SpartanNash to Open First Microfulfillment Center

SpartanNash is eyeing faster fulfillment of online orders with the opening of the company's first microfulfillment center, slated to start operations July 26 in Caledonia, Mich. 

The 55,000-square-foot facility, located at 5199 68th St. SE, will hold 16,000 products, according to a news release from the Grand Rapids, Mich.-based retailer and grocery retailer and distributor. It will operate as a "dark store" fulfillment center for online orders placed through the company's Fast Lane platform and will serve customers of 24 Ada Fresh Market, D&W Fresh Market, Family Fare and Forest Hills Foods stores in western Michigan.

SpartanNash's Fast Lane service debuted in 2017 and has filled nearly 1 million orders, according to the news release. Orders are picked by personal shoppers who can communicate by text with customers about product preferences such as ripeness of fruit, the company noted. Once filled, orders can be delivered either to stores for curbside pickup or directly to a customer's residence.

See also: Retail Segment a Bright Spot for SpartanNash in Q1

Calling Fast Lane "a tremendous value-add" for SpartanNash customers in the four years it has been operational, SpartanNash President and CEO Tony Sarsam said the new microfulfillment center is "an exciting investment designed to further elevate the Fast Lane shopping experience as we strive to continuously improve our fulfillment speed and product availability."

Once it's fully up and running, the microfulfillment center is expected to fill more than 1,000 orders a day, more than doubling current Fast Lane fulfillment capacity, according to the company.