H-E-B bolsters online capacity with new e-commerce fulfillment center

H-E-B has opened its sixth e-commerce fulfillment center, located in Plano, Texas.

The 55,000-square-foot facility, which went into operation on Tuesday, will support H-E-B Curbside and Home Delivery service throughout Plano, San Antonio-based H-E-B said. Area stores such as the Frisco H-E-B and supermarkets slated to open later this year in McKinney and Allen also will be served by the new facility, situated next to the Plano H-E-B at 6001 Preston Rd.

H-E-B’s e-commerce fulfillment centers stock goods found in stores to fill delivery and curbside pickup orders. The new centers bring more capacity, greater efficiency and better product availability, resulting in less aisle congestion for in-store shoppers, the retailer noted. Various forms of automation also are used to help H-E-B associates throughout the order fulfillment process to boost productivity.

Kedar Patel, group VP of e-commerce at H-E-B, at the Plano fulfillment center opening on Tuesday. / Photo courtesy of H-E-B

With the fulfillment facilities, H-E-B can handle more orders to meet rising online shopping demand and fuel the growth of curbside and delivery service—now available at more than 270 stores in Texas—as well as drive expansion in rapidly growing part of the state. Plano is located in the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) metroplex, a key expansion area for H-E-B. The Plano facility will employ more than 125 H-E-B associates as part of the retailer’s e-commerce team.

“At H-E-B, we’re always looking for ways to offer Texans a better shopping experience and more options to choose how they shop, pay for and receive their products,” Kedar Patel, group vice president of e-commerce at H-E-B, said in a statement. “Across our business, we are adopting innovative technologies that give our partners the tools they need to provide top-quality service to our customers, whether they shop online or in our stores.”

H-E-B opened its first e-commerce fulfillment center in 2018, converting a smaller-size store in Houston. Most recently, in July 2022, the Texas grocer opened a 50,000-square-foot facility in Leander, situated in Central Texas, marking its fifth e-commerce fulfillment center. H-E-B said that, by the end of next year, it plans open more such facilities across the state to help support its growth in the DFW metroplex.