For years, the WERC DC Measures report has provided a valuable benchmark for distribution excellence, offering a consistent language for operators to measure and compare performance. Yet, as fulfillment has accelerated and diversified, the cycle times of traditional reports can’t always keep pace with the operational realities supply chains now face.
Static, survey-based benchmarks once served as a compass when supply chains were predictable. Today, they are more like an old map for a road that’s constantly being rebuilt. To navigate modern omnichannel complexity, operators need benchmarks that are alive, evolving, and reflective of real-time operational truth.
The benchmarking problem: lagging indicators in a leading-edge world
Traditional benchmarking frameworks, like WERC’s long-standing DC Measures, were designed for a time when annual reviews were sufficient. They remain a useful reference point for trend analysis, but their survey-based cadence can limit their ability to capture fast-moving operational shifts.
By the time those metrics are released, the market has shifted. Carrier rates have fluctuated. Labor markets have tightened or loosened. Inventory positions have inverted. The “best practice” a company is chasing may already be obsolete.
Limitations of static, annual benchmarks
While annual surveys offer valuable context and continuity, their methodology inherently introduces a lag between reported and real-time performance.
- Sample Size: Typically 100–200 participants
- Frequency: Annual collection, often 12–18 months behind current reality due to the collection and normalization process of preparing the metrics
- Method: Self-reported organization member and non-member survey answers
- Output: A lagging indicator that describes what was, not what is
When decisions are made on stale data, companies risk optimizing for the past instead of anticipating the future.
The real-time alternative: fact-based, operational benchmarking
Rather than replacing the valuable foundation that organizations like WERC have established, real-time benchmarking extends it, grounding performance measurement in live operational data that complements traditional metrics.
At Deposco, we believe the next evolution of benchmarking must be rooted in facts, not feelings. Across 450 million shipments, 165 million customers served, and 1.2% of total U.S. holiday GMV processed through our platform, we have a vantage point that no single operator, or annual survey, can match.
Discover how benchmarks can unveil ‘the why’ behind your operations in just 90 days.
This real-time, anonymized data set captures live operational signals across labor, shipping, and inventory performance. Unlike traditional reports, these insights are continuously refreshed and segmented by business type, geography, and vertical.
That means a 3PL in the Midwest can instantly see how its pick efficiency compares to regional peers. A consumer brand can assess inventory turns against similar product categories. And executives can finally benchmark against similar operations, not just generic industry averages—essential context for AI-assisted decision-making.
Real-time benchmarking advantages:
- Continuous updates instead of yearly snapshots
- Objective operational data drawn from live transactions
- Segmentation by peer group, revealing context that surveys can’t
- Leading indicators that highlight emerging trends, not historical ones
Why it matters: benchmarks as a strategic lens
Consider the difference between two 3PLs that both achieve a 10% reduction in labor costs.
- The first cut hours and headcount in isolation
- The second achieved savings through benchmarked, directed cross-training that increased throughput and maintained SLAs
Same short-term savings, different long-term outcome.
The second operator didn’t just save money; they built resilience and scalability. This not only reduced labor costs but also prepared them for more customers, volume, and revenue.
Benchmarks are no longer just a scoreboard. In the right context, they’re a lens for strategy, showing which levers drive sustainable performance improvement rather than short-term gain.
When viewed through real-time data, benchmarks become a living system of intelligence, an input into decision quality, not just performance measurement.
The evolution: from systems of record to systems of intelligence
Traditional benchmarking is a relic of the “systems of record” era, when the goal was to capture what happened. Real-time benchmarking belongs to the “systems of intelligence” era—where data explains why something happened and what to do next.
This evolution mirrors a broader shift in business software:
- Systems of Record (Then): Capture static data for compliance and reporting
- Systems of Engagement (Now): Connect processes across functions for collaboration
- Systems of Intelligence (Next): Learn from every transaction to guide future action
In this new model, benchmarking becomes an early-warning system for operational drift and a compass for continuous improvement.
Static data dan’t keep up with dynamic supply chains
Supply chains no longer operate in 12-month cycles. They operate in 12-minute cycles.
Every fulfillment decision, from labor allocation and carrier routing to inventory deployment, instantly ripples across the business. Relying on last year’s map to navigate this year’s terrain is like driving with a blindfold on.
The future belongs to those who can see change as it happens, benchmark in context, and act faster than their peers.
Conclusion: it’s time to evolve the benchmark
Industry reports like WERC’s DC Measures have long been instrumental in shaping how supply chains measure success. Today, the opportunity lies in complementing those insights with continuous, fact-based intelligence that connects measurement to action. This also provides the context AI models need to provide curated recommendations that are tuned to your business.
Real-time benchmarking is a new philosophy of continuous, fact-based insights directly tied to outcomes. It replaces lag in understanding with leadership guidance.
If you want to know how your fulfillment operation truly stacks up, stop waiting for next year’s report.