Lowe's is boosting its supply chain
Over the next 18 months, Lowe’s plans to open 50 cross dock delivery terminals, seven bulk distribution centers and four e-commerce fulfillment centers.
This includes 20 cross dock terminals and one West Coast e-commerce fulfillment center in the second half of fiscal 2020. Together, the goal is to provide more same-day and next-day service offerings and enable faster e-commerce shipping across the country.
The company will open the West Coast e-commerce fulfillment center in Mira Loma, California in October 2020, which will offer faster shipping options direct to consumer. This direct fulfillment center will improve two-day delivery options to reach nearly 100 percent of customers nationwide. This is the company's second direct fulfillment center – its first was opened in 2018 in Nashville, Tennessee.
These efforts build on the steps taken over the past 18 months to expand the company's supply chain capacity, including the opening of more than 13 different facilities across the U.S. in markets such as Chicago, Orlando, Riverside, California, and Columbus, Ohio. These facilities of varying sizes allow the supply chain to nimbly respond to meet the various needs of customers from small parcel packages to larger items, like appliances, grills and outdoor power equipment where Lowe's is the market leader.
The overall plan is designed to improve home delivery and support growing demand from DIY and pro customers, the company said.
"Providing customers more ways to shop has never been more important, and today's update on the progress made in our supply chain transformation highlights our ongoing and unyielding commitment to enhancing the customer experience in this new era," said Don Frieson, Lowe's executive vice president of supply chain. "Opening these new facilities will allow our stores to operate more efficiently through improved flow management and inventory visibility and improve the customer experience with more predictable deliveries, better in-stock rates and faster fulfillment options."
In 2018, the company announced a $1.7 billion investment to expand its distribution network through 2023. The company and its third-party partners will create nearly 5,000 jobs to support this initial expansion.