The Giant Company expands to better serve Pennsylvania shoppers
East coast grocery chain The Giant Company is opening a new fulfillment center to better serve the needs of its customers in Pennsylvania and the surrounding areas.
The company held a ribbon-cutting event for the new state-of-the-art Giant Direct E-commerce Fulfillment Center in Philadelphia with appearances and remarks from congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon, Philadelphia mayor Jim Kenney, The Giant Company president Nicholas Bertram and Ahold Delhaize USA supply chain president Chris Lewis.
Shoppers in the Philadelphia metro area will have greater access to Giant’s assortment of private label items. The company recently highlighted its own brands, delivery service and rewards program in a recent ad campaign.
“Starting with the introduction of our Giant Heirloom Market format in 2019 followed by the opening of our Philadelphia flagship Riverwalk Giant in March and three more new stores across the city still to come this year, The Giant Company has been laser-focused on how we can best serve Philadelphia families,” said Bertram. “Today is the culmination of more than two years of collaboration between our team, Ahold Delhaize USA Supply Chain, and our partners at Swisslog and AutoStore resulting in a state-of-the-art facility that will propel our Giant Direct offering across greater Philadelphia and for the first time, southern New Jersey. Our new Giant Direct EFC represents the future of grocery and the future of The Giant Company, as we are one step closer to realizing our full omnichannel aspirations.”
Within the new facility, two space-saving, 3-D grids contain totes filled with fresh and non-perishable groceries. When a customer places a Giant Direct order, team members work alongside a team of robots that quickly gather the items for bagging. After bagging, Giant team members place orders into temperature-controlled totes and on to trucks for delivery to customers.
The Giant Direct EFC offers a selection of products that mirrors a traditional Giant store. The facility will stock more than 22,000 products, allowing the company to meet increasing customer demand with greater capacity, faster order fulfillment and room to grow home grocery delivery. The center is expected to fulfill up to approximately 15,000 home delivery orders per week.
For the first time, starting Nov. 16, the facility will also provide Giant Direct delivery to the New Jersey towns of Camden, Cherry Hill, Gibbsboro, Haddonfield, Marlton, Medford, Mount Laurel and Voorhees. The company plans to introduce Giant Direct to additional communities in southern New Jersey over the next several months.
“The Giant Company’s presence in and commitment to Philadelphia benefits our city’s residents by offering quality groceries, good jobs, and community support,” said Kenney. “I’ve been pleased with and proud of Giant’s work in Philly over the last few years and look forward to seeing the new facility in Eastwick serve its community and surrounding areas.”
The new Giant Direct EFC employs more than 125 team members. With the busy holiday season fast approaching, the company is looking to hire an additional 125 team members. Available positions include delivery drivers, overnight crew, shoppers, and stockers.
The company donated a total of $5,000 to the Eastwick Community Garden for new equipment, the Eastwick Library for educational programming opportunities, and Fire Station Engine 69 to support fire station staff. In addition, a total of $3,000 was donated to the St. Paul's Food Pantry and Mission House, where The Giant Company team members volunteered following the ribbon-cutting ceremony.