Expansion of fashion distribution centers in Dorsten/Marl and Dortmund

The new storage space is needed above all for existing customers from the fashion industry, whose quantities of goods have increased sharply in online shipping. In addition to normal annual growth, the international supply chain management and e-commerce service provider registered significant increases in order volumes, especially in the first months of the Corona crisis, some of which even exceeded peak order volumes in the Christmas business. In order to make logistical process handling even more efficient in the future, investments are being made in new automation technology in addition to expansion.

In Dortmund, the expansion of the approximately 33,000 square meter distribution center began at the beginning of September. In the future, an additional 7,700 square meters of floor space and 900 square meters of mezzanine will be available there. The construction work is scheduled to be completed in March 2021 and operations will then start in July 2021 after the installation of the intralogistics systems. "With this expansion, we are creating automated processing of goods receipt, storage and order picking for the volume growth of our international fashion customers," explains Christoph Echelmeyer, site manager of the distribution center of Arvato Supply Chain Solutions in Dortmund. "In addition, a central goods receipt as well as a central goods issue with sorter and packing stations will be set up over two levels."

Since around 50 new jobs will also be created in the course of the expansion of the multi-user location for fashion and beauty logistics, the car park will be expanded by 60 additional parking spaces and a bicycle shelter including e-charging stations. In recent months, Arvato has continuously increased the number of jobs in Dortmund and currently employs around 450 people there.

Construction work on the expansion of the 60,000 square meter e-commerce distribution center in the Dorsten/Marl inter-municipal industrial park is also in full swing. The site, which went into operation three years ago and offers customer services in addition to logistics services, is one of the most modern in Arvato's network and acts as a strategic anchor location for the growing online business. Since July, 2,000 square meters of new floor space have been created there and three equally large mezzanines have been installed, so that a total of 8,000 square meters of additional usable space will be available in the future. Completion is scheduled for March 2021. "The new building will be equipped with a multi-storey shelving system and used as a picktower – a step that is absolutely necessary in view of the volume growth at our customers," says Christoph Brings, site manager of the distribution centre in Dorsten/Marl. In addition, additional special workspaces will be created in order to be able to carry out special value-added services.

In addition to the new logistics space, another extension with social rooms for employees will be built by February 2021, in which Arvato is investing a high six-figure sum. This is necessary due to the continuous increase in the number of jobs, which could probably increase by up to 100 in the course of the current expansion. Currently, an average of 500 employees work in Dorsten/Marl, who take over all logistical services of the B2B and B2C business for numerous customers. In addition, around 100 employees are employed in Customer Service.