Discount store chain Pepco and DHL Supply Chain have expanded their partnership to cover five distribution centres in Europe, with DHL taking operational management in Poland, Hungary, and Romania.
The wider agreement extends a collaboration that started in 2019 and includes Pepco distribution facilities in Sosnowiec and Rawa Mazowiecka in Poland, Gyal in Hungary, and Bucharest in Romania, as well as an existing site in Spain.
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The five locations together provide 290,000m² of warehouse space and serve 4,020 Pepco stores across Europe.
At the newly added facilities, more than 1,500 employees moved to DHL Supply Chain as part of the transition.
According to the company, three of the five facilities are described as “highly” automated, supporting throughput, picking “accuracy”, and processing consistency.
Pepco global sourcing and supply chain director Javier Rubio said: “Expanding our partnership with DHL Supply Chain supports a more standardised operating model across Europe and strengthens our ability to scale, improve productivity and protect service levels for stores.
“Importantly, this transition has been carefully designed to ensure continuity for our teams and a smooth handover of operations.”
The most recent site to come under DHL Supply Chain management is the facility in Bucharest, Romania, which became operational last month.
DHL Supply Chain said the location marks its entry into the Romanian contract logistics market and supplies Pepco products to stores in Romania, Bulgaria, and Greece.
Work at the Bucharest site includes warehousing, inbound and outbound picking, loading, and value-added services.
Romania is described as a strategic growth market for DHL Group. The company already had operations in the country through its Express and Global Forwarding divisions, and the contract logistics expansion enables the group to offer regional end-to-end supply chain services.
According to the information provided, the multi-site model is designed to support business continuity and create room for capacity to grow in line with expansion in Pepco’s store network.
The expanded arrangement is described as one of the largest multi-site retail contract logistics partnerships in Central and Eastern Europe in recent years.
DHL Supply Chain Europe CEO Rainer Haag added: “We are proud to manage five of Pepco’s distribution centres across the region, enabling them to respond swiftly to consumer demand and navigate unforeseen disruptions – ensuring reliable delivery to retail stores even when conditions change.
“With Bucharest joining our DHL Supply Chain network, we also strengthen our presence in Romania, further advancing our strategy to create natural access points for businesses seeking multi‑market supply chain solutions.”
