Lowe’s To Open Four Online Shopping Fulfillment Hubs

To provide further same-day and next-day services to its customers, Lowe’s Companies, Inc. said in an announcement that it intends to open four online shopping fulfillment centers, seven bulk distribution hubs and 50 cross dock delivery terminals over the year and a half to come.

“Opening these new facilities will allow our stores to operate more efficiently through improved flow management and inventory visibility and improve the customer experience with more predictable deliveries, better in-stock rates and faster fulfillment options,” Lowe’s Executive Vice President of Supply Chain Don Frieson said in the announcement.

The home improvement retailer said it would open the West Coast online shopping fulfillment center this October in Mira Loma, California. The center will offer quicker shipping options for direct-to consumer and will bolster two-day delivery offerings to reach all of its shoppers throughout the country. Mira Loma is the company’s second direct fulfillment center, with the first having arrived in Nashville, Tennessee in 2018.

Lowe’s said the efforts come amid efforts during the last year and a half to grow its supply chain. The retailer unveiled an investment of $1.7 billion in 2018 to grow its distribution network up to 2023. The retailer, along with third-party partners, will create close to 5,000 employment positions to bolster the growth.

In May, Lowe’s reported that comparable sales for the U.S. home improvement business increased 12.3 percent for Q1 as it responded to COVID-19 by offering support to customers, workers and communities. The merchant ran 1,970 home improvement and hardware stores in the U.S. in addition to Canada, composed of slightly more than 200 million square foot of selling space.

And, in June, Lowe’s opened its first phase of grant applications to provide relief to minority-owned companies as part of a previously announced $25 million commitment. The initiative occurred as small companies are striving to stay in business and pay their workers amid the economic damage caused by the pandemic.