Home Depot acquires distribution automation provider
The world’s largest home improvement retailer was so impressed with an automated distribution solution it purchased the company that developed the technology.
The Home Depot has acquired Simpl Automation, a Waltham, Mass.-based provider of automation and technology systems. The acquisition follows a successful pilot at The Home Depot’s Locust Grove, Ga. distribution center, where it drove faster pick speed, faster cycle times and less product touches.
Simpl Automation also provides a patented storage and retrieval solution designed to help maximize storage density. The Home Depot intends to leverage this solution to house a broader assortment of high-demand products closer to the customer to enable faster, more seamless delivery and expanded product availability.
“We’re focused on providing the best interconnected experience in home improvement by having products in stock and ready to deliver to our customers whether it's to the home or jobsite,” said Amit Kalra, senior VP of supply chain at The Home Depot. “By bringing Simpl’s industry-leading automation into our operations, we’re accelerating the flow of products through our distribution network to deliver with unprecedented speed and precision.”
Home Depot leverages AI in different areas of its supply chain. From an inventory availability perspective, the retailer uses a number of advanced tools equipped with AI that allow it to better order and replenish goods as it anticipates demand.
For example, if a customer was remodeling a kitchen, they would be ordering items as small as cabinet handles to as big as a fridge or drywall. The smaller items may get shipped from a direct fulfillment center as a parcel delivery and the larger, bulkier items from a flatbed delivery center.
[READ MORE: New type of distribution center is a first for Home Depot]
More recently, Home Depot launched what it says is the home improvement industry’s first real-time delivery tracking tool for big and bulky deliveries. The solution is aimed at professional renovators, remodelers, builders and specialty tradespeople, a customer group Home Depot refers to as "Pros."
Available on the Home Depot mobile app and e-commerce site, the feature provides minute-by-minute updates on deliveries, including visibility into the truck route and remaining stops. Real-time delivery tracking is also live for consumers ordering large appliances.
Home Depot has also made several acquisitions in the past couple of years, including a $5.5 billion purchase of specialty building products provider GMS and the $18.25 billion acquisition of residential specialty trade distribution company SRS Distribution Inc., its largest purchase ever (SRS technically executed the deal for GMS).
Financial terms of the Simpl Automation agreement have not been disclosed.
At the end of fiscal 2025, Home Depot operated a total of 2,359 retail stores and over 1,250 SRS locations across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, 10 Canadian provinces and Mexico.
