Logistics

Ecommerce giant Amazon has reached an agreement with the Italian state railways. Together, they are launching a rail service to move products between distribution centers in Italy and Germany by train. This could greatly reduce the marketplace’s CO2 emissions.

Otto saw a significant decline in revenue in the past fiscal year. However, the trading volume slightly increased, thanks to sales from partners on Otto's marketplace. They account for one-third of the income. Otto aims to expand its marketplace offering within Europe.

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.

For the second consecutive year, Zalando has seen a decline in its revenue. A growing portion of its income comes from sales partners on the platform. Zalando aims to actively focus on providing support to other ecommerce companies.

The customs legislation in Switzerland is undergoing a major overhaul. The legislative amendment, approved by the National Council, could have significant implications for parcel delivery in Switzerland. Critics anticipate that it will become slower, more complicated, and more expensive.

DHL Supply Chain is the new logistics service provider for Reflaunt, a technology platform that enables branded fashion resale. The collaboration is illustrative of the growth and potential of recommerce in Europe.

In several regions in Germany, parcel courier DHL is testing parcel shipping without printed labels. Instead, customers in these regions can put a handwritten package ID on the box.

Shein and Temu send tons of goods daily from China to Europe. In Germany alone, it is estimated to be around 400,000 packages per day, or nearly 150 million per year. This has serious consequences for the air freight market, experts say.

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.

At least 79 percent of fashion retailers are currently charging for returns in the United Kingdom. While paid returns are now common in the fashion industry, within the total ecommerce market a majority is still offering free returns (52 percent).

Handelsverband Deutschland (HDE) calls on politicians to be stricter towards cheap marketplaces from China, including Temu. The interest group advocates for strengthening customs and suggests a digital platform where every shipment must be registered.

Only a fraction of online retailers in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland offer free delivery for online orders. The largest group of sellers charges shoppers an average of between 2 and 5 euros for shipping.

Swedish online seller of caps and hats, Hatstore, is building a new office and warehouse. The new warehouse will be 5,000 square meters in size. The company’s logistics operations will be expanded, with 43 new picking robots, 12 gates and 40,000 boxes.

Last year, Spanish wholesale platform BigBuy generated a turnover of 123 million euros. This is a growth of 15 percent compared to a year earlier. According to the company, at least 90 percent of the orders it received were cross-border.

In March, the rapidly growing ecommerce player from China, Temu, will open its marketplace to sellers from the United States. Shortly after, it will also add European sellers. However, it remains to be seen whether online sellers will actually join the Chinese platform.