Dive Brief:
- Amazon said it will build a new fulfillment center in Greenfield, Indiana, a suburb of Indianapolis, according to a press release emailed to Supply Chain Dive.
- The 1-million-square-foot facility will receive large inventory orders and re-allocate them throughout the e-commerce giant’s fulfillment center network, per the release.
- Amazon is still in the planning process for the facility and has not determined an expected launch date, per a company spokesperson.
Dive Insight:
Amazon continues to expand its national fulfillment network, including throughout Indiana. The company already has 13 fulfillment and sortation centers in the state, along with 11 delivery stations, per the release.
“The Hoosier State has been instrumental in our growth, where we’ve created tens of thousands of jobs and invested more than $25.5 billion since 2010,” said Kyle DeGiulio, Amazon’s regional senior economic development manager, in the release. “This latest expansion reinforces our long-term commitment to the region.”
The e-commerce giant picked the location for this latest facility to meet increasing demand in Indianapolis and surrounding areas, the release said. The site will also “utilize advanced technology,” although the company declined to provide additional details.
Amazon has ramped up its use of automation to boost delivery efficiency as the e-commerce retailer continues to expand its U.S. fulfillment network.
The company recently opened a robotics fulfillment center in Elkhart, Indiana, the spokesperson confirmed in an email. The 800,000-square-foot facility, located roughly 120 miles from Chicago, features hundreds of autonomous robots that support employees who handle receiving, picking, packing, and shipping goods.
In June, Amazon also launched a 2.8 million-square-foot robotics fulfillment center in Charlton, Massachusetts, with robots that can lift up to 1,500 pounds. Meanwhile, the company unveiled plans this year to build new robotic fulfillment centers in Virginia and North Carolina.
