FreshDirect to launch micro-fulfillment-powered delivery in DC-area

Jul 29

FreshDirect and technology firm Fabric will open a micro-fulfillment center (MFC) at one of the grocer’s Washington, D.C.-area distribution facilities later this year that will expand service and launch same-day service in the city, the companies announced Tuesday.
The 10,000-square-foot MFC, which is run by Fabric, will handle around 10,000 fast-moving SKUs and can process up to 1,000 orders per day, according to Steve Hornyak, Fabric’s chief commercial officer. Product will come in daily from FreshDirect’s automated warehouse in the Bronx, New York. Hornyak said the MFC and on-demand service was originally slated to go live late this summer but has been pushed back to late 2020 due to shifting priorities during the pandemic.
FreshDirect indicated in its announcement that it plans to utilize micro-fulfillment technology in additional facilities. “Fabric’s technology will allow us to turn our existing regional facilities into high-velocity automated distribution centers, speeding our expansion into new markets with 2-hour on-demand delivery,” FreshDirect CEO David McInerney said in a statement.

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