Damart trusts C-LOG for logistics & transport

The logistics of the Damartex group has always been managed internally. With the development of a new sales channel for the DamartSport and DamartPro brands, the company decided to outsource some of its Damart transport logistics to C-Log.

Logistics Magazine : You have recently decided to outsource some of your Damart transport logistics to the C-Log provider … What was the trigger ?

Loïc Bouquet: We are a company specializing in distance selling, but we also have nearly 90 stores throughout the country. Our logistic center of more than 50 000 m2, based in Hem near Roubaix, in the Hauts-de-France, thus handles at the same time preparation of parcels, for VAD, and cartons, for our stores. Three years ago, we decided to go into the “wholesale”, that is to say to sell our brands DamartSport and DamartPro also through distributors such as Intersport, Gamm Vert, Sport 2000, etc., and more only via the Internet, mail order and our stores.

For a while, we managed this new distribution channel in an additional way, as being “out of process” … But with the increase in the volumes to be shipped and the particular management that it implied, we decided to outsource this part from a provider.

LM. : What are the peculiarities of this Damart transport logistics distribution, compared to what you already manage ?

LB. : For the classic circuit we supply our 90 stores on a daily basis, with carriers whose delivery circuits are defined, with tours decided in advance and according to a rhythm that we manage internally. For the wholesale, the volume is not the same: today we have several hundred retail outlets to supply, in very short times and we do not control.

In this organization, we have become suppliers of other brands and we must meet certain standards, in terms of time and flexibility. We could no longer continue to treat it “out of process”, it needed a real know-how, able to meet needs more erratic than for our traditional channels.

LM. : What was the specification that finally pushed you to choose C-Log as a service provider ?

LB. : We wanted the logistics to stay close to our head office in Roubaix. It was also necessary that the provider we choose would be able to ensure deliveries throughout France and potentially abroad. We have selected C-Log for its customer relationship and expertise in the textile industry, for the proposed price but also because it has set up a partnership with a publisher, Fastmag, for the implementation of an ERP dedicated to the wholesale business. This also allows us to have only one contact for the management of logistics and ERP. The 12,500 m2 C-Log platform in Cambrai has been operational since September.