Geodis has signed a 10-year lease agreement with PRD Group for a 20,000-square-meter multi-user facility in Minhang district, Shanghai.

In a statement, Geodis said the facility is set to bolster its contract logistics capabilities for retail partners, providing improved storage and inventory processing to support the fast-growing e-commerce industry that is expected to be worth USD 2 trillion in Asia Pacific by 2025.

The new facility is slated to officially open to Geodis' customers in July 2023 and will include a state-of-the-art storage system consisting of mezzanine flooring, Very Narrow Aisle (VNA) pallet racks, and racking served by Autonomous Guided Vehicles (AGV).

The facility will also provide the space needed to support large merchandise inventory as well as inbound and outbound procedures.

At peak capacity, the site will be able to manage an inventory of close to 20,000 Stock-Keeping Units (SKU).

Rise in e-commerce

Geodis noted that this would include having the space to process up to 300,000 lines per day for Geodis' Business-to-Consumer (B2C) customers, in addition to approximately 15,000 lines per day for its Business-to-Business (B2B) clientele.

"Retailers today are facing a dynamic environment where the rise of e-commerce and omnichannel platforms are changing consumer demands for goods and services. Our goal as a logistics provider is to support our customers — and theirs — by meeting these demands," said Onno Boots, regional president & CEO of Geodis Asia Pacific and Middle East.

"With this strategic partnership with PRD Group, Geodis will be tapping into the developed multi-user facility in Shanghai to optimize retail supply chains and provide innovative solutions that not only match but exceed the standards of service required by our retail partners to better serve their customers," he added.

The Geodis executive noted that it would integrate its operations into the facility in 2023.

As part of this facility, retail customers can also expect Value-Added Services (VAS) such as packaging and re-packaging, re-labelling, quality control, as well as the handling of return shipments and reclamations.

Geodis said its delivery fleet within the district would also consist of electric vans for urban delivery as part of its sustainability efforts.