De Bijenkorf is to fully outsource its logistics operations and therefore closes its own distribution centre in Woerden. Logistics service provider Ingram Micro, now responsible for Bijenkorf's online orders, is also expected to supply the shops.
The fulfilment of online orders now takes place at Ingram Micro's distribution centre in Waalwijk. From next year, Bijenkorf plans to handle the entire logistics operation from a single distribution centre.
Overlapping operations
This would be more efficient, as there is now often overlapping operations in both distribution centres. "Keeping one central stock in a new distribution centre means that the goods are quicker at the location where they are needed, whether for the webshop or one of the shops," the department store explains. According to Bijenkorf, a new distribution centre is also more sustainable in terms of consumption of materials, CO2 emissions, premises and working environment. The location of the distribution centre is currently being discussed with Ingram Micro.
143 jobs lost
143 jobs will be lost with the closure of the logistics centre in mid-2019. A social plan is in place for them until the end of 2018. The group's management has pledged that the social plan now in place will also apply until the distribution centre closes. De Bijenkof says it regrets the redundancies but sees no other option to continue growing in the future.
CNV in talks with Bijenkorf
Given the expected growth in shop sales and deBijenkorf.nl, the luxury department store actually expects to grow from five hundred to eight hundred jobs at the new location.
CNV trade union is questioning this. "We first want to be clear whether there is no transfer of undertaking here. The business activities are not disappearing, but being transferred. That could mean that this also applies to the employment contracts," CNV executive Martijn den Heijer told ANP in a comment. "If you want to put 143 people on the street, you need good arguments. "The union is still going to sit down with the Bijenkorf.
