Dive Brief:
- UPS just opened a $100 million, almost 100,000 square foot package sorting and delivery hub outside of Paris, France, making it the "single biggest investment UPS has ever made in France," according to President of UPS International Nando Cesarone in the press release.
- The hub will feature automation technology that can process 37,000 packages per hour, according to the press release, and will employ 100 people.
- The move is part of UPS' $2 billion European investment plan to better serve the continent. In addition to Paris, the third-party logistics provider launched a cross-border hub in London and plans to open a new facility in the Netherlands.
Dive Insight:
U.S.-based third-party logistics providers (3PLs) continue to ramp up the competition by expanding overseas and rolling out new technologies to improve accuracy and efficiency.
Just two months ago, the UPS CIO Juan Perez told Modex conference attendees that UPS is striving to be a technology-driven company. Earlier this year, XPO Logistics announced plans to expand its home delivery service to Europe and expanded its mobile app to European carriers.
UPS' new automated facility will help the 3PL streamline its logistics network in Europe and could help it steal market share from rivals like XPO and Germany-based DHL.
Automated warehouses are rather hot in the logistics market right now: robotics usage in warehouses is growing so fast that robotics startups are raking in millions in funding, suggesting that the warehouses of the future will be largely automated to streamline operations and reduce errors in package sorting.
It seems like modernizing logistics is a highlight of UPS' planned $12 billion investment in its supply chain. The Wall Street Journal recently reported the 3PL appears to be in great need of an upgrade.
