airlines: Consistency Over the Long Haul
For a brand like Delta Airlines, the challenge was ensuring perfect quality and consistency over a multi-year campaign for their lobby environments. In this scenario, our distribution center provided the value-add of dedicated storage and a structured fulfillment schedule. By managing the inventory over a three-year lifespan, we ensured that a kit shipped in year three looked exactly as perfect as the one shipped on day one.
See How Delta’s Wayfinding Took Flight
Kohler: Managing Complexity and Planograms
For Kohler, the complexity lay in integrating graphics with demanding fixturing, planogramming, and reporting needs. This required more than standard shipping; it demanded absolute precision to ensure every display component arrived correctly. We guarantee 100% accuracy for these intricate retail displays by managing kitting, consolidation, and cycle counts.
See the Kohler Showroom Strategy
Intelligent Logistics Services and Warehouse Management
More than just space, a distribution center’s true strength is its intelligence. We ensure surgical accuracy and total transparency for every incoming item by leveraging cutting-edge technology and premium retail execution services.
State-of-the-Art WMS (Warehouse Management System)
Gain real-time visibility into your inventory with our cloud-based WMS. We go beyond simple box scanning by executing detailed inbound receiving down to the piece and component level. This meticulous process guarantees that every item is accounted for immediately upon arrival.
Precision Fulfillment and Distribution
- Kitting and Consolidation: We specialize in complex kitting, gathering multiple components into a single, brand-ready package.
- Daily Carrier Integration: With daily FedEx and UPS small parcel pickups, your orders move fast.
- Full-Spectrum Outbound: Whether it’s Parcel, LTL (Less Than Truckload), or Full Truckload (TL), we optimize the shipping method to save you time and money.
Custom Solutions Tailored to Your Brand
Every industry has unique requirements. We don’t believe in a one-size-fits-all approach to logistics services. Our facility is optimized for a diverse range of products, including:
- Apparel & Textiles: Specialized handling and storage to keep garments pristine.
- Graphics & Signage: Safe storage for sensitive, large-format visual materials.
- Retail Fixtures: Robust solutions for the heavy, bulky items that build your in-store experience.
Accountability Through Data
We believe you should never be in the dark about your inventory. We provide rigorous reporting and metrics to ensure accountability. From automated cycle counts to disposition reports for obsolete inventory, we give you the data needed to make informed business decisions.
Ready to optimize your supply chain? Whether you need a massive rollout or precision kitting, The Bernard Group is ready to help.
Stop settling for supply chain fragmentation and upgrade to our world-class retail execution services.