(PRESS RELEASE) PADUA/SECAUCUS – Eyewear maker Safilo has announced plans to open a new North American Distribution Center in Denver, CO.
The company took possession of the new Denver Logistics Hub on June 18, with the expectation of being fully operational within the third quarter of this year, according to a press release. The existing Safilo North American Distribution Centers in Clearfield, UT, and Montreal, along with the other existing facility in Denver, will be integrated into the new Denver facility. The company’s lab facility for Smith prescription lenses, currently located in Clearfield, will also be relocated to the new Denver Distribution Center.
This decision follows the company’s plans to merge four distribution centers into one hub and operationally streamline and modernize its U.S. logistics and distribution network. The first phase was initiated by the move in June 2016 of its Parsippany, NJ, Distribution Center to the current Denver location. This was followed in July 2017 by the move of Safilo’s North American headquarters to Secaucus, NJ.
The new logistics hub in Denver will allow for an important improvement in efficiency — a 20% increase of inventory capacity and a 15% improvement in delivery performance, according to the release. It will also include environmentally sustainable features such as carbon footprint reduction and the use of eco-friendly materials for packaging.
“I’m very excited to see this major initiative which illustrates the company’s commitment to better serve our customers in North America become a reality,” said Steve Wright, president and chief commercial officer of Safilo North America. “This integration of three warehouses into a single, new, cutting-edge facility in a part of Denver where other major distribution centers are located allows us to combine functions under one technologically superior facility to meet the needs of our customers and the ever-increasing demands of the end consumer.”
“This is a landmark initiative for Safilo that leverages Denver’s already successful track record of delivering distribution and logistics across the region, and will further optimize our customer service levels across North America thanks to the investments in automation and digitalization, leveraging the new hub as a competitive advantage for the Group worldwide and also increasing our people’s skills and capabilities,” said Fabio Roppoli, chief product supply officer of Safilo Group. “The new D.C. will offer top-of-the-line warehouse and D&L capabilities for maximum operational efficiency.”