19.12.2022 - Magazine

Warehouse logistics for toys: “Santa’s helpers”

Every year it’s that time of year again: Christmas is just around the corner and all children are eagerly awaiting their presents. As always, new toys are absolutely in demand – and so is Europe’s largest toy warehouse, including its employees. After all, almost seven million toys leave the warehouses of M+F Spedition during the Christmas season and ensure happy faces on Christmas Eve every year. A logistical challenge that the Huettemann subsidiary has successfully met for more than 25 years.

Toy logistics high season: experience meets know-how

Around 12 million items from more than 85 brands and over 15,000 different item numbers are stored on a good 73,000 square metres. Four numbers that make for happy children, especially at Christmas. And no: these are not Santa’s secret warehouse, but the dry figures of M+F Spedition for its core business, toy logistics. The subsidiary of the Huettemann Group now operates nine Toy Distribution Centres in Bentheim and Nordhorn as well as another location in Hamburg. And the company wants to grow further. With three to five new customers per year, everything speaks for the healthy growth of the company and the establishment of further warehouse locations throughout Germany.

It is particularly noticeable during the Christmas business that the demand for corresponding toy logistics is great and constantly increasing. M+F’s special advantage here is that as an experienced big player in this business field, M+F not only has comprehensive knowledge of the industry, but can also compensate for seasonal fluctuations – e.g. due to the Christmas business. In this way, all services are guaranteed at all times, without the customer having certain fixed costs. All according to the credo: “payment according to performance”. In addition, there are numerous other value-added services as well as the usual tasks in logistics, such as transport logistics.

Die Aufsteller müssen vor der Bestückung korrekt zusammengesetzt werden.

Logistics services: Storage, order picking and transport

In addition to the storage of toys on around 60,000 pallets, M+F offers further logistics services along the supply chain. These include picking for dispatch from the warehouse and transport logistics with its own trucks. M+F’s range of services also includes supplying retailers, supermarkets, department stores and central warehouses of mail order companies. In addition to the packaging and labelling of articles, another value-added service is particularly in demand during the Christmas season: display construction.

The POS displays are assembled from cardboard, loaded and made ready for dispatch in the Toy Distribution Centre. Once they arrive at the retail outlet, they only have to be set up, which simplifies the process considerably. A small fact on the side: especially during display construction, the helping hands of the Lebenshilfe organisation integrated at the Nordhorn location come into play. A real enrichment for the work on site – productive as well as human.

Warehousing: state-of-the-art technology and well thought-out storage concepts

It is not only the decades of experience in toy logistics that make the M+F Toy Distribution Centres so efficient – and thus affordable for their customers. The technology used on site also meets the latest standards and is regularly improved. This involves advanced scanners for easier, faster and error-free picking as well as the entire warehouse management system. Combined with efficient warehouse concepts, even very individual solutions can be safely implemented per customer.

In addition, there is the smooth cooperation with courier services and parcel service providers, which can also be completely controlled by the team on site if required. This means that express deliveries can be made at any time – often an all-important factor, especially during the Christmas season. But even if things often have to happen quickly, sustainability should not fall by the wayside.

Ecological warehouse logistics: sustainability as a mission

Sustainable packaging material is used for a large part of the goods. Here, M+F Spedition constantly pays attention to further optimisation in terms of ecological packaging. In addition, precise measurements of the CO2 values are carried out for each Toy Distribution Centre – always with the aim of reducing the footprint for warehouse logistics as well as transport logistics. Last year, the CO2 equivalent was reduced by almost ten percent. A success that they want to build on. After all, they want to continue making children happy with toys from the M+F warehouses in the future – especially at Christmas.

Christmas: Time for cohesion

This year, M+F is once again participating in the Christmas convoy and bringing gifts for needy children in remote and rural regions in Eastern Europe. Because even though Christmas business accounts for just under half of all shipments from M+F’s Toy Distribution warehouses, they are happy to take the time to support – “because it’s really important to us!”.