U.S. - Ikea announced it has leased additional warehouse space to serve as a customer fulfillment center to complement its network of seven regional distribution centers currently supporting its 47 U.S. stores.

The 975,000-square-foot leased facility is part of Matrix Global Logistics Park in Staten Island and will be operational in late 2018.

“As we expand across the country and grow our online presence, we want to ensure we have sufficient warehouse capacity to support the efficient and timely delivery and shipment of products to our customers,” said Lars Petersson, IKEA U.S. president. “Our goal is to increase accessibility to IKEA products, and a new fulfillment center in Staten Island will help us meet the home furnishing needs of our customers in the New York metropolitan area.”

The fulfillment center at Matrix Global Logistics Park will focus on delivering items to customers who order products online or purchase larger items at an IKEA store. The site will be operated by CEVA Logistics and the project will create approximately 200 jobs. CEVA Logistics is a global leader in supply chain operations that is currently working with IKEA at customer distribution centers in the U.K.

With nearly 1,000 suppliers in 50 countries, IKEA traditionally transports products globally to its stores through regional distribution centers. This customer fulfillment center and others in the future will augment the current U.S. distribution strategy and enhance IKEA’s ability to ensure product availability for customers shopping in-store or online.