Recreational Equipment Inc., better known as REI, is bringing a massive automated distribution center in Lebanon, Tennessee to provide faster shipping for customers on the East Coast, Midwest, and South.

For those who aren’t familiar with REI, they’re a Seattle, Washington-area-based member-owned co-op. Millions of outdoor enthusiasts go to the national chain for all of their outdoor needs. However, some customers in the South and on parts of the East Coast have dealt with long shipping times in recent years. The company hopes to solve some of its supply chain problems with the new center.

The new REI distribution center operations intend to utilize 100% renewable energy and 100% electric energy and operate as a zero-waste facility.

The development has been under the code name Project Bluebird.

The future Lebanon distribution center will have the ability to expand storage and service, REI Vice President of Supply Chain Bill Best said. Both expansion and additional locations could be considered if needed.

The building will address the entire life cycle of carbon impacts by using 100% renewable, 100% electric energy, and operating as a zero-waste facility. REI also will be an active participant in regional renewable energy solutions.

REI hopes that this new facility will help them better serve their existing customers in the South, Midwest, and East Coast regions. Additionally, REI hopes that the faster shipping times will allow them to bring in more customers and build their brand in those regions. It will serve a total of seventy stores in those regions.

In their Goodyear, Arizona facility, REI was one of the first companies in North America to integrate a new sortation technology from Europe called “The Pocket Sorter”. The Pocket Sorter can help synchronise fulfilment across multiple (manual and automated) areas of the warehouse. Orders for consolidation can be picked manually or by robot via goods-to-person or, alternatively, person-to-goods operations. With articles batch picked and inducted into pockets to increase efficiency, the Pocket Sorter can act as a pre-buffer to harmonise the various processing times. When all of an order's items are ready, the required pockets arrive at the packing station in the correct sequence. In this way, pocket sortation delivers perfect sequencing for chaotically ordered items – including hanging garments that can be transported together with the pockets in one system – while enhancing flexibility and efficiency. The Pocket Sorter is also ideally suited to processing returns cost-effectively, storing them in a dynamic buffer and making them immediately available for orders via totally automatic picking.

REI predicts that the distribution center will open in the fall of 2023. When it does, REI will have four such facilities in the United States. The others are in Washington, Arizona, and Pennsylvania.

Similar to its Arizona distribution center, the DC will be constructed with sustainability and automated technology features, and will be designed to take into consideration how employees work, rest, and connect to nature.

REI's Bedford and Goodyear locations are certified by the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). Its Goodyear distribution center that opened in 2016 achieved LEED Platinum certification — the highest level in the U.S. Green Building Council's green building rating system — and the first distribution center in the country to achieve LEED Platinum certification and Net Zero Energy.

Supply Chain Issues, Warehouse Shortages

Right now, businesses across the country are dealing with major supply chain issues. They’re seeing fewer employees who want to work in warehouses. Additionally, the pandemic caused an even bigger boom in online shopping which brings the need for more warehouse space. For the consumer that means fewer items on store shelves, longer shipping times, and higher prices across the board. As a result, many businesses are scrambling to find or construct new warehouses.

In 2021 alone, real estate developers constructed a staggering 190 million square feet of warehouse space. Retailers leased nearly half of those buildings before they were completed. Additionally, retailers like REI are working with real estate developers to commission warehouses and distribution centers.

Right now, it looks like the everyday consumer will have to continue to deal with the symptoms of supply chain issues. However, REI’s current construction project is an example of what businesses across the country are doing to combat those issues.