Gütersloh - Arvato SCM Solutions and MARC O'POLO have expanded their cooperation: as of December 2016, the supply chain and e-commerce specialist is now also responsible for the trade logistics of the premium fashion brand's shoes and accessories, using RFID technology. As well as storage, order picking and shipping, Arvato will be providing special value-added services from its distribution site in Dortmund. From now on, MARC O'POLO products will be sent from there to trade partners in 16 countries. Goods will be sent to both MARC O'POLO shops and franchise stores, as well as wholesale partners such as Zalando, Amazon, Görtz or Breuninger. The partnership between Arvato and MARC O'POLO was established in 2010. The full service provider initially supported the fashion brand with comprehensive services in the international e-commerce sector. Then, in 2015, Arvato organised a comprehensive omnichannel integration with processes such as Click&Collect, Reserve&Collect and cross docking, as well as introducing a new CRM system and the 'MARC O'POLO for members' loyalty scheme.
Providing trade logistics contributes to a further link of the process chain. Arvato will be in charge of storage, order picking and preparing goods for shipment, all from its 32,000 square metre distribution centre. This task includes comprehensive value-added services such as the allocation of filling material and customer-specific labelling. The goods are then sent to trading partners in countries such as France, Croatia, Sweden, Russia or China. Furthermore, since the MARC O'POLO merchandise in both the high street and online shops is equipped with RFID tags, RFID technology has been introduced in the loading docks. This means that items are no longer scanned individually – instead, ready-packed product ranges can simply be recorded in bulk before shipping. This significantly reduces processing time and costs. "Storage area and transport costs can also be reduced, thanks to the consolidation of the B2B and B2C business. This is because the journey between the B2B and B2C warehouses in Munich and Dortmund has been respectively cut," says Niels Weithe, Managing Director for Consumer Products at Arvato SCM Solutions, pointing out another advantage. Karl-Heinz Lauterbach, Managing Director of MARC O'POLO Shoes, is also impressed by the advantages of an even tighter cooperation with Arvato: "Creating closer ties between the online shop and B2B warehouses will optimise our stock in the long term and increase availability in the online shop. Trading partners will benefit from this shelf extension through an optimised sales ratio and turnover.”