Zalando Logistics

Logistics is an essential part of the Zalando DNA – as much as fashion and technology are. At the heart of it are the employees, who ensure that our millions of customers receive their orders quickly and reliably, every day.

From a shared apartment to a European network

What began in 2008 with only shelf storage in a Berlin shared apartment now covers a logistics area of more than one million square meters throughout Europe. Currently, Zalando serves its customers from 12 fulfillment centers in seven countries. Our German warehouses – Erfurt, Mönchengladbach and Lahr – are operated by Zalando, while the sites outside of Germany are being operated independently by trusted partners.

From order to delivery: the route a fashion item takes

From order to delivery, the product passes through several departments in a logistics center: First, the delivered goods arrive on pallets in the receiving area of the logistics center. Each product gets an individual Zalando barcode to be identified and assigned with. Afterwards, the items are packed into orange transportation boxes and taken to the area where they are stored – the so-called pick towers. When a customer places an order, employees take the items from the shelves and bring them to the sorting or packing area. There, the products are assigned to the respective order and packed for shipping. The packages are then taken to the outbound area and prepared for transport.

Working at Zalando Logistics

Around 6,000 people from around 100 countries work in Zalando's German logistics centers. Creating fair and decent working conditions for these colleagues is our ethical duty and an essential part of acquiring talent. 

Our social standards and what we do to live up to them

To ensure a safe and healthy working environment, we have implemented clear and binding social standards for all logistics centers, regardless of whether Zalando or a partner operates them. External auditors regularly inspect all logistics centers without prior notice. Our remuneration package is based on the locally applicable collective wage structures in the logistics industry. At all our German sites we pay an hourly wage that meets or even exceeds the applicable local collective agreement and we ensure that temporary workers receive the same hourly wages as our permanent employees. We also offer additional special payments and attractive benefits such as subsidies for pension schemes or local public transport, employee discounts, and share programs. Our employees can also develop internally with a wide range of training programs

Good work depends on a strong workforce

Our employees help us to continuously improve the working experience in our fulfillment centers. Works councils and employee representatives ensure employee participation and are actively engaged in improving the working environment at their respective sites. We promote various opportunities for dialogue between employees and management by asking our employees for feedback and ideas on how we can make working at Zalando an even better experience.