This weekend, Ahold Delhaize USA began operations at its new distribution center in Mauldin, S.C., acquired C&S Wholesale Grocers.
ADUSA Supply Chain, the retailer’s distribution arm, said Monday that its first shipments at the Mauldin DC went out to 56 Food Lion supermarkets on July 17. Dairy, fresh and frozen products were the first items to begin shipping from the facility. When fully operational, the DC will fulfill grocery, fresh, frozen, health and beauty care and break-pack shipments for nearly 200 grocery stores, ADUSA reported.
The 1.1 million-square-foot distribution campus encompasses nine buildings and a large training and conference center. ADUSA said the DC is one of the largest in its network.
Ahold Delhaize USA purchased the Mauldin DC from C&S in May. The transaction stemmed from the retailer’s June 2020 acquisition of 62 Bi-Lo and Harveys stores from Southeastern Grocers. The C&S facility had served as Bi-Lo’s distribution center.
“The opening of the Mauldin distribution campus is another important step forward in our work to transform the ADUSA supply chain network, deepening our distribution reach into the Southeast,” Chris Lewis, president of ADUSA Supply Chain, said in a statement. “Continuing to expand the network infrastructure is core to our ability to serve brands like Food Lion that trust us to always deliver so they can be there for their customers with fresh, in-stock products whenever, wherever, however they want to shop.”
Also this year, ADUSA Supply Chain is slated to open a new DC in Manchester, Conn., which will supply Ahold Delhaize USA’s Stop & Shop.
Last month, Ahold Delhaize said it has reached the halfway point of a three-year supply chain transformation, in which the company now expects more than 85% of its distribution network to be self-managed by the close of 2022. Plans call for five more DCs to be converted to self-management next year, raising the total number of integrated self-distribution facilities for store and e-commerce fulfillment to 25, up from 15 when the $480 million plan was announced in December 2019.
Facilities transitioning to the ADUSA Supply Chain network in 2022 include DCs in Bethlehem and York, Pa.; Chester, N.Y.; and two fully automated frozen warehouses in Mountville, Pa., and Plainville, Conn., opening in partnership with cold storage provider Americold. ADUSA acquired the York and Chester warehouses from C&S, as well as the lease for the C&S-run Bethlehem facility.
Most recently, in March, ADUSA shifted procurement from the Freetown Grocery DC in Assonet, Mass., which supplies Stop & Shop, to the self-managed network. The move gave the 1.1 million-square-foot facility direct control of inventory and replenishment. Plans call for DCs in Jessup, Md. (serving Giant Food), and Carlisle, Pa. (serving The Giant Company), to transition procurement services to the self-distribution network in 2021.
ADUSA noted that it’s actively hiring in Mauldin and 17 other network locations. Since May, more than 250 associates have been hired and onboarded at the Mauldin campus, which will employ more than 800 in the local community. The company said it’s seeking full-time employees for driver, selector, forklift operator, sanitation and facilities maintenance roles.
“It’s a great time to join ADUSA Distribution and ADUSA Transportation,” said John Patriquin, SVP, ADUSA Distribution and Transportation. “There is a great deal of investment going into the supply chain, and we pride ourselves on a culture of care for our people. We truly believe our associates, who have served on the front lines during the pandemic, are today’s superheroes. We are actively hiring in Mauldin and at all of our other East Coast locations. We invite interested applicants to visit our jobs site and come grow a career with us.”
The Scarborough, Maine-based ADUSA Supply Chain family of companies includes ADUSA Supply Chain Services, ADUSA Distribution, ADUSA Transportation and ADUSA Procurement. The network serves the 2,028 stores and e-commerce operations of Ahold Delhaize USA’s Stop & Shop, Giant Food, Giant/Martin’s, Food Lion and Hannaford grocery chains on the East Coast.
