A major European book distributor has picked Körber to modernise its supply chain infrastructure. The transition of Switzerland based OLF will include the introduction of new end-to-end digital capabilities to increase visibility and responsive towards the company’s retail customers, including book stores, supermarkets and e-commerce platforms. This will be achieved through the installation of Körber’s Warehouse Management System, Shipping & Dispatch System and Track and Trace solution.

The company’s 12,000 square metre warehouse in Fribourg, Switzerland will be modernised. The company represents nearly 3,500 Swiss, French, British and American publishers, and the warehouse is central to its distribution network to more than 3,000 book stores, supermarkets, schools, kiosks, and other points of sale throughout Switzerland, France and Belgium. Körber’s integrated technologies will provide OLF with planning, control, execution and monitoring capabilities to manage 4 million books for over 130,000 titles.

Théophile Renard, Logistics and Services Director at OLF explains: “Looking for the right partner, we put major focus on finding someone helping us to stay confident in what we are doing. Our business is changing and we needed to be sure that Körber had the expertise to realise our full growth potential and ensure our solidity. The flexibility of Körber’s technology enables us to meet our customers’ demands in a context of rising resource costs, labour shortages, and geopolitical tensions. We are now perfectly positioned to achieve our ambitions. In Körber, we have found a partner who is able to reassure us, both in terms of technology and economic performance.

The new software platform will be integrated by summer 2023 and should allow greater efficiency to meet increasing challenges within the bookselling sector. Körber’s warehouse management system will provide streamlined control of automated warehouse processes. It will also significantly optimise slotting management and order processing. Digital capabilities will expand improvements to package labelling and EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) with Körber’s Shipping and Dispatch System, especially in collaboration with carriers. On the last mile, track and trace capabilities will remove functional silos by enhancing data visibility comprehensively – in line with the goal of advancing customer and service quality up to the last mile.

Michael Brandl, Executive Vice President Operations Software EMEA at the Körber Business Area Supply Chain explains: “All organisations, regardless of their size or industry, are faced with the obligation to leverage the potential of the digital era and adapt their infrastructure to new market demands. The world of supply chain and publishing is changing, both in terms of functional and service expectations. OLF’s choice of Körber confirms that our solutions are 100% on par with the needs of companies to conquer the complexities of constantly growing customer demands with digital capabilities, end-to-end.”