By next month, Giant Food will have completed a significant expansion to its fresh distribution center based in Jessup, MD. The 413,000 square foot perishables facility, which first opened in 2003, will be expanded by 23 percent, giving the Landover, MD unit of Ahold Delhaize USA (ADUSA) 95,000 square feet of additional space for its growing perishables departments. Project construction began in January 2020 and the new expanded facility is expected to add 30 new jobs.
“Beyond the additional space, the expansion will be extremely beneficial in terms of flexibility, giving us over 10,000 additional pallets and increased option to help expand our cross-docking capabilities, too,” said Ira Kress, president of the 163-store division.
Other departments that will benefit from the expansion include organics, fresh produce, meat and seafood as well as other merchandise including fresh cut floral and seasonal products.
“The efficiency improvements and enhanced space for housing and distributing thousands of items at the warehouse will further our ability to grow to meet the needs of our communities,” said Joe Urban, VP-distribution operations at Giant. “We’re committed to continuing to innovate our operations to bring the highest quality of products to our shoppers.”
The expansion of cross-docking capabilities will allow Giant to more efficiently transition items from inbound to outbound in one trip for key products.
The facility will now house 106 dock doors, nearly a 20 percent increase, to further streamline day-to-day operations. The expanded and upgraded distribution center will also improve traffic flow and warehousing efficiencies while also enhancing productivity and augmenting Giant’s safety operating practices.
Furthering omnichannel growth and capabilities, the warehouse will also supply product for Giant’s home delivery service, Giant Delivers, which is available to shoppers through the brand’s e-commerce shopping experience on giantfood.com. In the last two months, Giant has integrated its online platform with peapod.com.
Asked if the Jessup depot expansion is related to ADUSA’s recent decision to become a fully integrated self-distribution organization by 2023, Kress said that the Jessup project was unrelated, “but the expansion in Jessup will align well when all of the Ahold Delhaize USA brands are fully integrated in a self-supply system. Certainly, the expanded and improved Jessup facility offers a state-of-the-art DC that will fit well in our evolving distribution network.”