[#96] Supply Chain in Numbers - Oct 11, 2021
Co-op and Starship planning to release 500 robots, RiteAid partners with Uber Eats, US Apparel imports are growing, Abercrombie & Fitch opening a 715k sqft DC, Boyle Transportation acquired for $80M
Welcome to “Supply Chain in Numbers.” This newsletter tracks significant digits from the world of the supply chain. Five prominent numbers are published every Monday. If you have any feedback, please send it to me.
500 robots
Co-op and Starship Technologies have extended their partnership and will be releasing 500 autonomous vehicles across the UK, while also launching robot delivery services in five new towns and cities. The grocery store is the first major Uk supermarket to use robots for home delivery, and the partnership aims at increasing capacity while reducing emissions from traditionally used trucks. Customers can make orders and receive items in as little as twenty minutes, and Starship’s service is now available to more than one million people around the world on a daily basis. [Logistics Manager]
2,185 locations across 17 states
Rite Aid is partnering with Uber Eats to provide last-mile delivery from 2,185 locations across 17 states as delivery demand grows for the pharmacy chain. The partnership gives Rite Aid customers another delivery service to use for healthcare and grocery items, in addition to Instacart, Shipt, and DoorDash. Customers can place their orders directly via the Uber Eats app. Rite Aid is evolving its retail business to keep pace with changes in consumer shopping preferences, COO Jim Peters said in a statement. Adding Uber Eats as a delivery option shows Rite Aid is “doubling down on an omnichannel approach that complements the busy lives of our customers.” [SC Dive]
17.1% more apparels
How quickly goods are getting through the ports remains problematic, but U.S. apparel imports continued to climb in August, increasing 17.1 percent compared to a year earlier to 2.84 billion square meter equivalents (SME). For the first eight months of the year, apparel imports were up 31.25 percent to 18.71 billion SME. All major suppliers participated in the surge for retailers and brands to bring in vital fourth-quarter goods. Even key producers Vietnam and Cambodia, which had seen their shipments fall off in July due to factory closures from Covid-19 and other labor woes, saw their numbers improve. [Sourcing Journal]
715,000 sqft
Abercrombie & Fitch Co. is expanding its distribution network to the West Coast as e-commerce demand and ongoing supply chain constraints magnify the need for more warehouse space and new points of distribution. In tandem with GXO Logistics, the denim-centric apparel retailer is opening a new 715,000-square-foot distribution center in Goodyear, Ariz., adding to the two distribution centers in its home base of New Albany, Ohio. The warehouse will be heavily automated, including goods-to-person robotics that helps employees increase productivity and improve safety by speeding up the picking process. [Sourcing Journal]
$80 million
Boyle Transportation is being acquired by healthcare supply chain specialist Andlauer Healthcare Group Inc. (AHG), in an $80 million deal. Boyle Transportation provides specialized transportation services to clients in the life sciences and government/defense sectors, which meshes well with Toronto-based AHG’s 3PL services that include customized logistics, distribution, and packaging solutions for healthcare manufacturers across Canada. Based in Billerica, Massachusetts, Boyle Transportation was among the first fleets to transport the COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer’s Global Supply manufacturing plant to distribution points across the country. [CCJ Digital]