Ryder System has announced that, in order to meet evolving consumer buying trends, it has added food-grade capabilities to its e-commerce fulfilment network, including a new facility near Philadelphia. The company has also added two food-grade capabilities to two additional facilities.
Ryder’s new e-commerce fulfilment centre near Philadelphia is a 340,000 sq ft food-grade facility, and it is scheduled to begin the integration of automation technology during summer 2020. According to the company, the automation will allow it to scale the operation to fulfil more than 70,000 packages a day with future expansion of more than 136,000 packages in a three-shift operation.
Ryder has also obtained FDA-certification for two other food-grade e-commerce fulfilment facilities near Los Angeles and Dallas, both of which originally opened in early 2019.
“People have become even more comfortable with ordering just about everything online,” says Steve Sensing, president of global supply chain solutions for Ryder. “Our customers recognise the need to diversify their supply chains and the channels they use to take their products to market. They also want the flexibility to respond to unexpected surges in demand due. People want the goods they rely on every day and they want them delivered to their homes in a timely manner.”
Ryder added that the additions of these certifications within the network have benefited customers like Rise Gardens and Crew Bottle.
“With more people wanting easy access to safe, fresh food, the sales of our smart indoor hydroponic gardens have grown by 750% since January; Ryder was able to help us scale to meet demand and keep our customers happy,” stated Diego Blondet, head of product and strategy for Rise Gardens.”
Marshall Sterling, chief operations officer for Crew Bottle Co. added: “We manufacture our barware from Craft Tech Glass with strict safety standards in mind, and we are confident in Ryder’s food-grade regulations at their e-commerce facilities and their ability to scale with us as we grow.”
According to Ryder, its e-commerce fulfilment and last-mile facilities are strategically located throughout the U.S., meaning that Ryder’s customers can reach up to 99% of the population in two days or less.
In addition, by utilising existing locations within the Ryder Last Mile network, which had been reserved for big-and-bulky items, Ryder has been able to expand its e-commerce fulfilment network for parcels by 167%. The company’s e-commerce customers have access to the nearly 100 locations within the Ryder Last Mile network for cost-effective front-door delivery of parcels that package delivery companies now consider too large and apply high surcharges to.
Source: Ryder System
