The Parksville and District Chamber of Commerce (PDCC) has announced the opening of a new, nearly 20,000 square foot business fulfillment centre.
The facility, known as DELVI (Deliver Vancouver Island), will serve as a temporary location until the new centre is built in 2023. It will help small and medium businesses with online sales, warehouse and distribution solutions.
“The chamber sees the huge potential for small and medium size businesses on Vancouver Island to grow their businesses. It is a perfect fit with the ‘Support Local’ work we have been doing over the past several months. As a chamber of commerce, we want to ensure we serve and support our local businesses.” said Kim Burden, PDCC executive director.
The project was developed by Oceanside Initiatives, the economic development function of the PDCC and a recipient of a Community Economic Recovery Infrastructure Program grant in the amount of $620,000, awarded by the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development.
“The opening of this temporary fulfillment centre while work continues towards building the permanent centre is a positive step in supporting business owners who’ve had to shift and adapt to our new circumstances and change how they deliver goods as a result of the pandemic,” said Parksville-Qualicum MLA Adam Walker. “Our government invested $620,000 in this micro fulfillment centre because we understand it will help lower shipping costs for businesses and provide storage and processing space so people can spend less time on administrative processes and more time creating new products and growing their business.”
The centre, located at 1210 Industrial Way in Parksville, is a scalable, modular, configurable warehouse and delivery solution for businesses in the Oceanside region, Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands, the PDCC said.
“The economic environment has changed rapidly due to the impact that COVID-19 has had on sales and the way consumers purchase goods,” said Corry Hostetter, economic development coordinator of Oceanside Initiatives. “There has been an increase in businesses expanding their online sales presence in nearly every community on Vancouver Island. However, many island businesses do not have the ability to warehouse or fulfill orders in a cost-effective and shipping costs are expensive, which lower profit margins significantly.”
