Jabil Expands Digital Commerce Capabilities at Center of Manufacturing Excellence in Chihuahua, Mexico

Rhea-AI Summary

Jabil Inc. (NYSE: JBL) has announced the expansion of its manufacturing capabilities in North America, with the addition of a third plant in Chihuahua, Mexico. This expansion offers customers increased regional production capacity, nearshoring opportunities, and access to robotics, process automation, AI, and additive manufacturing. The company will showcase its digital commerce innovations at NRF'24, highlighting collaborations with leading retailers and retail tech solution providers.

Insights

Market Research Analyst

The expansion of Jabil's manufacturing capabilities in North America, specifically the addition of a new plant in Chihuahua, Mexico, is a strategic move that aligns with the growing trend of nearshoring. By increasing their regional production capacity to over one-million square feet, Jabil is positioning itself to offer enhanced operational efficiency and flexibility to its customers. This move is likely to be well-received by investors, as it suggests a proactive approach to mitigating supply chain risks associated with overseas production and reducing lead times for delivery.

Moreover, Jabil's investment in digitalization, particularly in retail and warehouse automation solutions, taps into the increasing demand for technology-driven efficiency in the retail sector. As retailers continue to seek solutions for omnichannel shopping experiences and supply chain management, Jabil's offerings in robotics, process automation and AI could see heightened demand, potentially leading to revenue growth and a strengthened market position.

Financial Analyst

Jabil Inc.'s operational expansion and ongoing investment in digital commerce capabilities represent significant capital expenditures that are expected to impact their financials. The short-term implications might include increased capital outlays and potentially higher operating expenses as the new facilities ramp up. However, the long-term benefits could include cost savings from improved operational efficiency and increased sales from new and enhanced product offerings.

Investors should monitor Jabil's future earnings reports for indications of how these investments are translating into revenue growth and margin expansion. The company's ability to leverage its expanded manufacturing footprint and digital commerce capabilities to win new business and grow its customer base will be critical in determining the return on these investments.

Supply Chain Management Expert

The strategic positioning of Jabil's new plant in Mexico is a response to the ongoing challenges faced by the retail industry, including labor constraints and supply chain complexities. This expansion not only supports the trend towards nearshoring, which reduces dependency on distant suppliers, but also enhances Jabil's ability to respond to market changes with agility.

Nearshoring can help mitigate risks such as tariff uncertainties and geopolitical tensions that can disrupt international supply chains. For Jabil's retail customers, this could translate into more reliable and timely product delivery, thus improving inventory management and customer satisfaction. Additionally, the focus on warehouse automation and AI solutions could further streamline supply chain operations, leading to potential cost reductions and efficiency gains for Jabil's clients.

Jabil’s Retail Industry Leadership Reinforced by Expanded Manufacturing in North America, Ongoing Investment in Digitalization, and Continuous Collaboration with Retail Technology Disruptors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Jabil Inc. (NYSE: JBL) today announced enhanced digital commerce capabilities, encompassing the design, development, and manufacturing of retail and warehouse automation solutions, at a newly expanded center of excellence in Chihuahua, Mexico. The recent addition of this third plant in Chihuahua, the fifth in the region, offers customers access to over one-million square-feet of regional production capacity. In addition to elevating Jabil’s operational efficiency and flexibility, customers can benefit from increased nearshoring opportunities and greater access to robotics and process automation, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and additive manufacturing.

“Over the past two decades, Jabil has been at the forefront of the retail industry, working alongside valued customers to drive the development and delivery of the most advanced digital commerce solutions — from warehouse automation to in-store digitalization, including electronic shelf labels, autonomous robots, point-of-sale systems, contactless and embedded payment solutions, intelligent vending machines, self-checkout systems, and more,” said Rafael Renno, SVP, Global Business Units, Jabil. “Our investments in this industry enable customers to accelerate time to market and scale their solutions. Jabil plays an instrumental role in the industry with its capabilities in product development, industrialization, and factory automation.”

At NRF’24 (Booth 4375), Jabil will showcase the latest digital commerce innovations on behalf of leading retailers, such as Stop & Shop, along with game-changing retail tech solution providers, including Ocado, Revolut, SumUp, and VusionGroup, to name a few.

Automating Retail Workflows

As a manufacturing solutions provider with significant retail-industry experience, Jabil is uniquely positioned to keep pace with evolving omnichannel shopping experiences, changing customer preferences, ongoing labor constraints, and supply chain management complexities.

For Ocado Group, a technology-led, global software and robotics platform company, Jabil is expanding its additive manufacturing and scaling the manufacturing of Ocado’s Series 600 robot. The new, lighter and more efficient fulfilment robot enables a step change in the performance and economics of Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems (ASRS) for grocery and non-grocery applications. Over the past two years, Jabil has supported Ocado's rapid design iterations by leveraging its complete range of additive manufacturing capabilities.

“Working with Jabil has enabled the commercialization of our Series 600 robot, which features around 300 3D-printed parts that slash overall weight by two thirds and empower us to be more creative with unique part geometries,” said Paul Turner, COO at Ocado. “We are benefiting from Jabil’s increased manufacturing capacity in Mexico, along with their know-how in additive manufacturing and materials science, to scale volume manufacturing of our cutting-edge robots.”

In-Store Digitalization Transforms Shopping Experiences

Badger Technologies, a product division of Jabil and pioneer in retail robotics, also is taking advantage of expanded manufacturing capacity in Mexico to increase production volumes while reducing supply chain and logistics costs, especially for customers in North America, which is considered one of the biggest retail markets in the world. Badger Technologies has deployed more than 650 multipurpose, autonomous robots throughout the U.S., including nearly 400 robots at Stop & Shop stores throughout the Northeast.

Badger Technologies robots work seamlessly with digital displays and Electronic Shelf Labels (ESLs), fixed cameras, LIDAR, sensors, and other cloud-based web services to help retailers transform their stores into intelligent digital assets. For longstanding Jabil customer, VusionGroup, the ability to ramp manufacturing to produce millions of ESL tags monthly at Jabil’s expanded site in Mexico enables the company to keep pace with a steady stream of high-volume customer demands.

Moreover, Jabil’s precision automation solutions, which incorporate advanced quality testing, along with assembly and alignment capabilities, have helped VusionGroup optimize productivity and reliability of its latest EdgeSense™ and VUSION product lines while decreasing production cycle times. “Jabil has a history of meeting our rigorous demands for reliability, quality, and cost,” said Philippe Bottine, CEO of North America, VusionGroup (Booth 5420 at NRF’24). “We are pleased with how Jabil’s latest innovations in process automation are accelerating the production of our product portfolio, including smart rails that combine connectivity and energy, as well as battery-less digital labels with enhanced performance to provide a substantial carbon footprint reduction compared to any existing ESL solution.”

Related Jabil News at NRF

• Badger Technologies and Stop & Shop Sponsor ‘Selfies with Marty the Robot’ Promotion at National Retail Federation Show to Fight Student Food Insecurity
• Jabil Teams with Fintech Leader Revolut to Scale Development and Production of Innovative Mobile Payment mPOS Solution

Jabil’s Expanding Digital Retail Ecosystem

Jabil continues to diversify its portfolio of solutions developed and delivered on behalf of retail-industry leaders to meet market expectations and customers’ sales projections, including the monthly production of 800,000 point-of-sale terminals, 1,000 robots, and up to 500 self-service checkouts and intelligent vending machines.

About Jabil

At Jabil (NYSE: JBL), we are proud to be a trusted partner for the world's top brands, offering comprehensive engineering, manufacturing, and supply chain solutions. With over 50 years of experience across industries and a vast network of over 100 sites worldwide, Jabil combines global reach with local expertise to deliver both scalable and customized solutions. Our commitment extends beyond business success as we strive to build sustainable processes that minimize environmental impact and foster vibrant and diverse communities around the globe. Discover more at www.jabil.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240115496693/en/

Media

Michael Kovacs

Senior Director, Marketing, Jabil

1.408.427.1191

michael_kovacs@jabil.com

Source: Jabil, Inc.

FAQ

What did Jabil announce regarding its manufacturing capabilities in North America?

Jabil Inc. (NYSE: JBL) announced enhanced digital commerce capabilities, including the design, development, and manufacturing of retail and warehouse automation solutions at a newly expanded center of excellence in Chihuahua, Mexico.

What are the benefits for customers with the addition of the third plant in Chihuahua?

Customers can benefit from increased nearshoring opportunities, greater access to robotics, process automation, AI, and additive manufacturing, and over one-million square-feet of regional production capacity.

Which retail tech solution providers will Jabil collaborate with at NRF'24?

Jabil will showcase digital commerce innovations on behalf of leading retailers such as Stop & Shop, along with retail tech solution providers including Ocado, Revolut, SumUp, and VusionGroup.

What is Jabil's role in the retail industry?

Jabil has been at the forefront of the retail industry, working alongside valued customers to drive the development and delivery of advanced digital commerce solutions, including warehouse automation, in-store digitalization, and various retail tech solutions.

What are Jabil's capabilities in product development and industrialization?

Jabil's investments in the retail industry enable customers to accelerate time to market and scale their solutions, with capabilities in product development, industrialization, and factory automation.