German fashion e-tailer Zalando has announced plans to build a new 140,000 sqm fulfillment centre in the Netherlands to help boost its growth in Western Europe.
The Berlin-based firm said it will invest EUR200m (US$225.3m) in the intralogistics of the facility which will have the highest level of automation within Zalando’s network, which currently consists of nine fulfillment centres spread across Europe.
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Zalando said the high degree of automation will take “physically demanding tasks” from employees while increasing the service level for its customers.
Construction is due to start this summer at the site – an existing business park in Bleiswijk, near Rotterdam. The centre will cater to customers in Western Europe, namely the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Spain, and the United Kingdom.
“A strong logistics network is the foundation for realising our growth strategy and the vision of becoming the Starting Point for Fashion,” Jan Bartels, SVP customer fulfillment says. “By constructing a new state-of-the-art fulfillment centre in Bleiswijk, we are confident that this is an important step forward in building the infrastructure to achieve EUR20bn in gross merchandise volume by 2023/2024.”
The site will have a total storage capacity of 16m items, with the first parcels set to be delivered from Bleiswijk in the summer of 2021. About 1,500 jobs will be created in the mid-term.
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By GlobalDataOnce the fulfillment centre is ramped up to full speed, Zalando aims to reduce delivery lead times in Benelux markets.
Kenneth Melchior, director Northern Europe adds: “The Benelux markets play an integral role in the growth ambition of Zalando. Over the next five years we aim to more than double revenues in this region, thereby strengthening our position as market leader. The opening of our fulfillment centre in Bleiswijk is crucial in enabling this growth. We look forward to enhancing our customer proposition by reducing delivery lead times in the Benelux area and introducing services like next and same-day delivery once Bleiswijk is fully operational.”
Zalando added it plans to invest in sustainable solutions for the construction of the fulfillment centre, and will, for example, install solar panels on the roof of the building.
