Zalando Gets into the B2B Fulfillment Game
Zalando launched a B2B fulfillment service for third-party retailers and brands across Europe a year after a successful pilot.
The German fashion e-tailer introduced Zeos (short for Zalando E-commerce Operating System), an end-to-end solution built to fulfill a brand’s or retailer’s multichannel sales from either their own e-commerce store or other European marketplaces.
More from Sourcing Journal
As part of the service, brands and retailers can ship and store their goods using Zalando’s network of 12 warehouses and 20 return centers. With a single integration, sellers can access a single pool of inventory distributed via 40 carriers, offering more than 160 localized delivery and return options across 23 European markets.
“The European market presents an exciting opportunity for fashion and lifestyle brands and retailers,” said Jan Bartels, senior vice president B2B at Zalando, in a statement. “At the same time, it’s very difficult to navigate, with rising consumer expectations, and the increasing importance of multi-brand platforms, which adds more fragmentation and complexity to their commerce journey.”
Zalando first began testing the service in October 2022 under the Multichannel Fulfillment (MCF) branding, before rolling out the fulfillment solution with a limited group of partner brands. Today, 30 companies are already on board, including Marks & Spencer, Pepe Jeans and Polish shoes and accessories brand Kazar.
“We now have the opportunity to expand our offering across different digital sales channels in a simple way, achieving much shorter delivery times,” said Federica Miselli, global digital business director at Pepe Jeans owner AWWG. “This helps us uphold our commitment to customer service and satisfaction, and reach new digital markets where our current logistics set-up would not have allowed us to reach.”
The launch is the latest in a recent wave of retailers jumping into logistics and fulfillment services for third-party sellers, with American Eagle Outfitters and Gap Inc. both entering the sector over the past two years and Amazon and Walmart continuing to serve third-party sellers on their marketplaces.
Zeos is an independently operating unit inside Zalando, with 350 employees in Berlin and Stockholm. The service now powers the company’s established Zalando Logistics Solutions, which offers three services for partners: Zalando Fulfillment Solutions (ZFS), Zalando Shipping Solutions (ZSS), and Zalando Return Solutions (ZRS).
ZFS enables sellers to fulfill their orders on Zalando, and allows them to parcel-share with other Zalando partners and deliver one box to customers. This can help them save on logistics costs and deal with warehouse capacity restrictions.
ZSS aims to help partners send customer-ready parcels to Zalando’s central facility in Hamburg, Germany, before they’re sent out for last-mile delivery. The service is designed so retailers can grow their business by leveraging Zalando’s transport and carrier infrastructure, while still retaining control of their brand and fulfillment processes.
Brands using ZRS can lower their returns costs and get stock back online faster. In a single box, customers can return articles to one of Zalando’s return centers where they’re received, inspected and repackaged. The e-tailer consolidates the received returns and sets items online for resale, where they immediately become ZFS ready and can be shipped out automatically upon ordering.
Today, over 1,000 partners are already using Zalando Logistics Solutions, which serves 23 European markets. Since launching the services in 2017, Zalando has handled almost 380 million items for partner sellers.
Zalando’s new service comes as another apparel retailer streamlines it supply chain operations.
Eddie Bauer is working with GXO to manage its logistics capabilities in the U.S., outsourcing warehouse operations at a fully automated 385,000-square-foot facility in West Jefferson, Ohio.
GXO will manage Eddie Bauer’s retail and e-commerce fulfillment and reverse logistics, with the brand transitioning to the new automated distribution center when it’s completed in the second quarter of 2024. The contract logistics provider is leasing the facility, which is already built and being retrofitted for the operation.
The automated site will deploy a totes-to-person picking solution featuring technology from robotic fulfillment and inventory optimization software provider GreyOrange, as well as autobagger packing machines. GXO has deployed similar totes-to-person solutions at other sites to optimize vertical space and tote-handling applications to deliver agility, accuracy and optimal workflows in support of online fulfillment operations.
“We chose to enter a strategic partnership based on GXO’s proven expertise in automation and its commitment to continuous improvement,” said Mark Dorwart, chief logistics officer at Eddie Bauer parent Sparc Group, in a statement. “With GXO’s new automated warehouse, we expect to achieve higher efficiency and increased productivity as well as enhance service to our customers.”
