Home Depot announces major supply chain initiative
The Home Depot is to spend $1.2 billion over the next five years to add 170 distribution facilities, in order to speed up delivery of goods to homes and job sites. It is aiming to reach 90% of the US population with same-day or next-day delivery.
This is part of an $11.1 billion omnichannel programme “to re-engineer our company to ensure that we are prepared for the future in retail,” according to Mark Holifield, Executive VP of Supply Chain and Product Development.
He told a logistics industry conference last week that the retailer is realigning its supply chain to a changing retail landscape. Customers “expect delivery to be free, they expect it to be timely,” he said. “Sometimes they want it fast and are willing to pay for that. Sometimes they want it free, and they’re willing to wait for it. We need to have the right options there.”
Online orders accounted for 6.7% of the retailer’s $100.9 billion in sales last year, but digital revenues grew 21% year-on-year. About 45% of online orders are picked up in stores and The Home Depot is rolling out self-service lockers to address this.