PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Starting Saturday, Portland International Airport is set to open a new Central Receiving and Distribution Center to make your travel experience even more seamless.
Before the CRDC, vendors delivering goods at PDX would coordinate directly with the recipient, sometimes waiting 30-45 minutes for an escort in order to make their deliveries.
These deliveries would come at all hours of the day and night and from many people who might not be familiar with the airport. So there was often confusion as to where to go and what to do.
Now, with a centralized receiving and distribution facility, deliveries all go to one place. They’re security screened and Bradford Airport Logistics is responsible for getting the deliveries to the vendors when they need them.
“This is something that is invisible to the traveling public, but highly visible to operations and law enforcement,” said Benjamin Richter, the CEO for Bradford Airport Logistics.
The culmination of the CRDC has been ongoing for the past year. There was the development of the facility, and over the last 90 days they’ve been bringing the staff, equipment and infrastructure in play for the opening on Saturday at PDX.
Began in Detroit 20 years ago
This is the 22nd domestic operation of its kind.
This concept was first manifested in Detroit, Michigan 20 years ago. At the time, Detroit wasn’t just one of the worst airports in the country for customer service, Richter said, they were dead last.
“By building a new $2 billion facility they decided the way logistics were to be done needed to change,” he said. “They looked out to the commercial concerns for how material could be better managed in an airport. That is where the Centralized Receiving Distribution Center was born.”
The concept has materialized and advanced even further over the past two decades to meet the ever-changing needs of the aviation industry.
“Today, Portland is making the investment in the right infrastructure to ensure that efficiency, safety and security meet these modern-day challenges,” Richter said.
KOIN 6 News got a behind-the-scenes look at how a food item now goes from delivery to delicious.
The owner of Relevant Coffee in Vancouver, Mitch Montgomery, said this new system allows his small business to effortlessly sell their coffee and products to larger brands and become a part of a bigger organization.
“’It’s really exciting to see this new platform because it’s really going to greatly reduce the amount of time we spend delivering to Burgerville at the airport,” Montgomery said. “The CRDC has streamlined and really made it a lot easier for us.”
Goods come into one inspection and receiving area. Once they’re cleared, they go to a secure side of the facility where items are staged for precise deliveries to the airport.
“The traveling public can expect to know that their customer service experience is going to improve, the hassle factor around how they get in and out of the airport should improve and more importantly — our regulatory standards are not only being met, but exceeded,” Richter said. “This airport is leaning forward in the development of what is going to become one of the great U.S. airport operations.”
The centralized facility will reduce the amount of commercial traffic headed to PDX, making it faster for travelers to get there.
Ultimately, this facility will make PDX employees’ jobs easier, too.
Now, retailers and restaurants at PDX can focus all their energy on the customers, rather than logistics, getting you what you need in time for your flight.
