KoP’s Radial expects busy holiday season, will add 800 shipping jobs in Burlington, NJ

When ecommerce logistics company Radial got acquired by Belgian shipper bpost last October, former Radial CEO Matthew Espe called the move a “critical next step for both companies” amid the continued growth of ecommerce everywhere.

Perhaps Espe was looking at the projections for this year’s holiday season, which eMarketer says will get retailers growing by 15 percent, buoyed by upticks in online and mobile shopping. Ahead of rush time, the King of Prussia, Pa.-based company plans to hire some 800 seasonal workers for its Burlington, N.J., fulfillment center, up from just 350 openings last year.

Radial EVP of Operations Services Sean McCartney cited a recent company study that says 34 percent of U.S. shoppers expect to get their packages in two days or less, and said the hiring push will help orders run smoothly.

“We’re thrilled to be creating so many additional jobs in Burlington and are excited to welcome back the seasonal workers who return each year,” McCartney said.

The seasonal hires will join some 2,950 full-time employees at Radial’s 20 fulfillment centers across the country, who pack and process orders for brands like Bath & Body Works, PetSmart, Adidas, Nautica and GameStop.

Around 1 million people currently work at warehouses across the U.S., packing and processing online orders, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Radial, which has deep roots in the Philly tech ecosystem, was founded in 2016 as a combination of eBay Enterprise’s former B2B operations and a company called Innotrac. The 2017 acquisition by bpost was a significant $820-million deal.