CVS/pharmacy's New Distribution Center in Vero Beach, FL to Utilize State-of- the-Art Logistics Technology
September 30 2004 - 11:54AM
PR Newswire (US)
CVS/pharmacy's New Distribution Center in Vero Beach, FL to Utilize
State-of- the-Art Logistics Technology WOONSOCKET, R.I., Sept. 30
/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- CVS/pharmacy (NYSE: CVS) announced today
that the Distribution Center the company will build near Vero
Beach, Florida will utilize state-of-the-art automated technology
to handle inventory and fulfillment processes for stores in
Florida. The new 400,000 sq. ft. Distribution Center in the Indian
River County Park of Commerce is scheduled to begin construction
this fall and be completed by late 2006. "Our new Distribution
Center will complement our growing presence in Florida and our
overall growth strategy," said Kevin Smith, Senior Vice President
of Supply Chain and Logistics at CVS/pharmacy. "As we continue to
open new stores in Florida, as well as convert the Eckerd stores we
acquired, the improved efficiency and increased capacity provided
by our Vero Beach Distribution Center will enhance our ability to
serve this important market." The Distribution Center is being
developed by CVS in conjunction with the Stellar Group, an
award-winning design and build firm, and WITRON Integrated
Logistics, a leader in distribution automation. The new facility
will employ WITRON's fully integrated technology solution for
storage, product retrieval and order picking. This is CVS' second
project collaboration with these two partners. This
state-of-the-art logistics system is 30% more productive and
requires only half the space of a conventional distribution center.
It is the same technology being utilized at the new Ennis, TX
Distribution Center, which began servicing CVS stores in Texas
earlier this week. This fully integrated facility is the first of
its kind in North America. "This system is highly efficient and
cost effective from a time and labor perspective," said Smith. "It
goes beyond great distribution productivity as it also allows us to
provide customized deliveries to our stores that will speed up
product replenishment. No one else in our industry has this level
of capability. This will help to ensure that it will always be easy
for our customers to purchase the items they are looking for at
their local CVS store." About CVS CVS is America's #1 retail
pharmacy, operating over 5,000 retail and specialty pharmacy stores
in 36 states and the District of Columbia. With more than 40 years
of dynamic growth in the retail pharmacy industry, CVS is committed
to being the easiest pharmacy retailer for customers to use. CVS
has created innovative approaches to serve the healthcare needs of
all customers through its CVS/pharmacy stores, its online pharmacy,
CVS.com, and its pharmacy benefit management and specialty pharmacy
subsidiary, PharmaCare Management Services. General information
about CVS is available through the Investor Relations portion of
the Company's website, at http://investor.cvs.com/. About WITRON
WITRON Integrated Logistics, located in Arlington Heights, IL, is a
leading company in the design and implementation of innovative
logistics systems. A team of over 700 professionals worldwide has
successfully completed over 1,500 projects for over 500 customers
in a wide variety of industries. As a systems integrator, WITRON
has the ability to take complete responsibility for all phases of a
project, from design and implementation through ramp-up and
maintenance. About Stellar Group The Stellar Group is a premier
design, engineering and construction firm providing design/build,
general contracting, construction management, mechanical,
refrigeration and thermal insulation contracting services
worldwide. Headquartered in Jacksonville, FL, Stellar has extensive
successful project experience in the food manufacturing, food
distribution, industrial manufacturing and distribution, power and
utilities, commercial, healthcare, institutional and hospitality
markets. Investor Contact: Nancy Christal Vice President, Investor
Relations CVS Corporation (914) 722-4704 Media Contact: Mike
DeAngelis Manager, Corporate Communications CVS Corporation (401)
770-2645 DATASOURCE: CVS/pharmacy CONTACT: Nancy Christal, Vice
President, Investor Relations, +1-914-722- 4704, or Mike DeAngelis,
Manager, Corporate Communications, +1-401-770-2645 both of CVS
Corporation Web site: http://www.cvs.com/
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