Coppell, Texas

Texas-based discounter Alco Stores Inc. filed for bankruptcy, joining the list of smaller U.S. retailers seeking protection from creditors. The 113-year-old company, blaming a "lingering economic slowdown" for its predicament, said it hoped to sell better-performing stores while liquidating the rest. Alco, based in Coppell, Texas, caters mostly to fixed and low-income customers in rural areas in 23 states. The company has 198 stores and 3,000 employees.

Abilene, Kansas -- Alco Stores Inc. said Wednesday it is moving its corporate headquarters from Abilene, Kan., to a suburb of Dallas, citing the need to be “in a more metropolitan area.” The new Coppell, Texas offices will give the company easy access...

In your distribution center (DC), mandate periodic clean-up time. For example, at The Container Store's 1.1 million-square-foot DC in Coppell, Texas, Director of Logistics Systems Christy Parra calls such breaks "10-minute aisles." Everyone stops and picks up trash and leftover packaging materials, and straightens up the section of the DC where they are standing. In this way, she says, "everyone owns the DC maintenance duties."