Maersk’s new Vancouver facility targets PNW supply chains

Vancouver, Canada – North American importers and exporters will gain more cross-dock transload capacity in their PNW supply chains during the 2021 peak season. Maersk and Canadian Pacific announced the construction of the new facility in September 2020 with ideal connectivity to the port of Vancouver via rail (or truck) directly into the warehouse.

The 117,000 square foot, 103 door facility will open September 1, 2021 as planned, offering cross-dock services, designed to make PNW supply chains more resilient, flexible and cost-effective. The ability to cross-dock into domestic 53’ trailers enables customers to achieve overall cost savings (per cubic meter) for domestic distribution.

“We’re excited about adding more Pacific supply chain distribution capacity and expertise at a time when customers are looking to find new ways to keep pace with consumer demand and be more sustainable with their carbon emissions. The logistics goal of this facility is to allow customers more time and flexibility in decision-making. They can now easily make destination routing decisions upon arrival at the discharge port instead of at origin,” said Omar Shamsie, President of Maersk Canada.

The facility is a key pivot point in supply chain management. For example, Busan to Vancouver transit time is 16 days. When container loading at origin is added (7-10 days) and drop off at load port is added (1-4 days) the real transit can be 25-30 days transit. During that time window, customer orders change all the time. With a cross dock option, customers have much better response capabilities to demand fluctuations while reducing inventory costs of storage.

To support customer decarbonization goals, the Vancouver warehouse is designed to leverage the use of Canadian Pacific rail service direct from the port as a lower carbon emission choice than multiple trucks in the port complex and on local roads.

The new facility reflects Maersk’s strategic plan to grow logistics and services capabilities for customers’ supply chains by adding more capacity and flexibility for decision-making.

Maersk Warehousing & Distribution operates 46 locations in North America designed to offer a simple, seamless end-to-end customer experience.