Cory State-of-the-Art Facility in Pompano Beach Serves Furniture, Appliance/Electronics Retailers, and Interior Designers

Furniture World Magazine

The ribbon has been ceremoniously cut, and CORY Home Delivery Service’s brand new south Florida warehousing and distribution center is open for business. Catering to the needs of the retail furniture, electronics, appliance, and interior designer communities, the 25,000-square-foot fully appointed facility is in Pompano Beach. The city is in a favorable location, centrally situated in the heart of the marketplace in the most heavily populated part of Florida — near Fort Lauderdale and midway between West Palm Beach and Miami. Replacing an older facility in Miami, the new facility provides CORY with easy access to better serve clients in those cities and throughout Florida, including Orlando, Naples, Tampa, and the Keys, as well as other areas of the state. It also serves as a warehouse and delivery center for retailers doing business outside the state. “The opening of the Pompano Beach facility marks an important juncture for CORY as the company expands its services and moves more extensively into new geographic areas and markets,” says CEO Joseph Cory, Sr. “We have invested heavily to make the new center among the most state-of-the-art home facilities in the region.” Providing warehousing and complete in-home white-glove delivery service for existing retailers that include furniture, electronics, and appliances, the Pompano Beach center is expanding to accommodate the needs of the interior designer market as well. “We are currently targeting the Design Center of the Americas (DCOTA) in Dania Beach, the center of designer activity in this market servicing designers, architects, builders, and decorators, which is close to our Pompano Beach facility,” says Mr. Cory. “We have a long history of positive relationships with designers in the New York market and want to offer that service to Florida interior designers as well.” With the capacity to handle large volumes of inventory, the Pompano Beach center is able to receive product from anywhere in the country and around the world in containers, truckload, and less-than-truckload shipments. The warehouse and delivery process at Pompano Beach and CORY centers nationwide involves several steps. It begins with receipt of merchandise that is barcoded into CORY’s integrated management system (CIMS) for tracking purposes and placement into inventory, after which delivery is scheduled with the customer and confirmed. CORY personnel then locate the product from inventory, strip it from the carton, and prepare and deluxe the product, which goes through a four-stage inspection process, followed by blanket wrapping and delivery into the customer’s home. The process is so comprehensive that CORY fully assembles all products — including beds — in the warehouse, before delivery. CORY is obsessed with details — case in point, installing light bulbs in china closets and wall units and testing them before they go out. Such preparations assure that product can be easily assembled when it reaches the customer’s home. “Though full-bed assembly is very time-consuming, in the end it helps CORY achieve high completion rates that are historically above 98 percent,” Mr. Cory says. Full assembly, he adds, not only ensures that all the holes line up for bed slots and that all hardware is included, but also works to meet and exceed the customer’s expectations so that what she sees in the showroom is what she receives at home. The driver disassembles the bed and blanket-wraps it for delivery, he adds. Then at the customer’s home, the delivery team sets up the product and removes packaging and debris — leaving only when the customer is satisfied. The process assures that the consumer will receive a quality product and is among the many steps CORY takes to ensure complete satisfaction. “When all is said and done, there’s more to home delivery than just dropping off furniture and appliances,” says Mr. Cory, emphasizing that retailers go to great measures to ensure that customers have a positive showroom experience. For the customer and the savvy retailer, delivery is the continuation of the sales cycle. “Home delivery is all about meeting and exceeding the customer’s expectations," he concludes. It is our job to ensure that the customer feels as good or better about what is delivered to her home as she did when she stood inside the showroom and made the purchase in the first place.” The oldest and largest specialized home delivery carrier in America, CORY Home Delivery Service, founded by Joseph Cory in 1934, today is in its third generation of family management. Headed by sons Joseph Cory, Sr. and James Cory, the company has grown to serve major retailers in the home furnishings, decorator, electronics, and appliance markets. Its list of more than 50 clients includes top retailers such as Rooms To Go, Ethan Allen, Thomasville Home Furnishings, Carson Pirie Scott, Crate&Barrel, Best Buy, Circuit City, and Home Depot. Based in Jersey City, CORY serves markets throughout the United States and Puerto Rico. The company dispatches a modern fleet of 300 customized delivery vehicles daily and owns and operates more than 1.4 million square feet of warehouse space. For more information, call Patrick Cory in Jersey City at 201-795-1000, extension 240, or visit the CORY Home Delivery Service Web site at www.corycompanies.com.