This summer Zalando will begin construction on its first Dutch fulfilment centre in an existing business park in Bleiswijk, near Rotterdam. The Bleiswijk fulfilment centre will cater to customers in Western Europe, namely the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Spain and the United Kingdom.
The site will have a floor area of 140,000 sq m and a total storage capacity of 16m items. The first parcels are set to be delivered from Bleiswijk in the summer of 2021. About 1,500 jobs will be created in the mid-term. The development is being undertaken by a joint venture with Somerset Capital Partners and USAA Realco-Europe. Once the fulfilment centre is ramped up to full speed, Zalando aims to reduce delivery lead times in Benelux markets.
Kenneth Melchior, Director Northern Europe said: “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 fulfilment 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 will invest €200m in the centre’s intralogistics. The fulfilment centre will have the highest level of automation within Zalando’s network, which currently consists of nine fulfilment centres spread across Europe. The high degree of automation will take physically demanding tasks from employees.
Zalando has chosen Bleiswijk in the municipality of Lansingerland because of its location, the opportunity to invest into an existing business park with a well-developed infrastructure, and good collaboration with local authorities in Lansingerland. The proximity to the A12 highway and being in the heart of the densely populated Randstad region fit Zalando’s ambition to be close to its customers.
Source: Zalando
