Taiwan FamilyMart Co (全家便利商店), the operator of the nation’s second-largest convenience store chain, yesterday broke ground for a new multi-temperature logistics center in Hualien County’s Jian Township (吉安), which is expected to begin operations next year.
FamilyMart president Hsueh Dong-du (薛東都) said at the groundbreaking ceremony that the NT$560 million (US$18.78 million) investment would enhance the convenience store chain’s capacity in sorting and transshipping store merchandise and e-commerce packages.
It would also help improve the chain’s logistics distribution network and operational efficiency in the eastern part of Taiwan, he said in a press release by the Hualien County Government.
Photo courtesy of Taiwan FamilyMart Co
The COVID-19 pandemic has witnessed explosive growth in e-commerce and the frozen food business, and FamilyMart has responded by boosting investments in supply chain integration, logistics enhancement, information management and fresh food processing.
The new two-story logistics center in the Guanghua Industrial Park (光華工業區) will have a total floor space of 2,500 ping (8,260m2), the release said.
It will include processing facilities and warehouses for frozen and room temperature products, it added.
The center will be used mainly by FamilyMart’s logistics subsidiaries Taiwan Distribution Center Co (全台物流) and Re-Yi Distribution Service Co (日翊文化物流), the release said, adding that the investment is to meet the medium and long-term logistics needs in Hualien and Taitung counties.
The large warehousing space in the new logistics center would boost the capacity of the company’s distribution of goods for stores in eastern Taiwan by 40 percent, it said.
FamilyMart has two multi-temperature logistics centers — in Kaohsiung’s Gangshan District (岡山) and in New Taipei City’s Rueifang District (瑞芳) — and several satellite warehouses in Taoyuan and Tainan.
The company on Monday reported consolidated revenue of NT$7.27 billion for last month, up 3.3 percent from a year earlier, thanks to branch expansion and higher fresh food and beverage sales.
Revenue in the first four months of the year grew 1.4 percent annually to NT$28.26 billion, it said.
As of the end of last month, FamilyMart had 4,030 stores in Taiwan, up from 3,980 at the end of last year.
AVOIDING CONFUSION: Passengers are to be able to check in two items of luggage, while the free weight allowance is to be increased to conform with other airlines EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空) yesterday announced that from June 23 it is to adopt a new baggage allowance policy for all passengers with a higher weight limit as it aims to benefit passengers and increase efficiency. The airline currently has a two-system baggage policy: It allows passengers flying to the US and Canada to check in two pieces of baggage with a free weight allowance, while for those flying to Asia, Europe and Oceania there is also a free weight allowance, but no limit on the number of pieces of baggage. From June 23, passengers would be able to check in two
MORE THAN BUZZ: The chip designer said it has received numerous orders from automakers to supply 5G modem chips, as it works to expand beyond smartphones MediaTek Inc (聯發科) yesterday said it would ship the first 5G chips for vehicles to customers in the Asia-Pacific region by the end of the year, as it moves to expand the reach of its 5G chips beyond smartphones. The Hsinchu-based chip designer said it has been developing 5G chips for connected vehicles over the past few years, targeting applications such as telematics and in-vehicle information systems. “We are seeing demand for 5G technology from numerous makers of connected cars, including electric vehicle makers. We have obtained numerous orders from automakers to supply 5G modem chips with highly integrated features,” J.C. Hsu
Qualcomm Inc yesterday said it would maintain its supply chain strategy of sourcing chips from multiple foundry partners, including advanced chips from two major suppliers, to ensure a sufficient chip supply amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Qualcomm is reportedly working with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and Samsung Electronics Co on advanced products, such as 4-nanometer chips, for its new flagship 5G chips, the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 series. Qualcomm is sourcing chips made by mature technologies from several foundry partners, the company said. Alex Katouzian, general manager of Qualcomm Technologies Inc’s mobile, compute and XR business, told a virtual media briefing that
US DRAM maker Micron Technology Inc is set to install the industry’s most cutting-edge technology — extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography equipment — in its facility in Taichung this year, the company said yesterday. In early preparation for the volume production of 1-gamma nanometer node DRAM, “we plan to introduce EUV tools to our Taichung fab later this year,” Micron president and chief executive officer Sanjay Mehrotra said via video at the Computex trade show in Taipei. Gamma refers to the dimension of half the distance between cells in a DRAM chip. Micron is also looking forward to beginning mass production of its