American department store chain JCPenney announces $40 million investment in supply chain upgrades

JCPenney has unveiled a new upgrade to its 1.67 million square foot Reno, Nevada distribution centre.

As part of the retailer’s self-funded $1 billion reinvestment strategy announced last year, it has invested $40 million in updating the equipment and infrastructure of the Reno facility to increase order efficiency and speed for online shoppers.

The centrepiece of the upgrade is the implementation of the Joey Pouch sorting system, a computerised induction, sorting and packing system.

It includes new induction process technologies, a fully automated sorter to assemble orders and a new packing system that includes invoice and shipping label printing for each order in the station.

The upgrade is expected to improve the customer experience by ensuring that online orders are complete with higher accuracy and shipped out more quickly.

In addition, the aim is to dramatically reduce associate training time, leading to greater productivity, and allowing for more flexibility in staffing across the facility.

The Reno distribution centre will continue to provide hundreds of local jobs to the surrounding community with no impact to existing roles due to the technology upgrade, JCPenney says.

“The Joey Pouch system deployed in our Reno distribution logistics centre showcases an updated technology and we’re proud to bring this state-of-the-art machinery to our facilities. We look forward to experiencing its impact for our customers, associates and company as we honour our commitment to making every day count for our customers,” says JCPenney CEO Marc Rosen.

“When we announced our $1 billion reinvestment strategy last year, this is exactly the type of upgrade we envisioned for our supply chain. This new system will provide JCPenney with the best-in-class equipment and technologies to better support our associates and serve our customers.”

JCPenney’s reinvestment strategy includes enhancing its digital capabilities, in-store physical and technology upgrades, and supply chain optimisation.

Since last August, the company has also announced more than 100 store upgrades and its refreshed Rewards and Credit programme.