GXO Logistics, Inc. announced a 20-year partnership agreement with Levi Strauss & Co (LS&Co.) to manage operations at a 70,000 square meter Dorsten Distribution Center (DDC) launching in early June. GXO will manage all logistics services for LS&Co. at the fully-automated facility, including value-added services, to distribute apparel and accessories across wholesale, retail, digital, ecommerce and marketplace channels.

The fully-automated site includes technology at every step of the logistics process, from inbound to outbound, including shuttle and miniload systems as well as automatic carton opening, closing and labeling. The facility breaks new ground for sustainable warehousing, with LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) and WELL Health-Safety certification. The facility includes features such as sustainably sourced concrete, walls of vegetation, rooftop solar panels and a green roof, as well as access to electric vehicle chargers, an on-site park and advanced recycling facilities.

This new partnership illustrates the increasing demand for outsourcing logistics services in Germany to increase efficiency and achieve cost-savings, through tech and automation deployment, workforce management and upskilling, and inventory management. The partnership also affirms GXO's growth ambitions to serve a breadth of sectors, including omnichannel and DTC retailers, in Germany. In 2023, GXO invested in a new 36,000 square meter warehouse in Dormagen, a key logistics center in the Dusseldorf region, where the company operates its GXO Service Tech operations for consumer tech repair and refurbishment, as well as operations for The Quality Group.

The Dorsten site will initially start with a capacity of 33 million units. By 2026, when the site reaches its full capacity of 55 million units, up to 650 employees are expected to be employed in Dorsten. GXO has operated in 14 European countries for more than 25 years and serves customers from the e-commerce, fashion, FMCG and DIY sectors, including German companies such as Henkel, BASF, Bayer, OBI and online retailers such as zooplus.

The company currently employs around 80,000 people at around 550 locations in the region, including Germany.