With over 2,400 vendors supplying products to us and more than 1,400 stores receiving shipments across Canada, our supply chain is large and complex. We closely plan our operations and continuously look for ways to improve so that you can trust our products to be in stock when you want them. At the same time, we recognize that there are environmental impacts to our supply chain, and we work closely with our transportation partners on ways to improve sustainability.
One example is our decision to invest in bigger shipping containers. In the past, we have used conventional containers, which are each 40 feet long. Several years ago, we made a decision to purchase new 53-foot containers. This meant that we could ship more products per trip, ultimately reducing the number of trips that needed to be taken; a seemingly simple solution with a big impact.
Another sustainability win resulted from our partnership with our ocean carrier providers. We helped to optimize trips by allowing our products to be shipped from Asia to North America in non-operating refrigerated containers (NORs). NORs are generally used for temperature-sensitive goods moving from North America to Asia and would otherwise travel empty on the return journey. Thanks to our arrangement, these NORs are now efficiently bringing our products to North America and ensuring that no space is wasted on the ocean carriers.
We’re proud of the strong relationships we have built with our transportation partners that allow us to take advantage of these and other opportunities to reduce our emissions.
To learn more about our responsible sourcing initiatives, check out our most recent ESG Report.