Shoprite Botswana recently opened its own world-class distribution centre (DC) in Taung, Gaborone. The 3 700 m² state-of-the-art facility is the first in the country that can handle storage across multiple temperature disciplines, contains tropical ripening rooms as well as value-added packing facilities.

Most of the space - some 2 700 m² - will be occupied by Freshmark, the Shoprite Group’s fruit and vegetable procurement, buying and distribution arm.

The DC used to be a warehouse, which was retrofitted to comply with the retailer’s high standards. The specialist facility contains multi-temperature cold rooms to store the full range of fruit & vegetables at the best temperature for maximum freshness and shelf life.

Substantial and ongoing investment in its supply chain is the reason why the Shoprite Group enjoys unmatched levels of competitiveness and consistently delivers on its promise of everyday low prices.

The greatest benefit of the Taung DC is that it allows local farmers and producers to deliver directly to Shoprite for ease of distribution, and allows the retailer to further add value through re-packaging. The Group is committed to supporting local suppliers as far as possible in all the African countries in which it trades.

The retailer opened its first store in Botswana in 1998 and now operates 14 supermarkets in the country.