'No one size fits all'.(supply chains)

BYLINE: BY BILL MONGELLUZZO

Shippers can't do much about record diesel fuel prices, escalating rail rates or port capacity constraints, so they are turning their attention to a segment of the supply chain that they can control - the distribution warehouse.

Building the right type of distribution center in the best location under the ideal operating conditions can reduce supply-chain costs by as much as several hundred dollars per container. Unfortunately, there's no magic formula for achieving these savings.

"There are many solutions. No one size fits all," said Phil Trabulsi, senior director of integrated supply solutions at DHL International Supply Chain. Trabulsi spoke at the 1st Annual Real Estate Logistics Forum sponsored by The Journal of Commerce this month in Dallas.

Academy Sports and Outdoors, a sporting goods retailer with 95 stores in 10 states in the South, found that its distribution …