"We want to grow intelligently"

Arvato Distribution, a subsidiary of Bertelsmann SE & Co. KG, specialises in logistics and handling returns for online stores in Germany and abroad. The company currently has around 50 to 60 customers, including online shops belonging to the Fressnapf Group since 1 July.
Back in April the service provider leased the hall complex in Großzöberitz in the Heideloh industrial zone for five years. The building, which had been used up to 2012 as a logistics centre for Neckermann, had stood empty for two years. It was completely gutted and its technical equipment custom-fitted to meet Fressnapf's particular requirements. 

Three warehouse halls covering 24 000 m2 with up to 20 000 pallet spaces, ten ramps for incoming goods and eight for outgoing shipments are now available to Fressnapf. Ample opportunities also exist for further expansion. Apart from the four-level high bays, which accommodate primarily heavy goods such as food and litter products, the logistics centre has a modular shelf storage system in the outgoing goods hall for small-volume items and goods that tend to be slow-moving. More than 200 people work in the warehouse; this is twice as many as originally envisaged. Over 1 000 applicants had registered their interest in vacancies at the logistics site on the additionally created website www.wo-ist-heideloh.de.
Arvato Distribution has succeeded Baur Fulfillment Solutions in Burgkunstadt as a fulfilment service provider for Fressnapf. Cooperation with the latter company was terminated on 30 June. Arvato Distribution is based in Gütersloh and employs around 3 000 staff. In contrast to the previous cooperation partner, the Bertelsmann subsidiary is extremely familiar with the Omni Channel Commerce system of SAP subsidiary Hybris Software, on which the platform of Fressnapf's online shop is based. 
Fressnapf aims to link the online shop financially even more closely to the business as a whole in future. One important target is to cut delivery times down from three days on average in a first step and even get it down to just one day in future (next-day delivery). "An important plus point for this location is the nearby DHL parcel centre at Radefeld directly adjacent to the airport in Leipzig/Halle. This has a positive influence on the speed of parcel delivery," explains Sandro Krzywania, site manager for Arvato Distribution.