New DHL eCommerce Chicago Distribution Center Earns LEED Silver Rating
DHL eCommerce Solutions has opened a LEED Silver-certified distribution center in Chicago as part of the a Deutsche Post DHL Group division’s $300 million five-year U.S. growth plan.
“DHL eCommerce is currently entering the final phase of its ambitious five-year investment plan,” Heiko Schneider, vice president of network development, operations, for DHL eCommerce, Americas, said. “We have invested hundreds of millions of dollars into expanding existing distribution centers, opening new larger ones when expansion was not possible, and upgrading each site’s automation and technology. We aim to complete this transformation by the end of 2024, at which point we will focus on facility improvements.”
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The 352,000-square-foot facility features a Honeywell IntelliSort cross-belt loop sorter, processing up to 40,000 parcels and packages an hour. The IntelliSort can cut the labor need in a work cell from 16 to four and reduce errors, Keith Fisher, president of Honeywell Intelligrated, said. The equipment’s patented “dynamic discharge compensation” enables “precision discharge” for improved sortation accuracy, Honeywell said, and two belt units per cart increase the capacity to sort small-to-medium-sized items. The sorter is suited to handling apparel, parcels, letters, flats, books, CDs, DVDs and totes, according to Honeywell.
“This is the first Honeywell IntelliSort cross-belt loop sorter in DHL eCommerce’s U.S. network. We expect significant cost, time and labor savings due to enhanced efficiencies,” Schneider said. “For example, a package today could be placed onto a conveyor where it will be automatically scanned, weighed and measured before being carried along the sorter to be put into a sack for delivery to our partners at the USPS. This entire function can take less than a minute and only involves human touches at the front and end of the process.”
The Chicago team of 385 full-time and part-time employees is responsible for processing lightweight domestic and international shipments at the new DHL facility with 149 dedicated trailer parking spaces.
“Chicago is a world transportation and multimodal hub and the perfect location for us to open one of the largest distribution centers in our network,” Lee Spratt, CEO of DHL eCommerce, Americas, said. “We have been operating in Chicago for many years, but this new, larger facility has green features we did not have before that allow us to work more sustainably.”
The Melrose Park, Illinois, location received Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Commercial Interiors Silver certification developed by the U.S. Green Building Council. It’s DHL eCommerce’s first commercial LEED Silver-certified building in the United States and anywhere in its network. Sustainable elements such as dual-pane tinted glass windows and electric battery chargers helped the facility achieve a Silver LEED rating.
The green building certification recognizes that the new DHL facility was designed with sustainable site development, energy efficiency, water savings, green material selection and indoor environmental quality taken into consideration. The facility, which includes warehouse, conference, office and training spaces, houses four electric vehicle charging stations and an automated building management system for environmental controls like lighting. The carpet and flooring materials are also eco-friendly, Schneider said.
According to Schneider, strong e-commerce growth led the company to outgrow its facilities in the Chicago area, where it has operated since the late 1990s. “This new facility enables us to accommodate our expected growth for the rest of the decade,” he said, adding that the company integrated its domestic and cross-border operations “under one roof.”
Schneider explained how leaning on digital advancements helps DHL eCommerce achieve its sustainability commitments. One way the company does this is by “implementing technology that enables us to properly route and sort packages without applying another label, thus cutting down on our use of paper,” he said. “It seems small, but when paired with a machine capable of processing 40,000 packages per hour, and then scaled to various degrees across our network, this can add up to a significant reduction.”
The Chicago distribution center is just the latest development in the company’s roadmap for expansion in the world’s biggest economy. DHL eCommerce is also moving its Stow, Ohio operation to a wholly owned building, upgrading its Salt Lake City and Orlando distribution centers to bigger locations and opening a built-to-suit facility in Kansas City.
DHL eCommerce’s news comes after Shein in September announced it was expanding a Whitestown, Ind. warehouse it opened in April. The move would grow the facility’s footprint by 50 percent and double staff by the end of 2025.
