Averitt Express rolls out new distribution and fulfillment facility in the Memphis area

Cookeville, Tenn.-based freight transportation and logistics services provider Averitt Express said this week it has rolled out a new 260,000 square-foot Memphis-area facility.

Company officials said that this facility will be used to handle the flow and distribution of domestic and international freight. And they added that it is in close proximity to the Memphis International Airport and also the Memphis-area rail yard and will be equipped to handle the region’s growing international needs.

What’s more, Averitt noted that the Memphis area is located in one of the country’s busiest manufacturing and customer-dense regions, and it is also within a one-day transit time of various major markets, including Atlanta, Cincinnati, and Dallas. And with this new facility in the fold, Averitt now has more than 2.5 million square-feet of space throughout more than 40 locations.

Averitt Vice President of Distribution & Fulfillment Ed Smith told LM that there were various drivers for Averitt to open up this new Memphis-area facility.

“Memphis is located within the heart of the Averitt distribution network, and it is one of the busiest logistics hubs in the nation,” he said. “Over the years, we have seen an increased demand for a wide range of services to be performed within this critical market. For example, Memphis has one of the largest rail hubs in the nation that is served by several Class 1 railroads. By expanding our footprint and resources in Memphis, we’re strengthening our ability to provide reliable drayage capacity within the market.”

Smith explained that this new Memphis-area distribution and fulfillment Center is not replacing Averitt’s existing service center in the Memphis area, noting that the service center has primarily supported the LTL and truckload freight needs in the market for more than four decades.

“The new facility expands our ability to provide customized solutions to our shippers, including warehousing and order-fulfillment,” he said. “It also increases our capacity to support the drayage and transload needs of the growing volume of cargo that moves through Memphis.”

When asked what specific services Averitt will offer up for shippers out of this new facility, Smith flipped the script, saying that the better question is “what can we not provide shippers out of this facility?”

And he added that through this facility Averitt is able to deliver total end-to-end supply chain solutions for shippers of nearly every industry and size.

“From international forwarding to container transloading, e-commerce fulfillment and final mile delivery, we can manage and execute it all from under one roof in Memphis,” he said. “Backed by our asset-based distribution network and the fact that our shippers can have just one point of contact for all their supply chain needs, we enable shippers to take the guesswork out of their transportation management. From pickup to storage and delivery via Memphis, we can optimize their speed-to-market with clear inventory visibility and around-the-clock customer service. From Memphis, we can fill in the missing link or provide the entire supply chain solution that shippers need.”