LPP has launched an e-commerce warehouse in Slovakia to serve Central European markets
LPP, the largest Polish clothing manufacturer, has launched a Fulfilment Enter-type warehouse in Slovakia as part of its e-commerce channel development strategy, to support online sales on Central European markets. The warehouse located in PNK Park SEREĎ was originally to cover 25,000 m2 of industrial space with an option to expand it by another 7,000 m2 over the next three years. The company, given the intense growth of sales in the Central European region, as well as the dynamic increase in the importance of the e-commerce channel in the LPP’s revenue structure, decided to speed up these plans.
– At the end of last year we made an estimation of the usefulness of additional warehouse space and decided to get the facility in operation in the enlarged option of 32,000 m2. This solution allows us to use the facility in a cross-dock model, which combines the operations typical of online sales service with the supplying the chain of brick-and-mortar stores in Central Europe – explains Sylwester Dmytriwski, e-commerce fulfilment general manager LPP.
The decision to open a warehouse in Slovakia is part of the company’s strategy for the development of its international distribution network. The location and the facility itself meet a number of criteria which the Polish clothing manufacturer was particularly interested in. The most important of them are: proximity of key markets for LPP, availability of workforce and technical specification of the building, which allows for the implementation of state-of-the-art intralogistic technologies and warehouse automation.
The building has been divided into two parts, the first one with an area of 17,000 m2 is mostly dedicated to manual operations. The second part (15,000 m2) is dedicated to automatic solutions and cross-dock operations of goods intended for the stores chain. It has also been equipped with high storage racks for e-commerce and brick-and-mortar stores from the Central Europe region. The total storage area for this purpose includes as many as 2040 pallet spaces. Despite the relatively short time that has passed since the launch of the facility, the maximum number of products that entered and left the warehouse in one day has reached 152,000.
– Our new warehouse facility will play a key role in LPP’s distribution network. It ensures the highest standard of customer service for our online stores not only in Slovakia, but also in the Czech Republic and Hungary, although we do not rule out the possibility that the range of operation of the warehouse will be extended to other countries – comments Jacek Kujawa, Vice President of the Management Board of LPP.
The investment makes it possible to offer all customers of LPP brands from the Central European region the next business day delivery, and in some locations even the same day delivery.
Apart from the standard automatic solutions used by LPP in logistics facilities, the warehouse in Slovakia will ultimately be equipped with three unique installations, which will be built in partnership with Vanderlande – the largest supplier of warehouse automation worldwide.
– Close cooperation with Vanderlande, but also growing needs for improvement of logistic processes, inspired us to implement the state-of-the-art automatic solutions in our facility in Slovakia, which will make it the most modern warehouse of this type in this part of Europe – adds Dmytriwski.
The facility will ultimately include a pocket sorter with a system of conveyors with RFiD control tunnels and the so-called shipping sorter, which will automate the process of sending orders.
– The solutions used in the warehouse are the highest level of warehouse automation currently available on the market, which puts LPP in the lead of companies that have decided to implement them. With our scale of operations and prospects for the Central European market, the implementation of advanced warehouse automation was a necessity, which will provide our customers in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary with immediate delivery of ordered goods and will significantly increase the competitiveness of our offer in these markets – concludes Kujawa.
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LPP SA is a Polish family business and one of the fastest growing clothing companies in the region of Central and Eastern Europe. For over 25 years it has been successfully operating in Poland and abroad, offering its collection already on 25 markets, including in such prestigious capitals as London, Berlin, Tel Aviv or Moscow. LPP SA manages five fashion brands: Reserved, Cropp, House, Mohito, and Sinsay. The company has a chain of over 1700 stores with the total area of over 1 million sq.m. The online offer of the brands collections is available on 31 markets. On the basis of a global supply chain, the Polish clothing producer distributes over 265 million pieces of clothing to three continents. LPP plays another important role as it employs over 24 thousand people in its offices and sales structures in Poland, Europe, Asia, and Africa. The company is listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange in the WIG20 index and belongs to the prestigious MSCI Poland index.