GXO Logistics, Inc. and Saks – a premium e-commerce player – have announced that the new GXO e-fulfillment centre in Middletown, Pennsylvania, has begun shipping directly to customers nationwide as part of an innovative strategy to meet the surge in demand for luxury fashion heading into the holiday shopping season.
The e-fulfillment centre represents the first time the two companies have collaborated.
“When we launched Saks as a standalone e-commerce company nearly seven months ago, we set ambitious growth targets for the business and have quickly exceeded our initial expectations,” commented Na Li, SVP, Logistics and Shipping, Saks.
Na Li further added that, with GXO, Saks is in an even better position to meet the higher demand of its business while providing fast and flawless shipping to customers throughout the peak holiday season.
Saks is using GXO Direct, a shared space distribution network (pioneered by GXO in North America), which enables businesses to position inventory close to target customers while reducing fixed costs and transit times.
The solution helps lower shipping miles and CO2 emissions by reducing the need for expedited air transportation, which is six times more carbon-intensive than over-the-road transport, while providing flexibility for rapid shifts in inventory as demand changes.
The facility will deploy GXO’s advanced automation, including collaborative robots, to optimise efficiency, improve accuracy and enhance the employee experience.
“Our new Middletown e-fulfillment centre allows us to respond to Saks’ e-commerce needs with speed and agility, which is particularly important at peak times such as the run-up to the holidays,” mentioned Bill Fraine, Chief Commercial Officer, GXO, adding, “GXO Direct is designed to leverage our scale, capacity and innovation to give companies unprecedented flexibility in serving their customers. We believe it will continue to help drive growth for GXO.”
The model has proved beneficial for retailers like Saks that want to address the dramatic growth in online shopping. GXO Direct’s operations have rapidly expanded to include 41 locations across the US.
