MINNEAPOLIS -- Citing the need to streamline its distribution operations, Nash Finch Co. here has closed its fourth warehouse since November 1998.
The limited distribution center in Liberal, Kan., which had acted as a satellite DC for the wholesaler's Denver warehouse, closed its doors Jan. 15. The Denver distribution center is now servicing the Liberal facility's retailers.
The closed distribution center had handled high-cube, low-value items such as paper products, with most of the products that passed through it cross docked from Nash Finch's Denver warehouse.
With more efficient delivery schedules and the elimination of the cross-docking step at the Liberal facility, the number of delivery runs to former Liberal facility customers should be reduced by about 30%, with a commensurate reduction in delivery miles, according to Norm Soland, legal counsel for Nash Finch.
The multiple warehouse closings are an effort to streamline Nash Finch's operations and productivity, he added. "It's mainly a case of too many DCs," said Soland, adding that the warehouse downsizing is "consolidating capacity."
"We will gain greater efficiency by transferring all of the Liberal operations to Denver," said Ron Marshall, Nash Finch president and chief executive officer, in a statement. "At the same time, we will continue to provide superior service to our independent retail customers in that region."
Approximately 35 employees at the warehouse were affected by the closing, and severance packages were offered to those whose jobs were eliminated in the move.
