Macy's has cut the ribbon on its largest and most technologically advanced fulfillment center to date. The facility is located in China Grove, North Carolina – about 35 miles north of Charlotte – and supports all product categories for the retailer, from apparel to home furnishings.
The 2.5 million square foot facility features the largest warehouse capacity in the Macy's network, as well as state-of-the-art automation and an advanced inventory management system designed to enable the retailer to process more orders and restock stores more quickly and efficiently.
“The opening of our China Grove facility is a significant step toward modernizing our supply chain and improving the customer experience across all channels – with faster deliveries, well-stocked stores and seamless service,” said Tom Edwards, chief operating officer and chief financial officer of Macy's, Inc. “With this investment, we are building a faster, more efficient and more agile network designed to meet our customers’ needs today and in the future.”
The China Grove location is Macy's third location to implement high-performance automation, which has more than doubled productivity at the first two locations to deploy the technology. The new facility is the first to utilize an advanced warehouse management system that Macy's expects to significantly improve the efficiency and accuracy of order fulfillment and store replenishment while establishing a model that can be scaled across the company's network in the coming years.
“Over the past two years, we have tested automation at other locations, learning and refining how it can make our operations more efficient and our colleagues work safer and smarter,” said Sean Barbour, senior vice president of supply chain operations at Macy's. “Now we're building on these insights with our most advanced implementation yet, including the launch of a new warehouse management system that delivers greater accuracy, flexibility and speed. We're proud to celebrate this milestone while continuing to modernize and strengthen our supply chain across the network.”
With the opening of the new facility, Macy's has committed $250,000 to support local organizations and programs in the China Grove area, including leading the development of an automation training lab at nearby Rowan-Cabarrus Community College. The program gives students hands-on access to technology at the new Macy's location.
Macy's chose China Grove as the location for its facility because of its Southeast location near major highways, enabling faster, more efficient service to millions of customers. By supporting all product categories, more orders can be shipped from a single location, making it easier to deliver orders to customers faster and in fewer boxes.
The Macy's opening follows Walmart's announcement that it will build a new $300 million fulfillment center in Kings Mountain, North Carolina, south of Charlotte. The 1.2 million-square-foot facility will join seven other locations in the state and will support the retailer's e-commerce business by shipping large items like patio furniture and lawn mowers directly to customers the next day.