Last updated on March 1st, 2021 at 04:49 pm
Carlisle, Pennsylvania-based The Giant Co. has revealed a new partnership with Swisslog to provide automation technology featuring AutoStore at its new Giant Direct e-commerce fulfillment center in Philadelphia. Located at 3501 Island Ave., renovations are currently underway at the facility, which will provide more capacity, faster order fulfillment and room to grow home grocery delivery, in response to the increasing number of customers who want to order online.
The center is anticipated to open in November.
“When we launched Giant Direct in 2019, we knew that online grocery shopping was going to be a gamechanger for the industry, so it was important for us to build a platform that exceeded expectations and clearly stood out among others in this space,” said Nicholas Bertram, president of The Giant Co. “The time is right for us to invest in a new e-commerce fulfillment center as part of our omnichannel evolution, and Swisslog and Autostore are the right partners to help us transform and elevate the online grocery experience for families in Philadelphia. We’re excited to take Giant Direct to the next level with this strategic partnership.”
Swisslog will build out the technology capabilities at the new facility, which will include AutoStore’s robotic storage and retrieval system supported by Swisslog’s SynQ software and pick stations. The Giant Co. is also collaborating with Peapod Digital Labs, an Ahold Delhaize USA company, on the project to streamline order fulfillment. Once operational, the fulfillment center is expected to fulfill approximately 15,000 online orders per week for delivery to customers’ homes throughout Center City and South Philadelphia.
The Giant Co. also announced that Angel Cordero has been named manager of the new facility. A 20-year grocery veteran, he most recently served as the store manager of the Giant Heirloom Market in the University City neighborhood in Philadelphia.
“Our customers’ shopping patterns have changed, and online grocery shopping has become the new norm,” said Cordero. “With more and more families choosing Giant Direct, our new fulfilment center will help us serve Philadelphians faster, offering a real point of differentiation in the marketplace, while setting the stage for long term growth in the city we’re so proud to serve.”
The new Giant Direct e-commerce center is expected to bring over 200 new jobs to the Eastwick community. Hiring details will be announced later this year.
As part of its omnichannel evolution, The Giant Co. is deploying geofencing technology to strengthen the functionality of its Giant Direct app. Customers can enable location services or text functionality when en route to one of more than 150 pickup locations. Store teams receive the early notification and are now able to gather and prepare the customer’s order for their arrival, reducing customer wait times by nearly 50 percent.
The Giant Co. has also introduced grocery lockers to bring click and collect functionality to two of its Pennsylvania stores, Elizabethtown and Horsham. This program allows customers to retrieve their groceries in a contactless manner, during their assigned time window, from a temperature controlled designated locker outside of the store by scanning a QR code or entering a PIN that they receive with their online order.
The Giant Co. introduced the Giant Direct brand in February 2019 when it debuted its first e-ecommerce hub in the city of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Today, the company has more than 150 pickup locations and customers across 90 percent of the company’s footprint have access to online grocery ordering and delivery services. The Giant Co.recently announced the launch of Choice Pass to its online Giant Direct customers, providing unlimited free delivery and pickup for the price of $98/year. With Choice Pass, customers can order as often as they like and never pay a delivery or pickup fee.
