U.S. retail chain Target has launched a new supply chain facility, boostng its next-day delivery service, the company has announced.
The Target Last Mile Delivery (TLMD) extension is being introduced as a way to extend the reach of its sortation centre to guests outside its delivery radius, the company said in a blog post.
Local, pre-sorted packages will transfer from the sortation centre to the TLMD extension, where team members will stage them for pickup and next-day delivery by drivers on the Shipt platform to additional neighborhoods.
Target said its first TLMD extension recently opened near its store in Smyrna, Georgia at a fraction of the cost of a full-size sortation centre.
According to the retailer, it has already had an immediate impact, increasing the number of people it can serve with TLMD by over 30% and putting next-day delivery within reach of 500,000 additional guests in the Atlanta market.
“Team members and leaders have been very excited to be a part of something new,” said DaVion Ezell, operations director for Target’s Atlanta sortation center and TLMD extension.
“We’re actively problem-solving to ensure that we are set up for success as we get closer to the holiday season to be able to achieve and exceed that demand.”
The TLMD extension is part of Target’s stores as hubs strategy, where stores are used for a multitude of services such as shopping destinations and fulfillment facilities, packaging online orders and shipping them to its network of sortation centes for next-day delivery.
John Mulligan, executive vice president and chief operations officer, Target added: “These facilities are a continuation of our innovative efforts to serve millions of guests and reach millions more, while maximizing speed, efficiency and care across our real estate portfolio.”
