- Operator confirms move to meld regional warehousing centres into a single, digital-led management facility.
- Deal confirmed after two years of talks with Luxembourg government.
- Modernisation stressed as means to increase Vodafone’s supply chain resilience and predictability.
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Vodafone has confirmed an expansion of its supply chain management presence in Luxembourg by selecting the country for a new, Europe-wide logistics hub.
Announced at Arch Summit 2022, the move is expected to see Vodafone create a single, dedicated facility in the Grand Duchy, managing the flow of goods from China and other key sourcing markets to its various businesses in Europe.
Ninian Wilson, Vodafone’s Global Supply Chain Management Director, said the 29,000-square metre centre will “provide logistics services for all of our European countries”.
Lux marks the spot
He stressed the project’s support from the Luxembourg government, saying it had “taken a lot of time, working together in a very productive way”.
Franz Fayot, Luxembourg’s Minister for the Economy, as well as Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs, signed the contract for the new hub at Arch, telling Wilson he was “happy that we achieved this together” following a “kind of a long discussion”.
Discussions are said to have been taking place for about two years, and Vodafone first trailered plans for the overhaul in 2021 (Vodafonewatch, #200). At the time, Wilson said the facility would be located in a “small country in the middle of Europe — so you can guess kind of where that will be”.
Wilson heads Vodafone Procurement Company — the central, Luxembourg-based unit that manages most of the Group’s multibillion-pound spend. The operator also has device and roaming services management, and finance operations, in the country.
Digitisation, automation
Vodafone has indicated the centre will have a strong emphasis on the use of digital tools, to improve transparency during a period of significant disruption in international supply chains.
“ We are aiming to build the most sustainable warehouse with the most automation we can possibly fit in, using Vodafone products and services to make this a super-efficient operation. ”
Wilson.
He has previously described Vodafone’s supply chain operations for physical goods as having been “quite disparate over the years”, while noting that consolidation and digitisation will enable it to track kit “through the supply chain” and “redirect [supplies] in a digital way”.
No figure was provided for the level of investment in the centre, or timelines for completion, but Wilson said Vodafone was “investing a lot of money” in the revamp, and described it as one of three “big bets” being made by his group as part of a wider transformation programme.
Other recent projects flagged by VPC include roll out of an internally developed automated long tail procurement platform and robotics-based buying system for some categories, dubbed Ava (Vodafonewatch, #195 and #199).
