The Giant Co. has opened its new Giant Direct E-commerce Fulfillment Center at 3501 Island Ave. in Philadelphia. This 124,000-square-foot facility will enable the company to serve more customers in Philadelphia and – for the first time in its 98-year history – in southern New Jersey.
In celebration of the grand opening, the company held a ribbon-cutting Nov. 8 with remarks from Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney, The Giant Co. President Nicholas Bertram and Ahold Delhaize USA Supply Chain President Chris Lewis.
“Starting with the introduction of our Giant Heirloom Market format in 2019, followed by the opening of our Philadelphia flagship Riverwalk Giant in March and three more new stores across the city still to come this year, The Giant Co. has been laser-focused on how we can best serve Philadelphia families,” said Bertram. “Today is the culmination of more than two years of collaboration between our team, Ahold Delhaize USA Supply Chain and our partners at Swisslog and AutoStore resulting in a state-of-the-art facility that will propel our Giant Direct offering across greater Philadelphia and for the first time, southern New Jersey. Our new Giant Direct EFC represents the future of grocery and the future of The Giant Co., as we are one step closer to realizing our full omnichannel aspirations.” 
“The Giant Co.’s presence in and commitment to Philadelphia benefits our city’s residents by offering quality groceries, good jobs and community support,” said Kenney. “I’ve been pleased with and proud of Giant’s work in Philly over the last few years and look forward to seeing the new facility in Eastwick serve its community and surrounding areas.”
“The opening of this facility is an exciting step forward as we continue to collaborate to evolve the supply chain network for the future,” said Lewis. “Solutions like micro-fulfilment centers will be an important part of the self-distributed network, positioned to serve customers whenever, wherever, however they want to shop.”
As part of The Giant Co.’s commitment to optimizing and growing Giant Direct for delivery orders and in-store pickup, The Giant Co. is the first Ahold Delhaize USA company to implement this new EFC technology, which streamlines order fulfillment by using the latest in robotics, machine learning and vertical integration. The Giant Co. worked with Ahold Delhaize USA company Peapod Digital Labs, Swisslog and AutoStore on the project.
Within the Giant Direct E-commerce Fulfillment Center, two space-saving, 3D grids contain totes filled with fresh and non-perishable groceries. When a customer places a Giant Direct order, team members work alongside a team of robots that quickly gather the items for bagging. After bagging, Giant team members place orders into temperature-controlled totes and on to trucks for delivery to customers.
The Giant Direct EFC offers a selection of product that mirrors a traditional Giant store’s offerings. The facility will stock more than 22,000 products, enabling The Giant Co. to meet increasing customer demand with greater capacity, faster order fulfillment and room to grow home grocery delivery. The center is expected to fulfill up to approximately 15,000 home delivery orders per week.
For the first time, starting Nov. 16, the facility will also provide Giant Direct delivery to the New Jersey towns of Camden, Cherry Hill, Gibbsboro, Haddonfield, Marlton, Medford, Mount Laurel and Voorhees. The company plans to introduce Giant Direct to additional communities in southern New Jersey over the next several months.
Investing in the community through jobs and partnerships
Currently, the new Giant Direct E-commerce Fulfillment Center employs more than 125 team members. With the holiday season fast approaching, the company is looking to hire an additional 125 team members. Available positions include delivery drivers, overnight crew, shoppers and stockers.
Offering a robust total rewards package and a starting wage of $16 an hour, individuals interested in joining The Giant Co. team are encouraged to visit giantfoodstores.com for more information.
As part of today’s celebration, The Giant Co. announced partnerships with and investments in several neighborhood organizations. The company donated a total of $5,000 to the Eastwick Community Garden for new equipment, a shed and a beehive; the Eastwick Library for educational programming opportunities; and Fire Station Engine 69 to support fire station staff.
In addition, a total of $3,000 was donated to the St. Paul’s Food Pantry and Mission House, where The Giant Co. team members volunteered following today’s ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The new facility builds on The Giant Co.’s strong presence in Philadelphia, which has grown from one store in 2018 to 10 by the end of 2023. In addition to three Giant Heirloom Markets and its new Philadelphia flagship Riverwalk store, The Giant Co. will open a new store on Cottman Avenue on Nov. 12, followed by a Giant on Columbus Boulevard and a Giant Heirloom Market in the Fashion District by the end of the year.
