Kraft Heinz, the prominent American food company, recently unveiled its plan to invest over $400 million in the construction of a state-of-the-art automated distribution center for consumer packaged goods.
The newly announced facility by Kraft Heinz will be located in DeKalb, Illinois, covering an impressive area of 775,000 square feet. This substantial investment aims to enhance the efficiency of the company’s supply chain, enabling faster distribution of their products to both retail and foodservice customers. The implementation of this advanced distribution center is expected to bring significant improvements to Kraft Heinz’s overall operations.
The establishment of this facility is anticipated to generate over 150 job opportunities in the region.
The upcoming center’s blueprint features a cutting-edge “24/7 automated storage and retrieval system” capable of accommodating double the volume for Kraft Heinz customers. This advanced facility will play a vital role in distributing over 60% of the company’s foodservice business and approximately 30% of all dry goods.
Kraft Heinz also anticipates that the facility will make a positive contribution to the company’s wider environmental, social, and governance (ESG) objectives. In particular, the company has devised plans to incorporate sustainable technologies aimed at minimizing waste generation at the facility.
Carlos Abrams-Rivera, executive vice president at Kraft Heinz, said, “The DeKalb distribution centre is expected to play a critical role in our larger distribution strategy, moving more than 60% of Kraft Heinz dry goods in North America through our automated facilities.”
According to the company’s announcement, the newly established center is expected to become one of the most expansive automated distribution facilities in North America.
“We’re driving end-to-end transformation across our entire supply chain, investing in automated technology and digitised solutions to increase the agility of our logistics operations,” Erin Mitchell, vice president of logistics and head of network restructuring at Kraft Heinz, said.
In recent years, Kraft Heinz has made significant investments in enhancing its supply-chain infrastructure in various locations.
In June 2021, the company invested around £140m (then $199.3m) into its UK factory, allowing it to produce a wider range of condiments.
Towards the end of the year, the food giant consolidated some operations as it merged its production in Canada into its US division in a move “aimed at streamlining and synergising” its businesses in the two markets.
