XPO Logistics Archives

XPO, a leading provider of innovative and sustainable end-to-end logistics solutions across Europe, announces a partnership with METRO Markets on the occasion of the inauguration of METRO France’s new logistics platform dedicated to non-food e-commerce, as France’s leading foodservice supplier.

METRO Marketplace, which has already been launched in Italy, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, and Germany, is METRO’s online marketplace. Unique in Europe, it offers a wide range of non-food products for hotels and restaurants. Building on the success of these initial launches, METRO inaugurated an 18,300 m2 warehouse in Roye, France, on 12 September, to accelerate the roll-out across Europe.

The new warehouse brings together 3,300 direct non-food references (furniture, small and large appliances, tableware, food preparation, disposable solutions, hygiene and maintenance, office supplies and equipment, etc.) for a total of 100,000 references available for order.

To ensure the delivery of the heavy and bulky products on offer, METRO Markets selected XPO Logistics as its partner because of its expertise in palletised distribution and its last-mile delivery service.

One of XPO Logistics’ largest distribution centres in France is located in the same industrial estate as METRO France’s Roye warehouse, with a 7,500 m2 cross-dock. With a workforce of 175 employees, including 93 drivers, and a fleet of 127 semi-trailers, an average of 600 deliveries are made daily for all XPO Logistics customers. The geographical proximity of the two sites is one of the key advantages of the collaboration, with deliveries possible throughout France within 24 hours.

By handling these deliveries for METRO Markets, XPO is reinforcing its position as a key partner for companies wishing to transform and accelerate their business by relying on a reliable and innovative expert. XPO Logistics’ territorial coverage, its 10 years of expertise in last-mile delivery, and its tracking system, which enables customers to follow the various stages of their shipments in real time, are among the main reasons why METRO Markets has placed its trust in XPO Logistics.

Frédéric Aziron, director of less-than-truckload and last mile – France, XPO Logistics, said: “We are very excited about this new partnership with METRO Markets. The power of our LTL network, its high volume capacity, our last-mile expertise and our agility enable us to design robust, tailor-made solutions to meet our customers’ ambitions.”

Benjamin Baraza, Country Manager France, METRO Markets, said: “Our customers and the foodservice market have high expectations, which we are meeting to with our marketplace. Their satisfaction is also based on fast, reliable deliveries, in particular those provided by XPO Logistics on our behalf”.

XPO Logistics is a leading innovative supply chain company in Europe, offering end-to-end logistics solutions that combine full-truck-load, less-than-truck-load, pallet, last-mile delivery, global freight forwarding and warehousing services. The company tailors its solutions to the specific needs of its customers in a wide range of industrial and consumer sectors.

XPO, a leading provider of innovative and sustainable end-to-end logistics solutions across Europe, has successfully completed a pilot trial of Hunic exoskeleton suit safety equipment at specific business sites and will deploy the technology across the UK and Ireland before the end of this year.

The suits were introduced to XPO Logistics network sites and some dedicated warehouses in January, including Crick (Scania), the Leicester shared user warehouse (Samsung), and the Volkswagen Group UK National Parts Distribution Centre in Dordon, Glen Dimplex, and Daimler in Milton Keynes. Current users at each site are helping to train wider groups on how to use the suits.

Hunic Exoskeleton technology assists wearers with heavy lifting duties, ensuring their posture is correct to reduce the chance of injury. It significantly reduced the fatigue felt by those working in the five XPO depots where the suits were tested. Productivity improved as well: After using the suits at the Samsung operations, there was a 15-20% reduction in unloading time.

Ian Fox, head of health and safety – UK and Ireland, XPO Logistics, said: “The feedback from our XPO colleagues using the exoskeletons during the pilot was hugely positive. The wearers reported significantly less fatigue and effort required in the routine handling activities, which has supported the decision to expand the use and invest in the equipment for the benefit of our colleagues. Additionally, we found that the exoskeleton assists in forming good postural habits that will benefit the wearer even while not using the equipment.”

The Hunic Exoskeleton is designed to prevent the wearer from lifting with incorrect posture. It will only allow the body to move in connection with safe manual handling techniques. For example, it will not allow the back to make an incorrect posture movement. The suit helps the wear undertake repetitive lifting safely while also improving turnaround time.”

XPO’s innovative, end-to-end service offerings include technology-enabled logistics, truckload, less-than-truckload, truck brokerage, managed transport, last mile and freight forwarding. The company tailors its solutions to customer-specific needs across consumer, trade and industrial sectors.

Tag: XPO Logistics

Partnership Supports METRO e-commerce in France

XPO Logistics Rolling out Hunic Exoskeleton

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