Our Logistics Stories

Alina moved to Erfurt from Romania because her parents recommended Zalando to her as a good employer. Now the trio works together in our fulfillment center’s incoming goods department and feels right at home.

When Alina sits down with her parents at the end of the working day, the conversation often turns to work. That’s normal, and happens up and down the country every day. What’s different in this case is that Alina and her parents work together here at the fulfillment center. All three are part of the so-called Receive team and work the same shift. Mother Maria and father Cristian have been with us since March 2021. They suggested to their daughter that she also start working at Zalando. “They told me that they work with clothes and shoes the whole day,” Alina recalls with a broad smile. “I liked the sound of that. I am someone who likes to get dressed up.” In spring 2023, she decided to join Zalando too.

Fashion was just one reason why Alina moved from the small town of Câmpeni in Romania to Erfurt. “I also wanted to see what it’s like living in  a different country and earning my own money,” she says. The ambitious 22-year-old switched to an online course for her finance and banking studies and started to learn German. Concerns about not finding any friends in Germany soon dissipated.

“I have met lots of people my age at Zalando and always look forward to coming to work and seeing them there,” Alina says. Another aspect of working at Zalando that appeals to Alina is the well-organized working environment. She cites the different T-shirt colors for different teams as one example: black for logistics employees, orange for Team Leads and white for Department Heads.  What does she want to achieve next? “Maybe I’ll be wearing  an orange T-shirt before too long,” Alina says, smiling. There’s no doubt that she is here to stay.

In his time off, Department Head Ralf from our fulfillment center in Mönchengladbach enjoys rocking the stage with his band Randgebeat – just like he did recently at Zalando Family Day.

What kind of music does Randgebeat play? Oompah? Alpine folk? Wrong. “We play rock music,” Ralf says, with a knowing scowl on his face, before immediately returning to a smile. Yes, he and his band make music that makes people happy. He sings songs that get people up and dancing. And many of their appearances happen to be at traditional-style events with plenty of local color. But a closer listen reveals that most of the band’s songs don’t really sound like something you might hear in a beer tent. Like Ralf’s voice, they call to mind the wild days of rock ’n’ roll. “The rush of adrenaline when we’re standing on stage, and the feeling of creating something together, is indescribable,” he says. When Ralf talks about his hobby, his passion and dedication shine through. When he’s on the stage, he doesn’t need any sheet music.

The 63-year-old Department Head in Outbound, where Zalando orders are packed and shipped, is a musician with every fiber of his being. He sang in front of an audience for the first time some 40 years ago, having inherited his first guitar from his grandmother. The name of his current band, Randgebeat, is a play on the German word Randgebiet, or outskirts, and the English word beat. Besides Ralf, the band consists of a guitarist, a bassist, a keyboardist, a drummer and a tech engineer. “We’re a cover band for rock in Cologne-area dialect, pop and ballads, and we always play live,” Ralf says. The band has appearances all year long, at private parties, in bars, at small-town fairs and at corporate events – just like they did at the Zalando Family Day. The gig was a special honor for Ralf, and was one the band thoroughly rocked. What else?

As a Maintenance Technician and a member of our team, Atsu makes sure every machine is in good working shape. He says his decision to join Zalando was one of the best of his life. 

Atsu shows us what he’s got. “Here, I always have my most important tools with me,” he says, pulling a nut runner, flashlight, screwdriver and wrench, one after the other, out of his pants pocket. He holds up a roll of material: “A spare part for the bag sorter. I have to be prepared if one needs replacing.” The Bagsorter is a sorting machine with around 700,000 bags. In the incoming goods department, one product is placed in each bag and linked to the bag's RFID chip. In this way, the system knows where which goods are stored and automatically puts together the required bags when an order is placed.

Atsu smiles, looking satisfied. As a Maintenance Technician on the Material Flow Technology (MFT) team, he is responsible for everything that moves, such as tubs, bags and robots. He keeps an ear on the engines and an eye on the monitors, all while inspecting switches, chains, oil levels and much more. “It’s right up my alley!” he says.

The 34-year-old grew up at a children’s home in Bawjiasi, near the Ghanaian capital of Accra, where he studied marketing and met his wife, Maren. In 2013, the two of them moved to Appenweier, Maren’s hometown. After discovering that he wouldn’t find a job in marketing in Germany, Atsu trained as a machine and plant operator. He joined our MFT team in 2020. “One of the best decisions of my life,” Atsu says. The technology and the job are a perfect match for him. Since last year, he’s also been active on the Works Council.

In addition, Atsu spends his Fridays and Saturdays training to become a qualified electrician, with Zalando’s support. “Once I have my certificate from the chamber of trade and commerce, I can work on both the mechanics and electronics of our machines,” Atsu says. He’s already looking forward to it. And there’s still room in his pocket in case there are any new tools.