Dive Brief:
- Associated Wholesale Grocers announced Tuesday it is investing $110 million to modernize its Gulf Coast distribution facility.
- The renovations include equipping the site with advanced automation to improve the selection and movement of grocery products, which the company said will lead to better order accuracy and service reliability.
- This investment is the latest in a string of initiatives AWG has deployed this month to boost its business operations.
Dive Insight:
AWG said this multi-million-dollar investment in its facility in Pearl River, Louisiana, which serves as the company’s Gulf Coast Division Support Center, will reinforce the wholesaler’s long-term presence in Louisiana and bolster operations in its Southeast market.
The renovations and new automation will support current operations while strengthening the facility’s ability to operate during severe weather conditions, according to the press release. This will, in turn, make AWG a more reliable distributor for the network of independent grocery stores it serves, the company noted.
The Gulf Coast facility marks the first of AWG’s existing facilities to be retrofitted with the technology, an AWG spokesperson said in emailed comments to Grocery Dive. The wholesaler’s Hernando, Mississippi, distribution center, which opened in 2022, was AWG’s first ground-up automated warehouse.
AWG did not share if it has plans to renovate other facilities with automation technology.
Construction on the center, located at 63331 Old Military Rd, is scheduled to begin in January 2027 and conclude in November 2027. Installation of the automation systems will occur in April 2027, per the announcement.
The state of Louisiana offered AWG an incentives package that includes a $500,000 performance-based grant to support the retention of the facility through infrastructure updates and equipment modernization. AWG said in the announcement that it will retain 334 current positions at the facility and that this project supports “the upskilling of roles with automation and advanced technology.”
In recent weeks, AWG has announced numerous initiatives focused on better supporting its independent grocery members. Last week, the wholesaler deployed SmartMeals, an AI-powered shopping assistant tool that allows participating AWG members to provide a personalized AI shopping experience to their customers.
Just a few days earlier, AWG announced it is adding more than 60 new private label items throughout the first quarter of 2026, noting that the move allows its retail members to boost their assortments.
AWG serves 1,100 member companies and 3,500 locations across 33 states from nine wholesale division support centers. The company’s other distribution centers include:
- Division support centers in Kansas City, Kansas; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Nashville; Hernando; Norfolk, Nebraska; and Kenosha, Wisconsin.
- A support center in Springfield, Missouri.
- A dry goods warehouse and a fresh and frozen warehouse in St. Cloud, Minnesota.
