Construction on Phase 2 of Project ROAR is set to begin in two weeks at the Farr West Distribution Center. Over the last couple of weeks, the warehouse racking in the area has been removed, which has reduced the available picks slots by 2,000 along with an additional 4,000 storage locations. The Farr West operations team along with the buying team are using all available options to keep service level high and ensure trucks are departing the facility on-time.
Here’s a look at the Phase 2 timeline:
2025
- June – December: Install
2026
- January: Testing
- February: Go-live
- March-May: Ramp-up
- June: Final Acceptance
Once Phase 2 is complete, the outbound pallet-building area will gain valuable redundancy. Currently, there is only one crane in operation. After the second phase, the distribution center will have three cranes, allowing operations to continue even if one crane experiences a mechanical issue.
Over the past 12 weeks, there have been a few challenging days, including three instances when the system was down for more than four hours due to mechanical issues and one day affected by a power outage. In each case, the team worked closely with customer service and transportation to ensure impacted stores received their ROAR pallets as quickly and efficiently as possible. AFS appreciates the support and understanding from retail partners as these challenges are overcome and the team is excited to have Phase 2 underway.
“We’re incredibly grateful for the patience and partnership of our retail teams throughout this process,” said Justin Johnson, vice president of distribution at AFS. “Their support has allowed us to keep moving forward, even on the toughest days. As we begin Phase 2, we’re excited about the improvements ahead and the long-term benefits they’ll bring to our stores and their guests.”