Cencora Inc., one of the nation’s largest pharmaceutical distributors, said it will invest $1 billion through 2030 to expand and modernize its U.S. distribution network — a move aimed at building greater resilience and efficiency across the nation’s healthcare supply chain.
The plan includes the construction of a new 530,000-square-foot national distribution center in Harrison, Ohio, scheduled to be fully operational by spring 2027. The facility will use advanced automation, including robotic handling systems, artificial intelligence, and autonomous mobile robots, to improve accuracy and throughput. It will serve as a second national hub alongside Cencora’s existing Columbus facility, giving the company additional geographic redundancy and supply chain stability.
Cencora, formerly known as AmerisourceBergen, is also expanding its footprint on the West Coast. A new 430,000-square-foot distribution center in Fontana, California, expected to open in fall 2026, will nearly double the size of its current site and feature similar automation capabilities. Together, the new facilities are designed to handle rising pharmaceutical volumes while shortening delivery times for hospitals, pharmacies, and health systems nationwide.
The company is also investing heavily in cold-chain logistics — a critical component of the growing market for specialty pharmaceuticals used to treat chronic and rare diseases. Cencora’s Dothan, Alabama distribution center, one of three dedicated to specialty medicines, will expand refrigerated storage capacity by 500% and frozen capacity by 200% by fall 2026. The expansion reflects the sharp rise in demand for temperature-controlled handling, as roughly half of all drugs launched globally through 2027 are expected to require cold-chain storage, up from 37% a decade ago.
“Healthcare providers rely on us to ensure timely and reliable access to medications,” said Bob Mauch, Cencora’s president and CEO. “This investment strengthens the infrastructure that makes that possible and reinforces our commitment to a resilient pharmaceutical supply chain.”
The company said the decision comes amid major shifts in the pharmaceutical market. Specialty drugs are projected to account for 70% of new medicines launched through 2027, driving new logistical demands on distributors. Cencora ships more than five million medications and healthcare products daily to tens of thousands of providers, giving it a significant role in ensuring continuity of care during supply disruptions and surging demand for complex therapies.
“We’re committed to delivering an industry-leading customer experience,” said Rich Tremonte, executive vice president and president of U.S. Pharmaceuticals and Animal Health. “As demand grows and more specialty drugs reach the market, the investments we’re making now will strengthen our ability to support providers and patients across the country.”
Cencora’s $1 billion initiative underscores a broader transformation in pharmaceutical logistics, as distributors turn to automation, AI, and data-driven forecasting to build more agile, technology-enabled networks. Competitors such as McKesson and Cardinal Health have made similar moves to enhance automation and expand cold-chain capacity, as the industry races to meet the demands of an increasingly digital, decentralized healthcare system.
For Cencora — ranked No. 10 on the Fortune 500 with annual revenue exceeding $300 billion — the investment marks both a modernization effort and a hedge against supply chain fragility. By expanding capacity and geographic reach, the company aims to ensure that critical medications remain available “where and when patients need them,” Mauch said.
The new facilities in Ohio, California, and Alabama are part of a long-term strategy to reengineer the physical and digital backbone of Cencora’s U.S. operations. In doing so, the company joins a growing number of distributors investing in smart warehouses, robotics, and temperature-controlled networks to strengthen the healthcare supply chain for a more volatile future.
