Averitt Express rolls out retail distribution unit

Freight transportation and logistics services provider Averitt Express announced this week that it has rolled out a new business unit catering to retailers needing distribution services.

Entitled Averitt Retail Distribution Services, the company said that this group will provider retail shippers with “flow-through” and customized delivery services that meet retailers’ unique requirements. This group will first focus on retailers needing delivery in large southern markets, including Atlanta, Ga., Charlotte, N.C., Miami and Lakeland, Fla., and Houston and Dallas, Texas, with plans to also enter other markets, according to Averitt.

“Averitt has provided transportation for retail customers for many years,” said Greg LaPlant, Averitt Express communications coordinator, in an interview.” And although we’ve gained momentum by demonstrating our ability to provide the customized service and information required by retailers and their vendors, there are several parts and pieces of the retail distribution model that have fallen outside our core competency. Establishing this new business unit allows us to approach these supply chain challenges with a
model completely focused on these segments.”

For the southern markets where this service will first go live, Averitt said that it is establishing retail distribution sites with state-of-the-art conveyor systems and scanning technology for world-class distribution services. The company added that these facilities focus solely on retail distribution and are not part of the less-than-truckload cross-dock service centers Averitt currently has in those markets.

Averitt officials also noted that this new offering is geared towards retailers that don’t operate their own regional distribution centers and want to improve various supply chain components, including:
-speed-to-shelf;
-product availability;
-inventory turns/store replenishment;
-shipment integrity;
-vendor-to-store management;
-order-to-cash cycle; and
-chargeback reduction/MABD (must arrive by date) compliance.

LaPlant explained that there are certain retailers Averitt did not choose to pursue because they would require a different model than what Averitt has in its existing LTL, truckload and supply chain operations.

“That’s why we have spent the last several months designing an entirely new unit that allows us to blend our retail knowledge with our distribution expertise and
concentrate on this segment of retail distribution,” he said.