Fashion Logistics: Threefold support for fashion by Cortefiel – 15 years of cooperation
Provision, transshipment and distribution: these are the three areas where Logwin, the international logistics services provider, supports Cortefiel, the long-established Spanish fashion company with a rich tradition. The center of the pan-European activities is the company’s location in Madrid. Cooperation with Logwin began in the mid-1990s and, just like fashion, is always changing to adapt to current trends. Thanks to Logwin’s efficient retail network negotiations covering further distribution services in Eastern Europe are currently under way.
Cortefiel has been in the fashion business since 1880. Today the group’s brand portfolio includes Springfield (casual wear), Cortefiel (ready to wear), Pedro del Hierro (elegant, cosmopolitan look) and women’secret (lingerie) – the company is the market leader in the latter segment in Spain.
Traveling with Europe’s largest fashion network
First provision, then transshipment followed by distribution: in the field of procurement logistics Logwin organizes the transport for the goods from Turkey all the way to Cortefiel’s new 90,000 m² logistics center in Aranjuez near Madrid. Each working day, with the exception of Wednesday, the logistics services provider collects 25 to 40 pallets and between 200 and 500 hanging garments from Cortefiel’s facility to take them to its own warehouse in Madrid, where 500 m² of space is reserved for transshipment for Cortefiel. Details about the goods for collection and subsequent distribution are transmitted to Logwin electronically direct from Cortefiel. Logwin transmits same-day data to Cortefiel concerning incoming and outgoing goods. Goods coming from Aranjuez are scanned on arrival. As part of the crossdocking process, Logwin employees then sort the finished goods according to destination and consignee. Scanning on dispatch documents that the shipments have left the warehouse and that delivery has begun.
The logistics service provider has Europe’s largest network for hanging garments. “We organize supplies to Cortefiel shops in Germany, Austria, Poland and Hungary via our own locations. In the Netherlands we distribute via our partner”, says José Maria Sánchez, Key Account Manager at Logwin. In Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Serbia, Romania, Russia and the Ukraine Logwin supplies franchisee warehouses by truck. In addition, the warehouses receive direct shipments from Hong Kong. “There are a total of 80 stores and 25 franchisees throughout Europe that receive shipments from Madrid each week”, says José Maria Sánchez.
The changing face of procurement
The Far East plays an important role for Cortefiel as a procurement market for textiles and fashion articles. However, Turkey has gained in significance in recent times, because due to the geographical proximity replenishment is easier to organize. Cortefiel currently has around 1 million articles produced in Turkey each year, and the trend is growing. 40 percent of these are garments on hanger (GOH) while 60 percent are boxed goods. But Logwin’s services in the field of fashion are not limited to the transport of fashion articles, since cooperation also extends to the storage and delivery of shop equipment: For Cortefiel Logwin maintains storage spaces at four locations in Spain with shop fittings, furniture and display mannequins. The logistics service provider can deliver on request at any time, at least once or twice each week, to the Cortefiel stores in the vicinity.
