Dive Brief:
- Amazon plans to launch an inbound cross dock facility in Marshall County, Mississippi, the state's development authority announced Wednesday.
- The 930,000-square-foot facility will be completed in the next three years, according to a news release. It will receive and consolidate products from Amazon vendors, after which the e-commerce giant will ship the inventory to nearby fulfillment centers in its network.
- “This new site will allow us to better serve customers in Marshall County and the surrounding area," Jessica Breaux, a senior manager of economic development at Amazon, said in the release.
Dive Insight:
The cross-dock facility will be located in Chickasaw Trails Industrial Park, within 35 miles of key transportation infrastructure like the Port of Memphis and Memphis International Airport in Tennessee and BNSF Railway's network. More than 1,000 jobs will be created as a result of the project.
"Marshall County has connectivity to a robust logistics network that will support Amazon’s growing demands," Charles Terry, president of the county's board of supervisors, said in the release. "Marshall County is committed to supporting business and industrial growth. We look forward to continuing our partnership with this global supply chain leader."
The planned Mississippi facility adds to Amazon's efforts to bolster its cross dock infrastructure. The company currently has 61 active inbound cross dock facilities in its U.S. network, with 13 more in development as of Q1, according to MWPVL International, a consultancy that tracks the company's distribution footprint.
Inefficiencies within the company's cross dock network sparked capacity constraints and inbound shipping delays last year, according to e-commerce experts. The issues, concentrated at West Coast facilities, led Amazon to reroute shipments and incentivize sellers to ship their inventory into alternate locations ahead of the holidays.
The challenges came as Amazon was overhauling its inbound fulfillment processes to more effectively spread inventory across its network, building on the company's shift to a regional network model.
"While still in its early stages, our inbound efforts have improved our placement of inventory so that even more items are closer to end customers," Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said in a February earnings call.
