The ADUSA Supply Chain network recently opened its newest distribution center in Manchester, Conn., a 1 million-square-foot facility that will employ more than 500. The facility will receive, select and transport 88 million cases of nonperishable grocery products annually for more than 450 Stop & Shop stores and e-commerce centers. The facility also features state-of-the-art technology.
“The opening of the Manchester facility is an important milestone in the transformation of the supply chain serving Ahold Delhaize USA’s local brands,” noted ADUSA Supply Chain President Chris Lewis. “With the addition of Manchester, we have added more than 2 million square feet of distribution capacity to our network in less than two months. Not only is Manchester an important part of rapid network expansion, it’s also well equipped with technology solutions that will boost efficiency and ultimately result in the faster delivery of fresher products for consumers no matter how they choose to shop.”
Implemented by fellow Ahold Delhaize USA company Retail Business Services, technology at the site includes a transportation management solution, and a warehouse management solution, Manhattan Active Warehouse Management, provided by Atlanta-based Manhattan Associates. The systems will enable greater accuracy across transportation and labor management, boosting efficiency at the facility and minimizing miles traveled. The DC also employs end-to-end forecasting and replenishment technology from Atlanta-based Relex Solutions for greater precision in order accuracy, leading to better in-stocks, fresher products and less food waste.
The Manchester facility is also the first in the network to roll out the new ADUSA Supply Chain brand, which embodies the tagline “Trusted to Always Deliver,” as a mark of the organization’s dedicated service to local brands, their customers and local communities.
The distribution center will employ more than 500 people from the region when fully operational. Associates at the site will be employees of ADUSA Distribution, ADUSA Transportation, Fuquay-Varina, N.C.-based third-party labor management provider FHI, and Needham, Mass.-based Lily and Camden, N.J.-based NFI, dedicated transportation providers for the facility.
This past July, the network opened a distribution campus in Mauldin, S.C., to service area Food Lion stores.
Scarborough, Maine-based ADUSA Supply Chain supports one of the largest supply chains on the East Coast, serving the omnichannel grocery brands of Ahold Delhaize USA – Food Lion, Giant Food, The Giant Co., Hannaford and Stop & Shop – through a self-distribution model. A division of Zaandam, Netherlands-based Ahold Delhaize, Ahold Delhaize USA operates more than 2,000 stores across 23 states and is No. 10 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2021 list of the top food and consumables retailers in the United States.