Serving up to 86 BJ’s Warehouse stores across seven states, a new automated distribution center opened this summer to provide accelerated time-to-market efficiencies for the nation’s third largest warehouse club operator. Built by Cutler Associates and designed by Carter & Burgess, the new distribution center features an innovative “crossdocking” layout to speed goods through the center and out to store shelves for customer purchase.
“The key to the building’s speed and efficiency logistics is the crossdocking wing,” explains Bob Graham, Cutler’s account executive. “This type of distribution facility is changing the way companies manage the supply chain and better serve customers. Incoming products arrive on one side of the wing, and workers can quickly move these products to trucks waiting on the other side, where each BJ’s store has an assigned dock,” said Graham.
The facility’s crossdock logistics essentially eliminates the traditional inventory-holding function of a warehouse. Shipments typically spend less than 24 hours at the facility, and often are moved out within an hour or two of arrival. The increased efficiency translates to decreased costs for BJ’s, and to an opportunity to pass on the savings to customers.
Ray Sareeram, Senior Vice President and Director of Logistics for BJ’s Wholesale Club, explained that 70% of the company’s daily activities at the facility will take place within the cross-docking area. “With 239 loading dock doors and 560 parking spaces, the facility is capable of up to 520 moves per day,” he said. Using automated inventory control systems, goods arriving in the crossdock already have a destination assigned, so workers only need to move the shipment from the inbound side to the outbound dock
The 618,000 square foot center opened in July in Uxbridge, Massachusetts and is one of the largest distribution centers in New England. The new facility will handle $2 billion in moved products per year, and replaces a smaller, 143,000 square foot facility in Franklin, Massachusetts. Built in less than 10 months, the state-of-the-art facility includes offices, a cafeteria, and a high tech security system backed by 217 cameras throughout the building and grounds. 240 workers staff the operation.
Mr. Sareeram reports the Uxbridge facility is already bringing down handling costs for BJ’s, just two months after opening. “We had five facilities involved in moving items instead of one, which translated to higher cost and less efficiency,” he said.
