Target extends delivery reach with new facility

Target is debuting a new supply chain facility it intends to bring online delivery to more customers.

The discount colossus is opening the hub, which it calls the Target Last Mile Delivery (TLMD) extension, near its store in Smyrna, Ga. According to Target, the facility opened at a fraction of the cost of one of its full-size sortation centers. These hubs are designed to streamline the process of fulfilling and delivering online orders by removing the sorting process from the backroom of stores

How it works

• A customer places a digital order on the Target e-commerce site or app.
• An associate picks and packs items at a local store.
• The associate then places it with other packages on a pallet that is picked up by a local sortation center truck.
• The package travels to a local sortation center, where it is offloaded, sorted and batched with other packages to be delivered to nearby neighborhoods by drivers working with Shipt or carrier partners.
• If the order falls outside the sortation center’s last-mile delivery area, it gets transferred to the TLMD extension, where drivers working with Shipt can pick it up and reach additional neighborhoods.
• A driver working with Shipt delivers the package to the customer’s door as soon as the day after the order is placed.

According to Target, its new TLMD extension in Smyrna increases the number of people it can serve with online delivery by over 30%. This puts Target next-day delivery within reach of 500,000 additional customers for a total of more than 3 million in the Atlanta market.

Drivers with Shipt are now delivering up to 1,500 packages per day from the Smyrna TLMD extension. The retailer says it plans to ramp up to more deliveries from the facility in the months ahead.

"TLMD extensions represent the latest milestone in our journey to deliver a best-in-class experience for our guests — however they choose to shop with us," said John Mulligan, executive VP and COO, Target. "These facilities are a continuation of our innovative efforts to serve millions of guests and reach millions more, while maximizing speed, efficiency and care across our real estate portfolio."

"Team members and leaders have been very excited to be a part of something new," said DaVion Ezell, operations director for Target's Atlanta sortation center and TLMD extension. They have also been sharing ideas on how to continuously improve the process. "We're actively problem-solving to ensure that we are set up for success as we get closer to the holiday season to be able to achieve and exceed that demand Since opening, the facility has delivered thousands of packages.”