Lidl continues its investments in Romania and inaugurates the largest logistics center in its portfolio, in Fundeni, Calarasi county. The new warehouse, located near the A2 highway, will supply more than 55 stores in the south and southeast of the country.
The sixth regional headquarters covers a total built area of over 56,000 sqm and a land area of over 173,000 sqm, thus being the largest warehouse in Lidl’s portfolio.
“Efficiency is part of our sustainable business strategy, so we apply this principle in all our areas of activity, including expansion and sales. The opening of the warehouse in the Fundeni commune, near the A2, came as a natural step, along with the expansion of our store network. Because we are at the sixth warehouse in our portfolio, the experience has given us the opportunity to test and develop more solutions that allow us to optimize store supply times, have even greater accuracy of product stocks and at the same time to reduce the carbon footprint generated by the activity in the warehouse”, said Cezar Rotaru, Fundeni Regional Headquarters Director, Lidl Romania.
With the aim of streamlining the process of storing and distributing products in stores, the logistics warehouse in Fundeni stands out through a series of solutions and measures such as: the ALMA system, a tool that allows efficient management of the process of loading and unloading trucks, the system of PDR type gravity racks, a solution that makes storage space more efficient, and an LPV system for rotating pallets – a solution for managing stocks of products that have a short shelf life, a measure that also allows reducing food waste in within the warehouse.
Moreover, within the new warehouse in Fundeni, a series of alternative solutions have been implemented both to save energy and to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emissions from transport. For example, the new regional headquarters is equipped with 2650 solar panels, which have the capacity to produce around 30% of the amount of energy intended for the operation of the building. In addition, the logistics center is equipped with an electric charging station, intended to power trucks, such as the first 100% electric truck on the Romanian market, launched by Scania, Blue River and Lidl last year or the 2 electric trucks, from Mercedes -Benz Trucks & Buses Romania and Volvo Trucks Romania which entered the Blue River fleet this month, and which will serve the supply of Lidl stores in this region. Alternatively, with the inauguration of this building, the retailer is building a CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) filling station for the first time for part of the fleet of trucks that transport goods for Lidl stores.
The inauguration of the largest logistics warehouse in the Lidl portfolio also has a positive impact on the local economy, by creating more than 250 jobs, both in the operational and administrative areas.
