The telco giant announced its plans to build and open a European logistics hub in Bettembourg at the end of 2024 during the opening of the Arch Summit.
The telecommunications firm signed a memorandum of understanding with economy minister Franz Fayot for the 29,000 square metre facility that is expected to generate up to 30 jobs.
“We’re going to run all of our physical supply chain activities for Europe out of Luxembourg,” Vodafone Global Supply Chain Director and CEO of Vodafone Procurement Ninian Wilson told Silicon Luxembourg on the sidelines of the conference, adding: “We’re building what we want to be the greenest logistics operation in Europe as well as the most automated warehouse using 5G to automate activities in the warehouse.”
Vodafone currently employs 420 people in Luxembourg, a country where it has had a presence for 22 years. Its local activities include the Vodafone centre for roaming, procurement, financing and digital capability.
The warehouse will be constructed on the 52-hectare Eurohub South logistics park in Bettembourg, which has an intermodal terminal and a rail motorway platform.
Vodafone will use the site to take control of equipment from its major manufacturers for inbound and outbound logistics as well as reverse logistics like repairs and maintenance. The warehouse will store equipment required to run Vodafone’s networks, including antennas and radios. A brand new initiative, the new model follows a hub and spoke system, which is expected to simplify logistics as well as standardise equipment across Europe.
In addition to the 30 jobs generated at the site, new roles will also be created with the partner company that will operate the warehouse.
Delivery is expected in December 2024, a timeline Ninian describes as “not fast enough.”
A second logistics hub is planned for a yet-to-be-defined location in sub-Saharan Africa. Wilson expected it to open a year after the Bettembourg site. He said: “We will connect the two hubs together. That’s our vision for physical logistics.”
