Toy manufacturer Mattel has announced that it has signed a six year contract with Geodis for the management of its logistics and distribution operations in southern Europe.
This contract includes the reception of 3,000 sea containers per year from Asia, customs clearance, palletising, storage and the management of 1,800 references to be distributed in France, Spain, and Portugal.
To satisfy these requirements, Geodis has established a 42,000sqm warehouse in the Distriport area of Marseilles, France, which has been operational since March, and is recruiting 120 people.
The warehouse and its resources were sized to fit the seasonal peaks inherent to the business of Mattel. The site also has a storage area for containers to handle seasonal variations. By late 2013, the total area of the distribution centre will be brought up to 60,000sqm and it will employ 200 people.
An additional 1,500sqm will be dedicated to high value-added services such as the preparation of promotional displays or package customisation according to the requirements of retailers. Geodis will also be in charge of returns management on behalf of Mattel.
Geodis has implemented advanced technologies in the new distribution centre, such as radio frequency and 'voice picking', which is designed to provide optimum service quality and productivity by guiding operators through a voice recognition system.
The new contract is part of a long standing partnership between Mattel and Geodis. Geodis has been managing Mattel's north Europe distribution centre in Venlo, Netherlands, as well as two hubs in Tanjung Pelapas and Port Klang in Malaysia since 2007.