Launch

German ecommerce giant Otto has announced that it is outsourcing part of its own logistics. The Group is building a shipping center in Poland. From the new location, orders will be picked and shipped to German customers.

Dutch fulfillment company Monta has opened a warehouse in the United Kingdom. This is the company’s third international expansion. Six months ago, it entered Belgium.

Whoppah, a marketplace for second-hand design and art, has recently entered the French market. The Dutch company previously spread its wings to Belgium and Germany. Its ambitions are pan-European.

Ecommerce fulfillment and customer service provider Salesupply is launching a hybrid AI chatbot. It is meant to reduce customer service costs for online sellers, while also improving customer experience. Soon, the company wants to implement the technology in mail and telephone customer service inquiries as well.

Alibaba.com has announced the launch of the Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) in Europe. With the initiative, Alibaba’s B2B platform aims to promote gender equality in business and support female entrepreneurship.

Kaufland, one of the larger ecommerce platforms in Germany, is expanding to Poland and Austria this coming late summer. Schwarz Gruppe, the owner of Kaufland and supermarket chain Lidl, has more online plans: it is allocating 200 million for Lidl's ecommerce activities.

Polish online marketplace Allegro has launched in Slovakia, with a dedicated website. The expansion follows the company’s expansion into the Czech Republic last year. The marketplace has already announced plans of future launches in other European countries.

Dutch fulfillment company Salesupply is expanding its global network again. It is opening fulfillment centers in Sweden and Denmark. The company wants to make selling cross-border to these countries easier for online merchants.

Wish will offer European shoppers the opportunity to exchange used tech devices for money. To do this, Wish owner ContectLogic has entered into a partnership with refurbished goods provider Remarketed. The program will start in the Netherlands next month, followed by other European countries.

German pet store group Fressnapf is launching its ninth European logistics location. The new building will cover almost 72,000 square meters. The news is accompanied by the Group’s financial results of last year, as it generated a turnover of around 4 billion euros.

Pineca has launched an Austrian online store. This is the fourth new market that the online supplier of prefabricated wooden buildings has targeted in the last 14 months. The company now operates in nine European countries in total.

German online pet supply store Zooplus is launching its subscription program in Belgium and the Netherlands. In total, the subscription is now available in 8 markets. In the coming months, the retailer is expanding the model into 20 European markets.

Dutch fulfillment company Salesupply has added another new fulfillment location to its global network. It is located in Lyon, France. The warehouse is 15,000 square meters, which gives the company the opportunity to process higher volumes in that country.

Dutch discount platform iBood is expanding into a new European market, France. The platform is already active in four other markets, in addition to its home country. It will now provide daily discount deals to French customers.

Amazon announced plans to use drones while delivering packages to customers in the United Kingdom and Italy starting next year, with services set to commence at undisclosed locations before the end of 2024. Selected customers will be able to have items weighing up to approximately 2 kilograms delivered to their gardens by a drone.