Arvato is expanding its cooperation with the internationally active Douglas Group. In the future, the supply chain and e-commerce service provider will also supply services for the markets in Italy, Poland, Central Eastern Europe, and the Baltic countries. Two new distribution centers to open in Italy and Poland.
Arvato is expanding its long-standing partnership with the Douglas Group. In the 25th year of the successful collaboration, the leading provider of supply chain and e-commerce services will now also handle the fulfillment for the Douglas Group's customers and stores in Italy, Poland, Central Eastern Europe, and the Baltic countries, in addition to the DACH region, Arvato announced in a press release.
The centerpieces of these services will be two new distribution hubs in Italy and Poland. The first one is a new 46,000 sqm distribution center in Mszczonów, near Warsaw, Poland. The second site in Bologna will be taking care of warehousing and fulfilment for the complete Italian region on 18,000 sqm of warehouse space. Both logistics centers will be equipped with a high degree of automation technology, and optimally support the Douglas Group’s omnichannel strategy.
High standards of sustainability
Especially the new hub in Mszczonów will not only meet but exceed ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) standards. It will be one of only ten warehouse properties in Poland with a “BREEAM” certificate at the highest level “Outstanding”. “BREEAM” stands for ‘Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methodology’ and is an assessment system for ecological and socio-cultural aspects of the sustainability of buildings that originated in the UK. The distribution center in Mszczonów includes intelligent and constumption-optimized lighting control and the implementation of smart metering systems to monitor energy consumption. Heat pumps serve as an energy source for both heating and cooling and a photovoltaic system on the roof. Operations are expected to commence in the second half of 2025.
Supply to domestic markets
The new warehouses in Italy and Poland will, similar to the existing Arvato site in Hamm, Germany, fully function as omnichannel warehouses with a shared inventory for both B2C (e-commerce) and B2B (stores) orders. They thus optimally support the Douglas Group’s omnichannel business: Europe’s leading omnichannel destination for premium beauty strives to improve the customer experience in both stores and e-commerce through, among others, better product availability and reduced shipping times. Both warehouses will initially only supply the domestic markets, with more countries to follow at a later date.
“As we continue to roll out our successful omnichannel supply chain model across Europe, we are happy to have Arvato as a strong and trusted partner,” said Dr. Kai Schaal, Senior Vice President Supply Chain Management at the Douglas Group. “Together, we will continue to work on extending the service for our customers and ensuring that at Douglas, they’ll find the best beauty shopping experience around.”
