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Micro-Fulfillment Centers Expand FreshDirect’s Washington DC Warehouse Delivery Service

A brand new micro-fulfillment center in the Washington DC area is placed to launch FreshDirect’s same-day warehouse delivery service. The newest center will expand the service for consumers and businesses, offering customers the option of same-day delivery. This may improve local businesses’ ability to supply products quickly and affordably. FreshDirect will launch its new Washington DC warehouse delivery service by the end of April. The organization is also seeking to expand its warehouse delivery service with the addition of a same-day pickup option.

Fabric’s warehouse delivery service

After launching FreshDirect Express in New York last month, Fabric announced its first deployment in the U.S. by partnering with online grocer FreshDirect to offer two-hour on-demand grocery delivery in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area. The organization, formerly known as Commonsense Robotics, plans to launch the service later this year. Fabric’s new Washington DC warehouse will soon be supported by FreshDirect’s primary facility in the Bronx.

The partnership also extends FreshDirect’s existing metro D.C. delivery service to the Silver Spring/Potomac, Maryland, and Vienna/Dulles, Virginia areas. The newest service allows customers to put orders within two-hour windows, and will complement the existing next-day service made available from the company. With an increase of than 170 team members globally and two live micro-fulfillment centers, Fabric is quickly expanding its U.S. operations.

FreshDirect’s micro-fulfillment center

A micro-fulfillment center is a distribution center that can handle orders on a small scale. The newest Washington DC facility will house approximately 10,000 square feet and process orders daily. The center will soon be receiving product daily from FreshDirect’s Bronx warehouse. The newest facility was originally scheduled to open sometime this summer. However, FreshDirect made a decision to delay the opening and instead announced it’d begin operating in late 2020.

Fabric offers service-based and on-site micro-fulfillment solutions designed to increase the speed of filling orders in small spaces. FreshDirect plans to implement Fabric technology in its Washington DC micro-fulfillment centers to make certain faster delivery times to customers in the Washington DC, Silver Spring-Potomac, and Vienna-Dulles metro areas. The partnership with Fabric allows FreshDirect to offer same-day and two-hour on-demand services to customers throughout the metro area.

Fabric’s inbound and outbound logistics

A brand new micro-fulfillment center called Fabric is placed to launch in Washington, D.C., this year. The organization will use shuttle robots to move product containers to human assembly workers, who will assemble orders and merge items which can be picked outside the robotic system. The facility will be a micro-fulfillment center run by Fabric workers and FreshDirect. Inbound and outbound logistics will soon be handled by FreshDirect.

FreshDirect recently rebranded from FreshDirect to launch the same on-demand service in New York City. Nevertheless the company’s micro-fulfillment technology will be tested at Fabric’s Washington, D.C., facility. The organization said it’s considering adding the technology to its other facilities. The Washington, DC,-metro area could accommodate as much as four MFCs under just one brand.

Fabric’s Green Delivery Service

The company’s green warehouse delivery service can help customers conserve money and the environmental surroundings while still offering the ease of online grocery. It uses a hybrid fulfillment method that combines automation and human labor. Fabric’s robotics are orchestrated by artificial intelligence (AI) that breaks orders into tasks and delegate them autonomously. Robots grab packages awaiting shipment, move them to dispatch, and load them onto vans and scooters. Fabric debuted its first sorting center in Tel Aviv last October. It covers 6,000 square feet and services approximately 400 orders a day. That’s a lot smaller than most fulfillment centers that service as much as a million orders daily.