XPO secures contract with French sports retailer

The Greenwich, Conn.-based third-party logistics provider won a five-year contract to manage INTERSPORT’s first outsourced logistics warehouse.    XPO Logistics won a five-year contract to manage the first outsourced logistics warehouse for INTERSPORT, the largest sporting goods retail chain in Europe, XPO said.
   The warehouse will serve 600 retail outlets in France and Belgium, and is expected to handle 8 million items from 122 suppliers within 24 months of opening.
   Situated next to INTERSPORT’s warehouse in Saint-Vulbas (Ain), France, the new facility will allow INTERSPORT to better centralize the flow of goods and progressively increase its storage capacity in line with its rapid growth. XPO said both warehouses will use warehouse management software from Reflex combined with a transportation management system to manage the flow of goods. The company also noted how the proximity of the two facilities will optimize transportation capacity.
   XPO’s customized logistics plan for INTERSPORT includes packaging products and preparing single-item deliveries for online orders. The XPO facility in Lyon, which already handles sports products, will help manage peaks in activity and the seasonality of product lines.
   XPO, with gross sales in excess of $7.6 billion, entered the European market last year with the $3.5 billion acquisition of Norbert Dentressangle. It has secured a number of large contracts this year for contract logistics services in Europe. In addition to offering contract logistics, XPO is known for trucking, truck brokerage, intermodal and e-commerce fulfillment.