Office Depot plans to close its distribution center in Mountain Top, PA, in February, according to company spokesperson Melissa Perlman. About 120 full- and part-time employees currently work at the office supplies marketer’s facility.
Operations from the Mountain Top DC will be moved to a new 600,000-sq.-ft. facility in Newville, PA. “The new building will allow us to serve both Office Depot’s retail store locations as well as our b-to-b customers from our Business Solutions Division,” Perlman says.
The Newville DC will employ about 250 workers, she says It will allow Office Depot “to support our growing business, optimize total supply chain expenses, and utilize inventory more efficiently, while maintaining service levels and next-day delivery,” she says.
The Mountain Top facility was technically referred to as a cross dock, which does not hold product, Perlman says. Rather, vendors send merchandise in, and it is immediately shipped out. A distribution center holds products until they are ordered by a customer.
So what prompted the closing? Perlman says over the past several months Office Depot conducted a real estate review of certain buildings in the Northeast market with lease obligations scheduled to expire in the near future.
“Based on this review, we have determined a consolidation of our current facility footprint – including the Mountain Top cross dock – will facilitate cost reductions and service improvements for the company,” she adds.