Fast Track Fulfillment
Article from MHI Solutions Magazine
For retailers struggling to speed up the last mile of delivery, it could be productive to look backward. The so-called “middle mile of logistics,” where products travel from a factory or port to a distribution or fulfillment center, is ripe for the type of performance enhancements that modern automation can yield. At the heart of that mile is the distribution center (DC), which the U.S. Chamber of Commerce describes in a recent report as “an increasingly integral part of the U.S. economy.”
Amidst the explosive growth of e-commerce over the past few years, DCs have proved efficient at orchestrating the flow of goods purchased both online and in-store. With a continued surge of online purchasing expected, many companies view DCs as key to their omnichannel fulfillment strategy.
Heavy Investment Pours into DCs
In November 2023, UPS Supply Chain Solutions opened a technologically advanced facility named Velocity in Shepherdsville, KY. UPS explained in a video that Velocity moves “over 350,000 units through 900,000 square feet of space every day.” To achieve this rapid pace, the company utilizes 700 bots empowered by AI to help with processing…
