Target continues to expand its network of sortation centers with the goal of operating at least 15 by the end of 2026 so it can provide faster delivery across major markets in the United States. The retailer’s newest sortation center recently opened in Miami.
As part of the expansion program to date, Target operates 10 sortation centers in Minnesota (pictured above), Texas, Colorado, Illinois, Georgia and Pennsylvania, as well as Florida, the company noted in a blog post. The facilities have helped to increase the number of orders delivered to guests the next day by more than 150%, Target stated.
Sortation centers take delivery of packages from 30 to 40 local stores, where they are prepared for shipment to customers. Target sortation center employees sort, batch and route packages to local neighborhoods. In the last leg, packages are handled via a third-party carrier or Shipt delivery depending on the lowest-cost carrier option. According to Target, the use of sortation centers in the delivery system helps lower costs and create efficiencies for supply chain operations while increasing speed of delivery to customers.
In June, the company took a step to extend the reach of its sortation centers by opening its first Target Last Mile Delivery extension facility in Smyrna, GA. The facility receives local, pre-sorted packages from the Target Atlanta sortation center and stages them for pickup and next-day delivery by drivers on the Shipt platform. Less costly than a full-size sortation center, the Target Last Mile Delivery extension brings next-day drop off capabilities to more than 500,000 additional customers in the greater Atlanta market, the company maintained.
Up to 40% of Target Last Mile Delivery orders with Shipt reach consumers by the next day.
In moving goods as part of its Shipt relationship, Target said it has expanded options for drivers to take advantage of larger routes on which they can use bigger-capacity vehicles, including delivery vans, that can hold up to eight times more packages per route. Target said it currently is testing the use of larger-capacity vehicles to deliver orders at two of its sortation center markets, with plans to expand to all markets in the next few years.
Target anticipates sortation centers will double delivery volume to more than 50 million packages in 2023, with a growing number of items delivered to shoppers the next day.
